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[ Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel ](#readwrite-splitting-connection-pooling-and-sticky-reads-in-laravel) 2. [ Configuring Read/Write Connections ](#configuring-readwrite-connections) 3. [ The Sticky Option and Why It Exists ](#the-sticky-option-and-why-it-exists) 4. [ Connection Pooling: PgBouncer and RDS Proxy ](#connection-pooling-pgbouncer-and-rds-proxy) 5. [ Forcing a Specific Connection in Eloquent ](#forcing-a-specific-connection-in-eloquent) 6. [ Takeaways ](#takeaways) ![Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel](https://cdn.msaied.com/171/92ea6daa5c8b599f43ef1c69a7c1eaa6.png) #laravel #database #performance #postgresql #mysql Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel ======================================================================= 14 Jun 2026 4 min read ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MJ.jpg) Mohamed Said Table of contents 1. [ 01 Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel ](#readwrite-splitting-connection-pooling-and-sticky-reads-in-laravel) 2. [ 02 Configuring Read/Write Connections ](#configuring-readwrite-connections) 3. [ 03 The Sticky Option and Why It Exists ](#the-sticky-option-and-why-it-exists) 4. [ 04 Connection Pooling: PgBouncer and RDS Proxy ](#connection-pooling-pgbouncer-and-rds-proxy) 5. [ 05 Forcing a Specific Connection in Eloquent ](#forcing-a-specific-connection-in-eloquent) 6. [ 06 Takeaways ](#takeaways) Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel --------------------------------------------------------------------- Scaling a Laravel application past a single database node almost always means introducing a read replica. Laravel ships with first-class support for this, but the details matter: get them wrong and you'll chase phantom bugs caused by replication lag or exhaust your connection limit under load. ### Configuring Read/Write Connections Laravel's `config/database.php` accepts a `read` and `write` key inside any connection. Both are merged with the top-level connection config, so you only override what differs. ```php 'pgsql' => [ 'driver' => 'pgsql', 'read' => [ 'host' => [ env('DB_READ_HOST_1', '10.0.1.11'), env('DB_READ_HOST_2', '10.0.1.12'), ], ], 'write' => [ 'host' => env('DB_HOST', '10.0.1.10'), ], 'sticky' => true, 'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', 'app'), 'username' => env('DB_USERNAME', 'app'), 'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD', ''), 'charset' => 'utf8', 'prefix' => '', 'schema' => 'public', ], ``` When multiple hosts are listed under `read`, Laravel picks one at random per request — a simple client-side load balancer at zero infrastructure cost. ### The Sticky Option and Why It Exists Replication is asynchronous. If you write a record and immediately read it back on a replica, the replica may not have caught up yet. Laravel's `sticky` option solves this: once a write connection is used during a request, all subsequent reads in that same request are also routed to the write connection. ```php // Without sticky=true this SELECT might miss the just-inserted row DB::table('orders')->insert(['user_id' => $userId, 'total' => 9900]); $order = DB::table('orders')->where('user_id', $userId)->latest()->first(); ``` With `sticky => true`, the second query goes to the primary. Without it, you're gambling on replication lag. **When to disable sticky:** Background jobs that only read data, reporting queries, and read-heavy API endpoints that don't write. You can force a read connection explicitly: ```php $stats = DB::connection('pgsql::read')->table('events')->count(); // Or use the query builder helper: $stats = DB::table('events')->useReadPdo()->count(); ``` `useReadPdo()` is available on the query builder and bypasses the sticky logic intentionally. ### Connection Pooling: PgBouncer and RDS Proxy PHP-FPM and Octane workers open a new PDO connection per worker (or per request under FPM). At scale this exhausts `max_connections` on PostgreSQL fast. **PgBouncer in transaction mode** is the standard fix for PostgreSQL: ```ini ; pgbouncer.ini [databases] app = host=10.0.1.10 dbname=app [pgbouncer] pool_mode = transaction max_client_conn = 2000 default_pool_size = 25 ``` Point Laravel's `write` host at PgBouncer's address. Each transaction borrows a server connection and returns it immediately — 2 000 PHP workers can share 25 real Postgres connections. **Caveats with transaction-mode pooling:** - `SET` statements and advisory locks are connection-scoped and will not survive across transactions. - Laravel's `DB::statement('SET search_path TO tenant_schema')` pattern breaks. Use the `search_path` DSN option or schema-prefix your tables instead. - Prepared statements must be disabled: set `'options' => ['PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES' => true]` in your connection config, or configure PgBouncer's `server_reset_query`. **RDS Proxy** handles MySQL and PostgreSQL and is transparent to Laravel — point your host at the proxy endpoint and it manages the pool server-side. It also handles IAM authentication and secret rotation without app changes. ### Forcing a Specific Connection in Eloquent ```php class ReportQuery { public function handle(): Collection { return Order::on('pgsql') // uses read replica via read/write split ->useReadPdo() ->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subDays(30)) ->get(); } } ``` For models that should always write to primary regardless of sticky state: ```php class AuditLog extends Model { protected $connection = 'pgsql'; // write connection explicitly } ``` ### Takeaways - Enable `sticky => true` whenever a request can write then immediately read its own data. - Use `useReadPdo()` on reporting queries to explicitly bypass sticky and reduce primary load. - PgBouncer in transaction mode dramatically reduces Postgres connection count but breaks session-level features — audit your app before enabling it. - RDS Proxy is the managed alternative; it's transparent to Laravel but adds latency on cold connections. - List multiple replica hosts in the `read` array for free client-side load balancing without a proxy. Found this useful? [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msaied.com%2Farticles%2Freadwrite-splitting-connection-pooling-and-sticky-reads-in-laravel&text=Read%2FWrite+Splitting%2C+Connection+Pooling%2C+and+Sticky+Reads+in+Laravel) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msaied.com%2Farticles%2Freadwrite-splitting-connection-pooling-and-sticky-reads-in-laravel) Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------- 3 questions Q01 Does Laravel's sticky option persist across queue jobs? No. Each queued job runs in its own bootstrapped context. The sticky flag only tracks write usage within a single HTTP request or job execution cycle, so there is no cross-job contamination. Q02 Can I use PgBouncer in session mode instead of transaction mode to avoid the SET statement problem? Yes, session mode is safer and preserves all session-level state, but it provides far less connection multiplexing — each client holds a server connection for the entire session. For most PHP-FPM setups, transaction mode with emulated prepares is the better trade-off. Q03 How do I verify which connection a query actually used? Enable the query log with DB::enableQueryLog() and inspect DB::getQueryLog(), or listen to the Illuminate\Database\Events\QueryExecuted event, which exposes the connection name on the event object. Continue reading More Articles --------------- [ View all ](https://www.msaied.com/articles) [ ![The Pipeline Pattern in Laravel: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware](https://cdn.msaied.com/172/a5dea5e84a6eab22d5d7a76869aaecb4.png) laravel design-patterns pipeline ### The Pipeline Pattern in Laravel: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware Laravel's Pipeline class is far more than the engine behind HTTP middleware. 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