> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Top 10 Slowest SQL Queries, Databricks

> Top 10 Slowest SQL Queries for Databricks workspaces. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

**Card class:** [Non-Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained)  •  **Category:** [Performance](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type)

## At a glance

> **Top 10 Slowest SQL Queries** lists the ten longest-running SQL statements executed on your Databricks SQL warehouses in the last 24 hours, broken down by row. It is the optimisation shortlist for a DBA or analytics-engineering team: the queries at the top are where compute time, and therefore DBU spend, is concentrated, so tuning them gives the largest return.

|                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **What it tracks** | The ten SQL queries with the highest total execution duration over the last 24 hours, one row per query, ordered slowest first. Sourced from the query history API and surfaced with duration, warehouse, and the user or service principal that ran it.                   |
| **Time window**    | `24h` (trailing 24 hours, refreshed on the standard data refresh).                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| **Alert trigger**  | None. This is a ranking table for tuning, not a threshold alert. For the live latency signal use the [SQL Query Latency p95](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/databricks/sql-query-latency-p95-ms) and [Slow-Query Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/databricks/slow-query-rate) cards. |
| **Roles**          | engineering, operations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |

## What it tracks

Each row is one SQL statement and how long it took to run on a Databricks SQL warehouse. The engine reads from the warehouse query history (the `/api/2.0/sql/history/queries` endpoint, mirrored by the `system.query.history` system table), ranks by execution duration over the trailing 24 hours, and returns the slowest ten. Lakehouse SQL p95 is typically measured in seconds rather than milliseconds, so the headline figures here are usually whole seconds: a 45-second analytics query is normal, a 45-second query behind a storefront-facing lookup is not. Pair this card with [Top 10 Slowest SQL Queries](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/databricks/top-10-slowest-sql-queries)' performance siblings, the p50/p95/p99 latency cards, to tell whether a single heavy query is dragging the tail or the whole warehouse is congested, and with [DBU by Cluster (7d)](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/databricks/dbu-by-cluster-7d) to connect slow queries to the compute they burn.

## Reconciling against the source

To verify in Databricks natively, open **SQL → Query History**, sort by **Duration** descending and set the time filter to the last 24 hours, or query the `system.query.history` system table ordered by `total_duration_ms` descending. Small differences arise because Vortex IQ uses a 24-hour rolling window in your reporting time zone while the Query History UI defaults to workspace time and may page differently.

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### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

*Top 10 Slowest SQL Queries* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Databricks and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

[Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.