Triaging Live Sql Activity

---
name: triaging-live-sql-activity
description: Diagnoses live CockroachDB cluster performance issues by identifying long-running queries, busy sessions, and active transactions using SQL-only interfaces. Use when users report cluster slowness, high CPU, or need to find runaway queries and their source applications without DB Console access.
compatibility: Requires SQL access with VIEWACTIVITY or VIEWACTIVITYREDACTED cluster privilege for cluster-wide visibility.
metadata:
  author: cockroachdb
  version: "1.0"
---

# Triaging Live SQL Activity

Diagnoses live cluster performance issues by identifying currently active long-running queries, busy sessions, and active transactions. Uses SQL-only interfaces (SHOW statements and `crdb_internal` views) to provide immediate triage without requiring DB Console, HTTP endpoints, or Prometheus access.

## When to Use This Skill

- Users report "the cluster is slow right now"
- High CPU or memory usage on cluster nodes
- Need to identify runaway queries or stuck transactions
- Want to find which applications/users are consuming resources
- Require immediate triage without DB Console access
- Need to generate SQL to cancel problematic sessions/queries

**For historical performance analysis:** Use [profiling-statement-fingerprints](../profiling-statement-fingerprints/SKILL.md) to analyze query patterns over time, identify slow fingerprints, and investigate trends without needing live queries.
**For transaction-level analysis:** Use [profiling-transaction-fingerprints](../profiling-transaction-fingerprints/SKILL.md) to analyze historical transaction retry patterns, commit latency trends, and statement composition.
**For background job monitoring:** Use [monitoring-background-jobs](../monitoring-background-jobs/SKILL.md) to monitor schema changes, backups, and automatic jobs that don't appear in SHOW CLUSTER STATEMENTS.