How an Intern Fixed a 3AM Production Database Deadlock

What this episode covers

In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack a specific production incident: a PostgreSQL deadlock that brought down a mid-sized SaaS platform every night at 3 AM for three weeks. They trace the root cause—an overlooked index on a foreign key column—and walk through how a summer intern identified the problem using pg_locks and a custom logging script. Along the way, they discuss why database deadlocks are notoriously hard to debug, the trade-offs between explicit and implicit locking, and why query plans can lie to you. The episode ends with a practical checklist any team can use to prevent similar late-night outages. No abstract theory—just one concrete story with takeaway lessons for engineers who manage or debug production databases. #DatabaseDeadlock #PostgreSQL #ProductionIncident #SQLDebugging #Indexing #SummerIntern #BackendEngineering #QueryPerformance #pgLocks #TransactionIsolation #ForeignKeyIndex #SleepDeprivation #OnCall #SaaS #DatabaseAdmin #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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