python 29 lines · 1 tab

Django database index strategies

Priya Sharma Jan 2026

1 tab

from django.db import models
from django.contrib.postgres.indexes import GinIndex


class Post(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200, db_index=True)
    slug = models.SlugField(unique=True)
    content = models.TextField()
    author = models.ForeignKey('auth.User', on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    status = models.CharField(max_length=20)
    published_at = models.DateTimeField(null=True, blank=True, db_index=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    class Meta:
        indexes = [
            # Compound index for common query pattern
            models.Index(fields=['status', 'published_at'], name='post_status_pub_idx'),

            # Partial index for published posts only
            models.Index(
                fields=['published_at'],
                condition=models.Q(status='published'),
                name='published_posts_idx'
            ),

            # GIN index for full-text search
            GinIndex(fields=['title', 'content'], name='post_search_idx'),
        ]
        ordering = ['-published_at']

1 file · python Explain with highlit

Indexes dramatically improve query performance. I add indexes via Meta.indexes or db_index=True on frequently-filtered fields. Compound indexes help queries filtering on multiple fields. For text search, I use GinIndex on PostgreSQL. I index foreign keys automatically. The EXPLAIN query shows if indexes are used. Too many indexes slow down writes, so I profile first. For large tables, I create indexes concurrently in separate migrations. This prevents locking during deployment.

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