What is the N+1 Query Problem and How to Solve it?

You’ve written the code. It works. But the page loads slowly, the database is doing way too much work, and you're staring at the query logs thinking, “Why are there so many SELECTs here?”

That moment when everything should be working but feels sluggish is when you might be meeting the N+1 query problem for the first time.

It starts small. Feels innocent. But once your data grows, this turns into a flood of unnecessary database traffic and your app crawls.

It happens when you’re thinking about data in terms of objects or loops instead of query efficiency. It happens when you reach for a simple solution without noticing what’s happening behind the scenes.

The N+1 problem often hides until it becomes painful. You’ll think your logic is fine, your queries are clean, and yet performance keeps slipping. That’s why this issue is worth learning early.

Fixing it is often the difference between a system that “feels fine for now” and one that scales without surprise slowdowns.

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