debug-production-readonly-db

name	debug-production-readonly-db
description	Query production data read-only for debugging via the production_readonly database alias. Use when debugging with production data, inspecting production state in Django shell, or when the user mentions production_readonly, read-only database, or querying production for debugging.

Debugging with production_readonly Database

The project has a second database alias production_readonly (see backend/app/settings.py). It uses a read-only MySQL user: query real production data for debugging; never write to it.

When to use

• Inspecting production-like data in Django shell or one-off scripts
• Reproducing bugs against real data without touching production writes
• Comparing behavior between default DB and production state

How to query

Use .using("production_readonly") on querysets:

from eveonline.models import Character

Character.objects.using("production_readonly").filter(user_id=123)
Character.objects.using("production_readonly").first()

Raw SQL:

from django.db import connections
cursor = connections["production_readonly"].cursor()
cursor.execute("SELECT id, character_name FROM eveonline_character LIMIT 5")
cursor.fetchall()

Rules

• Never create/update/delete via production_readonly. The DB user has only SELECT; writes are not allowed.
• Keep default for normal reads/writes; use production_readonly only when explicitly reading production data.
• In shell: pipenv run python manage.py shell then .using("production_readonly") as above.

Configuration

Env vars (no credentials in code):

• DB_READONLY_USER, DB_READONLY_PASSWORD — read-only MySQL user
• DB_READONLY_HOST, DB_READONLY_PORT — optional; default to DB_HOST / DB_PORT

Same database name as default (DB_NAME); host is typically production or a read replica.