haskell-beam/beam

Benchmark build time of user code

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#824 opened on Jul 20, 2026

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enhancementhelp wanted

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Description

Following the publication of Scarf moving away from Haskell, discussions mentioned that type-family-heavy code, like code using beam, can build slowly.

I personally think that the tradeoff for this slower compilation is much, much more safety when interacting with the database. However, if we can preserve this safety and improve build times, we should!

This ticket is about creating a benchmark for building a beam-based application. Improvements to build times can follow separately.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Create a sample beam application and measure its build time using tools like 'cabal build benchmark'. Set up a reproducible benchmark script.
Tech stack
haskell
Domain
backenddatabase
Issue type
Test
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
Haskell
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
65