Laravel Read/Write Splitting & Sticky Reads | Mohamed Said [ ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MH.png) Mohamed Said Laravel Backend Engineer ](https://msaied.com) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ ](https://github.com/EG-Mohamed) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ home ](https://msaied.com) [ articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel On this page 1. [ 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 Read Problem ](#the-sticky-read-problem) 4. [ Forcing a Connection Explicitly ](#forcing-a-connection-explicitly) 5. [ Connection Pooling with PgBouncer ](#connection-pooling-with-pgbouncer) 6. [ Transactions Always Use the Write Connection ](#transactions-always-use-the-write-connection) 7. [ Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) ![Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel](https://cdn.msaied.com/232/957c64b845fcbcfced4036abb0409225.png) #laravel #database #performance #postgresql #mysql Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel ======================================================================= 18 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 Read Problem ](#the-sticky-read-problem) 4. [ 04 Forcing a Connection Explicitly ](#forcing-a-connection-explicitly) 5. [ 05 Connection Pooling with PgBouncer ](#connection-pooling-with-pgbouncer) 6. [ 06 Transactions Always Use the Write Connection ](#transactions-always-use-the-write-connection) 7. [ 07 Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) Read/Write Splitting, Connection Pooling, and Sticky Reads in Laravel --------------------------------------------------------------------- Laravel ships with first-class support for read/write connection splitting, but the defaults hide several sharp edges that only surface under replication lag or high-concurrency workloads. This article walks through the full picture: configuration, sticky-read semantics, and layering a connection pooler without breaking transactions. --- ### Configuring Read/Write Connections In `config/database.php`, any connection can declare `read` and `write` keys. Laravel merges the top-level keys into both, 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. All `SELECT` statements route to a read host; everything else goes to `write`. --- ### The Sticky Read Problem Without `'sticky' => true`, a write followed immediately by a read in the same request can return stale data because the read hits a replica that hasn't caught up yet. The `sticky` flag tells Laravel: *if this request has already used the write connection, keep using it for reads too*. ```php // Without sticky: this can return the pre-update row $user = User::find(1); $user->update(['name' => 'Alice']); $fresh = User::find(1); // may hit replica — stale! // With sticky => true: the second query also uses the write connection ``` Sticky reads are scoped to the **current request lifecycle**. They do not persist across requests, so read replicas still get the bulk of your SELECT traffic. **When to disable sticky:** Long-running queue workers that perform a write and then immediately read back the result should either use `DB::connection('write')` explicitly or rely on sticky. Disabling sticky globally to squeeze more replica usage is a common source of subtle race-condition bugs. --- ### Forcing a Connection Explicitly For critical reads after a write — think payment confirmation pages — be explicit: ```php $order = DB::connection('pgsql::write') ->table('orders') ->where('id', $orderId) ->first(); ``` Or use the Eloquent `onWriteConnection()` method available on query builders: ```php $order = Order::onWriteConnection()->find($orderId); ``` This is clearer than relying on sticky and documents intent at the call site. --- ### Connection Pooling with PgBouncer Laravel opens a new PDO connection per worker process. Under Octane or high-concurrency FPM, this can exhaust PostgreSQL's `max_connections` quickly. PgBouncer in **transaction mode** sits between Laravel and Postgres and multiplexes connections. **Critical caveat:** PgBouncer transaction mode breaks anything that relies on session-level state — `SET LOCAL`, advisory locks, `LISTEN/NOTIFY`, and prepared statements. Disable prepared statements in Laravel: ```php // config/database.php 'options' => [ PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES => true, ], ``` With `ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES`, PDO sends plain SQL rather than using the PostgreSQL wire-protocol prepare/execute cycle, which is incompatible with PgBouncer transaction mode. For MySQL, ProxySQL fills the same role. It also supports query routing rules, so you can push `SELECT` statements to replicas at the proxy layer rather than relying on Laravel's config — useful when you want to centralise routing logic outside the application. --- ### Transactions Always Use the Write Connection Laravel automatically routes all queries inside `DB::transaction()` to the write connection, regardless of the sticky flag. This is correct behavior — never wrap a read-replica query in a transaction expecting it to stay on the replica. ```php DB::transaction(function () { // Both queries hit the write connection $balance = Account::lockForUpdate()->find(42); $balance->decrement('amount', 100); }); ``` --- ### Key Takeaways - Enable `sticky => true` in production to avoid replication-lag read-after-write bugs. - Use `onWriteConnection()` or `DB::connection('pgsql::write')` when you need a guaranteed fresh read. - PgBouncer transaction mode requires `PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES => true` — missing this causes cryptic errors. - Laravel always routes transactions to the write connection; don't fight it. - ProxySQL can centralise read/write routing at the infrastructure layer, reducing per-app config drift across services. Found this useful? [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Freadwrite-splitting-connection-pooling-and-sticky-reads-in-laravel-1&text=Read%2FWrite+Splitting%2C+Connection+Pooling%2C+and+Sticky+Reads+in+Laravel) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Freadwrite-splitting-connection-pooling-and-sticky-reads-in-laravel-1) Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------- 3 questions Q01 Does Laravel's sticky option affect queue workers? Yes. If a queue worker processes a job that writes and then reads within the same job execution, sticky will route that read to the write connection. For long-lived workers this is usually desirable, but you can call DB::purge() between jobs to reset connection state if needed. Q02 Can I use PgBouncer session mode instead of transaction mode to avoid the prepared-statement issue? Session mode preserves session state and works with prepared statements, but it provides far less connection multiplexing benefit because a backend connection is held for the entire client session. For most Laravel workloads, transaction mode with emulated prepares is the right trade-off. Q03 How do I verify which connection a query is actually using? 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. You can also log DB::getDefaultReadConnection() and DB::getDefaultWriteConnection() to confirm routing. 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