---
title: Query Optimizer
---

# Query Optimizer

## Features

The query optimizer is a must-have extension for improved performance of your schema.
What it does:

1. Call [QuerySet.select_related()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#select-related)
   on all selected foreign key relations by the query to avoid requiring an extra query to retrieve those
2. Call [QuerySet.prefetch_related()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#prefetch-related)
   on all selected many-to-one/many-to-many relations by the query to avoid requiring an extra query to retrieve those.
3. Call [QuerySet.only()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#only)
   on all selected fields to reduce the database payload and only requesting what is actually being
   selected
4. Call [QuerySet.annotate()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#annotate)
   to support any passed annotations
   of [Query Expressions](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/expressions/).

Those are specially useful to avoid some common GraphQL pitfalls, like the famous `n+1` issue.

## Enabling the extension

The automatic optimization can be enabled by adding the `DjangoOptimizerExtension`
to your strawberry's schema config.

```python title="schema.py"
import strawberry
from strawberry_django.optimizer import DjangoOptimizerExtension

schema = strawberry.Schema(
    Query,
    extensions=[
        # other extensions...
        DjangoOptimizerExtension,
    ],
)
```

### Extension Parameters

The extension accepts several parameters to customize its behavior:

```python
DjangoOptimizerExtension(
    enable_only_optimization=True,  # Enable QuerySet.only() optimization
    enable_select_related_optimization=True,  # Enable QuerySet.select_related() optimization
    enable_prefetch_related_optimization=True,  # Enable QuerySet.prefetch_related() optimization
    enable_annotate_optimization=True,  # Enable QuerySet.annotate() optimization
    enable_nested_relations_prefetch=True,  # Enable prefetch of nested relations
    prefetch_custom_queryset=False,  # Use default manager instead of base manager
)
```

| Parameter                              | Default | Description                                                    |
| -------------------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `enable_only_optimization`             | `True`  | Enable `QuerySet.only()` to fetch only requested fields        |
| `enable_select_related_optimization`   | `True`  | Enable `QuerySet.select_related()` for FK relations            |
| `enable_prefetch_related_optimization` | `True`  | Enable `QuerySet.prefetch_related()` for M2M/reverse relations |
| `enable_annotate_optimization`         | `True`  | Enable `QuerySet.annotate()` for annotated fields              |
| `enable_nested_relations_prefetch`     | `True`  | Enable prefetch of nested relations with filters/pagination    |
| `prefetch_custom_queryset`             | `False` | Use default manager instead of base manager for prefetches     |

> [!NOTE]
> Setting `prefetch_custom_queryset=True` is useful when using `InheritanceManager` from django-model-utils,
> as it ensures the correct manager is used for polymorphic queries.

## Usage

The optimizer will try to optimize all types automatically by introspecting it.
Consider the following example:

```python title="models.py"
class Artist(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField()


class Album(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField()
    release_date = models.DateTimeField()
    artist = models.ForeignKey("Artist", related_name="albums")


class Song(models.Model):
    name = model.CharField()
    duration = models.DecimalField()
    album = models.ForeignKey("Album", related_name="songs")
```

```python title="types.py"
from strawberry import auto
import strawberry_django


@strawberry_django.type(Artist)
class ArtistType:
    name: auto
    albums: list["AlbumType"]
    albums_count: int = strawberry_django.field(annotate=Count("albums"))


@strawberry_django.type(Album)
class AlbumType:
    name: auto
    release_date: auto
    artist: ArtistType
    songs: list["SongType"]


@strawberry_django.type(Song)
class SongType:
    name: auto
    duration: auto
    album_type: AlbumType


@strawberry.type
class Query:
    artist: Artist = strawberry_django.field()
    songs: list[SongType] = strawberry_django.field()
```

Querying for `artist` and `songs` like this:

```graphql title="schema.graphql"
query {
  artist {
    id
    name
    albums {
      id
      name
      songs {
        id
        name
      }
    }
    albumsCount
  }
  song {
    id
    album {
      id
      name
      artist {
        id
        name
        albums {
          id
          name
          release_date
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Would produce an ORM query like this:

```python
# For "artist" query
Artist.objects.all().only("id", "name").prefetch_related(
    Prefetch(
        "albums",
        queryset=Album.objects
        .all()
        .only("id", "name")
        .prefetch_related(
            Prefetch(
                "songs",
                Song.objects.all().only("id", "name"),
            )
        ),
    ),
).annotate(albums_count=Count("albums"))

# For "songs" query
Song.objects.all().only(
    "id",
    "album",
    "album__id",
    "album__name",
    "album__release_date",  # Note about this below
    "album__artist",
    "album__artist__id",
).select_related(
    "album",
    "album__artist",
).prefetch_related(
    Prefetch(
        "album__artist__albums",
        Album.objects.all().only("id", "name", "release_date"),
    )
)
```

> [!NOTE]
> Even though `album__release_date` field was not selected here, it got selected
> in the prefetch query later. Since Django caches known objects, we have to select it here or
> else it would trigger extra queries latter.

## Optimization hints

Sometimes you will have a custom resolver which cannot be automatically optimized
by the extension. Take this for example:

```python title="models.py"
class OrderItem(models.Model):
    price = models.DecimalField()
    quantity = models.IntegerField()

    @property
    def total(self) -> decimal.Decimal:
        return self.price * self.quantity
```

```python title="types.py"
from strawberry import auto
import strawberry_django


@strawberry_django.type(models.OrderItem)
class OrderItem:
    price: auto
    quantity: auto
    total: auto
```

In this case, if only `total` is requested it would trigger an extra query for
both `price` and `quantity` because both had their value retrievals
[defered](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#django.db.models.query.QuerySet.defer)
by the optimizer.

A solution in this case would be to "tell the optimizer" how to optimize that field:

```python title="types.py"
from strawberry import auto
import strawberry_django


@strawberry_django.type(models.OrderItem)
class OrderItem:
    price: auto
    quantity: auto
    total: auto = strawberry_django.field(
        only=["price", "quantity"],
    )
```

Or if you are using a custom resolver:

```python title="types.py"
import decimal

from strawberry import auto
import strawberry_django


@strawberry_django.type(models.OrderItem)
class OrderItem:
    price: auto
    quantity: auto

    @strawberry_django.field(only=["price", "quantity"])
    def total(self, root: models.OrderItem) -> decimal.Decimal:
        return root.price * root.quantity  # or root.total directly
```

The following options are accepted for optimizer hints:

- `only`: a list of fields in the same format as accepted by
  [QuerySet.only()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#only)
- `select_related`: a list of relations to join using
  [QuerySet.select_related()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#select-related)
- `prefetch_related`: a list of relations to prefetch using
  [QuerySet.prefetch_related()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#prefetch-related).
  The options here are strings or a callable in the format of `Callable[[Info], Prefetch]`
  (e.g. `prefetch_related=[lambda info: Prefetch(...)]`)
- `annotate`: a dict of expressions to annotate using
  [QuerySet.annotate()](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/querysets/#annotate).
  The keys of this dict are strings,
  and each value is a [Query Expression](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.2/ref/models/expressions/)
  or a callable in the format of `Callable[[Info], BaseExpression]`
  (e.g. `annotate={"total": lambda info: Sum(...)}`)

## Optimization hints on model (ModelProperty)

It is also possible to include type hints directly in the models' `@property`
to allow it to be resolved with `auto`, while the GraphQL schema doesn't have
to worry about its internal logic.

For that this integration provides 2 decorators that can be used:

- `strawberry_django.model_property`: similar to `@property` but accepts optimization hints
- `strawberry_django.cached_model_property`: similar to `@cached_property` but accepts
  optimization hints

The example in the previous section could be written using `@model_property` like this:

```python title="models.py"
from strawberry_django.descriptors import model_property


class OrderItem(models.Model):
    price = models.DecimalField()
    quantity = models.IntegerField()

    @model_property(only=["price", "quantity"])
    def total(self) -> decimal.Decimal:
        return self.price * self.quantity
```

```python title="types.py"
from strawberry import auto
import strawberry_django


@strawberry_django.type(models.OrderItem)
class OrderItem:
    price: auto
    quantity: auto
    total: auto
```

`total` now will be properly optimized since it points to a `@model_property`
decorated attribute, which contains the required information for optimizing it.

## Optimizing polymorphic queries

The optimizer has dedicated support for polymorphic queries, that is, fields which return an interface.
The optimizer will handle optimizing any subtypes of the interface as necessary. This is supported on top level queries
as well as relations between models.
See the following sections for how this interacts with your models.

### Using Django Polymorphic

If you are already using the [Django Polymorphic](https://django-polymorphic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/) library,
polymorphic queries work out of the box.

```python title="models.py"
from django.db import models
from polymorphic.models import PolymorphicModel


class Project(PolymorphicModel):
    topic = models.CharField(max_length=255)


class ResearchProject(Project):
    supervisor = models.CharField(max_length=30)


class ArtProject(Project):
    artist = models.CharField(max_length=30)
```

```python title="types.py"
import strawberry
import strawberry_django
from . import models


@strawberry_django.interface(models.Project)
class ProjectType:
    topic: strawberry.auto


@strawberry_django.type(models.ResearchProject)
class ResearchProjectType(ProjectType):
    supervisor: strawberry.auto


@strawberry_django.type(models.ArtProject)
class ArtProjectType(ProjectType):
    artist: strawberry.auto


@strawberry.type
class Query:
    projects: list[ProjectType] = strawberry_django.field()
```

The `projects` field will return either ResearchProjectType or ArtProjectType, matching on whether it is a
ResearchProject or ArtProject. The optimizer will make sure to only select those fields from subclasses which are
requested in the GraphQL query in the same way that it does normally.

> [!WARNING]
> The optimizer does not filter your QuerySet and Django will return
> all instances of your model, regardless of whether their type exists in your GraphQL schema or not.
> Make sure you have a corresponding type for every model subclass or add a `get_queryset` method to your
> GraphQL interface type to filter out unwanted subtypes.
> Otherwise you might receive an error like
> `Abstract type 'ProjectType' must resolve to an Object type at runtime for field 'Query.projects'.`

### Using Model-Utils InheritanceManager

Models using `InheritanceManager` from [django-model-utils](https://django-model-utils.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
are also supported.

```python title="models.py"
from django.db import models
from model_utils.managers import InheritanceManager


class Project(models.Model):
    topic = models.CharField(max_length=255)

    objects = InheritanceManager()


class ResearchProject(Project):
    supervisor = models.CharField(max_length=30)


class ArtProject(Project):
    artist = models.CharField(max_length=30)
```

```python title="types.py"
import strawberry
import strawberry_django
from . import models


@strawberry_django.interface(models.Project)
class ProjectType:
    topic: strawberry.auto


@strawberry_django.type(models.ResearchProject)
class ResearchProjectType(ProjectType):
    supervisor: strawberry.auto


@strawberry_django.type(models.ArtProject)
class ArtProjectType(ProjectType):
    artist: strawberry.auto


@strawberry.type
class Query:
    projects: list[ProjectType] = strawberry_django.field()
```

The `projects` field will return either ResearchProjectType or ArtProjectType, matching on whether it is a
ResearchProject or ArtProject. The optimizer automatically calls `select_subclasses`, passing in any subtypes present
in your schema.

> [!WARNING]
> The optimizer does not filter your QuerySet and Django will return
> all instances of your model, regardless of whether their type exists in your GraphQL schema or not.
> Make sure you have a corresponding type for every model subclass or add a `get_queryset` method to your
> GraphQL interface type to filter out unwanted subtypes.
> Otherwise you might receive an error like
> `Abstract type 'ProjectType' must resolve to an Object type at runtime for field 'Query.projects'.`

> [!NOTE]
> If you have polymorphic relations (as in: a field that points to a model with subclasses), you need to make sure
> the manager being used to look up the related model is an `InheritanceManager`.
> Strawberry Django uses the model's [base manager](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.1/topics/db/managers/#base-managers)
> by default, which is different from the standard `objects`.
> Either change your base manager to also be an `InheritanceManager` or set Strawberry Django to use the default
> manager: `DjangoOptimizerExtension(prefetch_custom_queryset=True)`.

### Custom polymorphic solution

The optimizer also supports polymorphism even if your models are not polymorphic.
`resolve_type` in the GraphQL interface type is used to tell GraphQL the actual type that should be used.

```python title="models.py"
from django.db import models


class Project(models.Model):
    topic = models.CharField(max_length=255)
    supervisor = models.CharField(max_length=30)
    artist = models.CharField(max_length=30)
```

```python title="types.py"
import strawberry
import strawberry_django
from . import models


@strawberry_django.interface(models.Project)
class ProjectType:
    topic: strawberry.auto

    @classmethod
    def resolve_type(cls, value, info, parent_type) -> str:
        if not isinstance(value, models.Project):
            raise TypeError()
        if value.artist:
            return "ArtProjectType"
        if value.supervisor:
            return "ResearchProjectType"
        raise TypeError()

    @classmethod
    def get_queryset(cls, qs, info):
        return qs


@strawberry_django.type(models.ResearchProject)
class ResearchProjectType(ProjectType):
    supervisor: strawberry.auto


@strawberry_django.type(models.ArtProject)
class ArtProjectType(ProjectType):
    artist: strawberry.auto


@strawberry.type
class Query:
    projects: list[ProjectType] = strawberry_django.field()
```

> [!WARNING]
> Make sure to add `get_queryset` to your interface type, to force the optimizer to use
> `prefetch_related`, otherwise this technique will not work for relation fields.

## Temporarily Turning Off the Optimizer

You can temporarily turn off the optimizer using the `disabled()` context manager:

```python
from strawberry_django.optimizer import DjangoOptimizerExtension


def my_resolver(info):
    # Optimizer is turned off within this block
    with DjangoOptimizerExtension.disabled():
        # Manual optimization or custom logic here
        return MyModel.objects.select_related("relation").all()
```

This is useful when you need complete control over the queryset optimization.

## Troubleshooting

### Extra queries still occurring

1. **Check that the extension is enabled**: Ensure `DjangoOptimizerExtension` is in your schema's extensions list
2. **Verify field names match**: The optimizer uses field names to determine what to optimize. Ensure your GraphQL field names match the model field names or use optimization hints
3. **Check for custom resolvers**: Custom resolvers bypass automatic optimization. Use optimization hints (`only`, `select_related`, `prefetch_related`) on the field

### "Deferred field" errors

If you see errors about accessing deferred fields, it usually means a property or method needs fields that weren't selected:

```python
# Problem: total needs price and quantity, but they might not be selected
@property
def total(self):
    return self.price * self.quantity


# Solution: Use optimization hints
@strawberry_django.field(only=["price", "quantity"])
def total(self) -> Decimal:
    return self.price * self.quantity
```

### Prefetch not working for nested relations

For nested relations with filters, ordering, or pagination, ensure `enable_nested_relations_prefetch=True` (the default).

If using custom connections, note that this optimization only works automatically with `ListConnection` and `DjangoListConnection`.

### Polymorphic queries not working

1. **With InheritanceManager**: Set `prefetch_custom_queryset=True` in the extension
2. **With Django Polymorphic**: Should work out of the box
3. **Custom solution**: Implement `resolve_type` and `get_queryset` on your interface type

### Performance still slow

1. Use Django Debug Toolbar to inspect actual queries being made
2. Check if the optimizer is being bypassed by custom resolvers
3. Consider using `@strawberry_django.field(annotate=...)` for computed fields to move computation to the database

## See Also

- [Fields](./fields.md) - Field-level optimization hints
- [Pagination](./pagination.md) - Pagination with optimization
- [Relay](./relay.md) - Relay connections with optimization
