Gold Lapel launches PostgreSQL proxy to tune queries

Gold Lapel has launched a PostgreSQL proxy that automatically optimises database queries for applications that rely on PostgreSQL.

The software sits between an application and its database, analysing query traffic in real time. It can automatically create indexes and materialised views, rewrite slow SQL queries, and work with standard PostgreSQL drivers without requiring changes to application code.

The launch addresses a common problem for software teams as AI coding tools, ORMs and query builders generate large volumes of SQL that may be correct but perform poorly. Gold Lapel argues that many companies respond by adding separate services such as Redis for caching or PgBouncer for connection pooling, rather than tuning PostgreSQL itself.

Founder Stephen Gibson linked the idea to his own experience with AI-assisted development. "I was working with an AI coding tool and it duplicated data across two tables because joining was 'too slow,'" he said.

He added: "I asked why not create a view. The tool did what developers have been doing for years - it duplicated data because that's what's in the training data. Gold Lapel exists because the workaround became the default."

How it works

Applications connect to the proxy instead of directly to PostgreSQL. The system observes live queries, looks for issues such as sequential scans, missing indexes, repetitive expensive operations, N+1 patterns and deep pagination, then applies database-level optimisations.

These changes include materialised views for costly JOINs, GROUP BY operations, aggregations, subqueries and common table expressions. The software also adds several index types, including B-tree, covering, trigram GIN, expression and partial indexes, then rewrites queries to use those optimised paths.

Gold Lapel says it verifies each materialised view against live query results before sending production traffic through the rewritten path. It also includes a kill switch that instantly reverts the system to passthrough mode, while preserving Row-Level Security policies through rewrites.

The product ships with more than 10 optimisation strategies, supports seven programming languages, four frameworks and three ORMs, and is available as a single binary for Linux, macOS and Windows, as well as through Docker.

Wider stack

Beyond SQL optimisation, the software includes prepared statement caching, in-memory result caching with write-driven invalidation, and query coalescing for identical in-flight queries. It also offers connection pooling in session and transaction modes, automatic read replica routing with read-after-write protection, failover with health probes, TLS, and serverless-friendly idle timeout settings.

An observability layer includes a live web dashboard, an audit timeline for optimisation decisions, command-line tools and counters. Gold Lapel has also released language wrappers, framework plugins and ORM plugins.

The company presents the product as a way to reduce the number of moving parts in a typical application stack. In its view, many teams now run PostgreSQL alongside several other services to compensate for database performance problems.

A separate quote from the company's spokesperson set out that position. "Your PostgreSQL database is better staff than you have been led to believe," said The Butler of Gold Lapel.

The spokesperson added: "It already knows the answers to your most expensive queries. It simply needs someone to set the table before the guests arrive. That is what we do."

Pricing and book

Gold Lapel costs USD $149 a month per instance, or USD $129 a month when billed annually. A site licence for unlimited instances costs USD $24,000 a year.

Alongside the software release, the company has published a 19-chapter technical book, You Don't Need Redis: PostgreSQL Performance Optimization for Developers Who'd Rather Not Manage Another Service. It says the book covers optimisation techniques across seven programming languages.

Gold Lapel was founded by Gibson and is based in San Francisco. According to the company, every plan includes the same feature set.