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The Best Database Skills for Claude Code

2026-10-17

Database problems look alike from the outside and are completely different underneath: a slow query, a wrong schema, and a missing index are three distinct jobs.

Four skills in our directory address databases, and they split by what they are actually fixing rather than by database vendor.

The skills worth installing

database-optimizer — 9.4 · Design & Creative

Query optimization and performance across PostgreSQL and MySQL. The highest-scoring skill in this group, and the broadest — it addresses the "why is this slow" question across both engines.

sql-pro — 9.0 · Developer Tools

Query optimization, schema design, and troubleshooting. Overlaps with the optimizer but extends into schema decisions, which is a different problem: a well-indexed bad schema is still a bad schema.

postgres-pro — 8.9 · Data & Analytics

PostgreSQL-specific: query plans, replication, and operational configuration. Narrower than the two above, and worth installing only if Postgres is your database — but when it is, the operational detail matters.

sql-queries — 7.6 · Developer Tools

Natural language to SQL across BigQuery, PostgreSQL, and others. The lowest score in the group for a good reason: it solves the easiest part of the problem. Writing SQL is not usually the bottleneck; knowing whether the query is correct and efficient is.

The three questions

Most database work is one of these:

  1. "This query is slow." → database-optimizer
  2. "Is this schema right?" → sql-pro
  3. "How do I operate this database?" → postgres-pro

    4. sql-queries answers a fourth question — "write me some SQL" — which is useful for exploration and least useful for production.

    How to choose

    • Postgres shop? Add postgres-pro to whichever optimizer you pick.
    • Multiple engines? database-optimizer covers both Postgres and MySQL.
    • Designing from scratch? sql-pro.

    The data and analytics category covers the analysis side — pandas, statistics, and reporting.