Optimize end-to-end application performance with profiling, observability, and backend/frontend tuning. Use when coordinating performance optimization across the stack.
Optimize application performance end-to-end using specialized performance and optimization agents:
[Extended thinking: This workflow orchestrates a comprehensive performance optimization process across the entire application stack. Starting with deep profiling and baseline establishment, the workflow progresses through targeted optimizations in each system layer, validates improvements through load testing, and establishes continuous monitoring for sustained performance. Each phase builds on insights from previous phases, creating a data-driven optimization strategy that addresses real bottlenecks rather than theoretical improvements. The workflow emphasizes modern observability practices, user-centric performance metrics, and cost-effective optimization strategies.]
Use this skill when
Coordinating performance optimization across backend, frontend, and infrastructure
Establishing baselines and profiling to identify bottlenecks
Designing load tests, performance budgets, or capacity plans
Building observability for performance and reliability targets
Do not use this skill when
The task is a small localized fix with no broader performance goals
There is no access to metrics, tracing, or profiling data
The request is unrelated to performance or scalability
Instructions
Confirm performance goals, constraints, and target metrics.
Establish baselines with profiling, tracing, and real-user data.
Execute phased optimizations across the stack with measurable impact.
Validate improvements and set guardrails to prevent regressions.
Safety
Avoid load testing production without approvals and safeguards.
Roll out performance changes gradually with rollback plans.
Phase 1: Performance Profiling & Baseline
1. Comprehensive Performance Profiling
Use Task tool with subagent_type="performance-engineer"
Prompt: "Profile application performance comprehensively for: $ARGUMENTS. Generate flame graphs for CPU usage, heap dumps for memory analysis, trace I/O operations, and identify hot paths. Use APM tools like DataDog or New Relic if available. Include database query profiling, API response times, and frontend rendering metrics. Establish performance baselines for all critical user journeys."
Use Task tool with subagent_type="observability-engineer"
Prompt: "Assess current observability setup for: $ARGUMENTS. Review existing monitoring, distributed tracing with OpenTelemetry, log aggregation, and metrics collection. Identify gaps in visibility, missing metrics, and areas needing better instrumentation. Recommend APM tool integration and custom metrics for business-critical operations."
Use Task tool with subagent_type="performance-engineer"
Prompt: "Analyze user experience metrics for: $ARGUMENTS. Measure Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS), page load times, time to interactive, and perceived performance. Use Real User Monitoring (RUM) data if available. Identify user journeys with poor performance and their business impact."
Context: Performance baselines from step 1
Output: UX performance report, Core Web Vitals analysis, user impact assessment
Phase 2: Database & Backend Optimization
4. Database Performance Optimization
Use Task tool with subagent_type="database-cloud-optimization::database-optimizer"
Prompt: "Optimize database performance for: $ARGUMENTS based on profiling data: {context_from_phase_1}. Analyze slow query logs, create missing indexes, optimize execution plans, implement query result caching with Redis/Memcached. Review connection pooling, prepared statements, and batch processing opportunities. Consider read replicas and database sharding if needed."
Context: Performance bottlenecks from phase 1
Output: Optimized queries, new indexes, caching strategy, connection pool configuration
5. Backend Code & API Optimization
Use Task tool with subagent_type="backend-development::backend-architect"
Prompt: "Optimize backend services for: $ARGUMENTS targeting bottlenecks: {context_from_phase_1}. Implement efficient algorithms, add application-level caching, optimize N+1 queries, use async/await patterns effectively. Implement pagination, response compression, GraphQL query optimization, and batch API operations. Add circuit breakers and bulkheads for resilience."
Context: Database optimizations from step 4, profiling data from phase 1
Output: Optimized backend code, caching implementation, API improvements, resilience patterns
6. Microservices & Distributed System Optimization
Use Task tool with subagent_type="performance-engineer"
Prompt: "Optimize distributed system performance for: $ARGUMENTS. Analyze service-to-service communication, implement service mesh optimizations, optimize message queue performance (Kafka/RabbitMQ), reduce network hops. Implement distributed caching strategies and optimize serialization/deserialization."
Context: Backend optimizations from step 5
Output: Service communication improvements, message queue optimization, distributed caching setup
Phase 3: Frontend & CDN Optimization
7. Frontend Bundle & Loading Optimization
Use Task tool with subagent_type="frontend-developer"
Prompt: "Optimize frontend performance for: $ARGUMENTS targeting Core Web Vitals: {context_from_phase_1}. Implement code splitting, tree shaking, lazy loading, and dynamic imports. Optimize bundle sizes with webpack/rollup analysis. Implement resource hints (prefetch, preconnect, preload). Optimize critical rendering path and eliminate render-blocking resources."
Context: UX analysis from phase 1, backend optimizations from phase 2
Output: Optimized bundles, lazy loading implementation, improved Core Web Vitals
8. CDN & Edge Optimization
Use Task tool with subagent_type="cloud-infrastructure::cloud-architect"
Prompt: "Optimize CDN and edge performance for: $ARGUMENTS. Configure CloudFlare/CloudFront for optimal caching, implement edge functions for dynamic content, set up image optimization with responsive images and WebP/AVIF formats. Configure HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, implement Brotli compression. Set up geographic distribution for global users."
Use Task tool with subagent_type="frontend-mobile-development::mobile-developer"
Prompt: "Optimize mobile experience for: $ARGUMENTS. Implement service workers for offline functionality, optimize for slow networks with adaptive loading. Reduce JavaScript execution time for mobile CPUs. Implement virtual scrolling for long lists. Optimize touch responsiveness and smooth animations. Consider React Native/Flutter specific optimizations if applicable."
Use Task tool with subagent_type="performance-engineer"
Prompt: "Conduct comprehensive load testing for: $ARGUMENTS using k6/Gatling/Artillery. Design realistic load scenarios based on production traffic patterns. Test normal load, peak load, and stress scenarios. Include API testing, browser-based testing, and WebSocket testing if applicable. Measure response times, throughput, error rates, and resource utilization at various load levels."
Context: All optimizations from phases 1-3
Output: Load test results, performance under load, breaking points, scalability analysis
11. Performance Regression Testing
Use Task tool with subagent_type="performance-testing-review::test-automator"
Prompt: "Create automated performance regression tests for: $ARGUMENTS. Set up performance budgets for key metrics, integrate with CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions or similar. Create Lighthouse CI tests for frontend, API performance tests with Artillery, and database performance benchmarks. Implement automatic rollback triggers for performance regressions."
Context: Load test results from step 10, baseline metrics from phase 1
Output: Performance test suite, CI/CD integration, regression prevention system
Phase 5: Monitoring & Continuous Optimization
12. Production Monitoring Setup
Use Task tool with subagent_type="observability-engineer"
Prompt: "Implement production performance monitoring for: $ARGUMENTS. Set up APM with DataDog/New Relic/Dynatrace, configure distributed tracing with OpenTelemetry, implement custom business metrics. Create Grafana dashboards for key metrics, set up PagerDuty alerts for performance degradation. Define SLIs/SLOs for critical services with error budgets."
Context: Performance improvements from all previous phases
