layout: default title: FAQ parent: About nav_order: 1

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to common questions about Doctrine Doctor.

Installation & Setup

How do I install Doctrine Doctor?

composer require --dev ahmed-bhs/doctrine-doctor

That's it! Auto-configured via Symfony Flex.

Does it work with Symfony 6, 7, and 8?

Yes! Doctrine Doctor supports:

• Symfony: 6.x, 7.x, 8.x
• PHP: 8.4+
• Doctrine ORM: 3.x, 4.x

Do I need to configure anything?

No configuration required! It works out of the box. Optional configuration available in config/packages/dev/doctrine_doctor.yaml.

Usage

Where do I see the results?

1. Load any page in dev environment
2. Open Symfony Web Profiler (bottom toolbar)
3. Click "Doctrine Doctor" panel 🩺

Can I see which line of code caused an issue?

Yes! Enable backtraces:

# config/packages/dev/doctrine.yaml
doctrine:
    dbal:
        profiling_collect_backtrace: true

How do I disable specific analyzers?

# config/packages/dev/doctrine_doctor.yaml
doctrine_doctor:
    analyzers:
        n_plus_one:
            enabled: false

Performance

Does it slow down my application?

Analysis runs in the Symfony data collector during profiling and is intended for development usage only.

Can I use it in production?

No, never! It's a dev-only tool:

• Installed with --dev flag
• Excluded from production builds
• Should be disabled in prod environment

How much overhead does it add?

Typically low overhead in dev; it should remain disabled in production.

Analyzers

How many analyzers are there?

90+ specialized analyzers across 4 categories:

• Performance (19)
• Security (4)
• Code Quality / Integrity (35)
• Configuration (8)

Can I create custom analyzers?

Yes! Implement AnalyzerInterface (query-based) or MetadataAnalyzerInterface (metadata-based) and tag with doctrine_doctor.analyzer. [See guide]({{ site.baseurl }}/contributing/creating-analyzers).

Which analyzers are most important?

Start with:

• N+1 Query Analyzer - Biggest performance impact
• Missing Index Analyzer - Critical for production
• DQL/SQL Injection - Security critical
• Slow Query Analyzer - Find bottlenecks

Troubleshooting

Panel not showing in profiler

Check:

1. You're in dev environment
2. Bundle registered in config/bundles.php
3. Run php bin/console cache:clear

No issues detected

Possible reasons:

• No queries executed on this page
• Thresholds too high
• All code is optimized! ✨

EXPLAIN queries failing

Ensure database user has SELECT permissions. Disable if needed:

doctrine_doctor:
    analyzers:
        missing_index:
            explain_queries: false

Configuration

How do I adjust sensitivity?

Lower thresholds for stricter detection:

doctrine_doctor:
    analyzers:
        n_plus_one:
            threshold: 2  # More strict (default: 5)
        slow_query:
            threshold: 50  # More strict (default: 100ms)

Can I exclude vendor entities?

Yes, enabled by default:

doctrine_doctor:
    analysis:
        exclude_third_party_entities: true

Comparison

Doctrine Doctor vs Static Analysis (PHPStan)?

Different tools, complementary:

Use both! PHPStan for code quality, Doctrine Doctor for runtime performance.

vs Symfony Profiler's Doctrine Panel?

Doctrine Doctor extends it:

Contributing

How can I contribute?

See [Contributing Guide]({{ site.baseurl }}/contributing/overview). Ways to help:

• Report bugs
• Request features
• Submit PRs
• Write documentation
• Create analyzers

Where do I report bugs?

GitHub Issues

License

Can I use it commercially?

Yes! MIT License - free for commercial use.

Can I modify it?

Yes! MIT License allows modifications and redistribution.

Still have questions? Open a discussion