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This page shows examples of patterns that you might see in a Key Visualizer
heatmap. These patterns can help you troubleshoot specific performance
issues.
Evenly distributed usage
If a heatmap shows a fine-grained mix of dark and bright colors, then reads and
writes are evenly distributed throughout the database. This heatmap
likely represents an effective usage pattern for Datastore mode.
Sequential keys
A heatmap with a single bright diagonal line can indicate a database that uses
strictly increasing or decreasing keys. Sequential keys
are an anti-pattern that can create hotspots.
To learn more about hotspots, see the
best practices page.
When hotspotting, you might observe corresponding elevated latencies
when you compare a Ops/s metric with a latency metric.
Sudden traffic increase
A heatmap with a key range that suddenly changes from dark to bright indicates
a sudden spike in load. If Ops traffic increases faster than
Datastore mode can auto-scale resources, you might see
corresponding elevated latency metrics.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eKey Visualizer heatmaps display patterns that can help identify performance issues in your database.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEvenly distributed usage, shown by a mix of dark and bright colors, indicates effective Datastore mode usage.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSequential keys, shown as a bright diagonal line, are an anti-pattern that can cause hotspots and increased latencies.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA sudden shift from dark to bright on a heatmap shows a spike in load, which may cause increased latency if it outpaces Datastore's auto-scaling.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Heatmap patterns for entity keys\n\nThis page shows examples of patterns that you might see in a Key Visualizer\nheatmap. These patterns can help you troubleshoot specific performance\nissues.\n\nEvenly distributed usage\n------------------------\n\nIf a heatmap shows a fine-grained mix of dark and bright colors, then reads and\nwrites are evenly distributed throughout the database. This heatmap\nlikely represents an effective usage pattern for Datastore mode. \n\nSequential keys\n---------------\n\nA heatmap with a single bright diagonal line can indicate a database that uses\nstrictly increasing or decreasing keys. Sequential keys\nare an anti-pattern that can create hotspots.\nTo learn more about hotspots, see the\n[best practices page](/datastore/docs/best-practices#high_readwrite_rates_to_a_narrow_key_range).\n\nWhen hotspotting, you might observe corresponding elevated latencies\nwhen you compare a `Ops/s` metric with a latency metric. \n\nSudden traffic increase\n-----------------------\n\nA heatmap with a key range that suddenly changes from dark to bright indicates\na sudden spike in load. If `Ops` traffic increases faster than\nDatastore mode can auto-scale resources, you might see\ncorresponding elevated `latency` metrics. \n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn how to [get started with Key Visualizer](./keyvis-getting-started).\n- Find out how to [explore a heatmap in detail](./keyvis-exploring-heatmaps).\n- Read about the [metrics you can view in a heatmap](./key-visualizer#metrics).\n- Learn about [index key patterns](/firestore/docs/keyvis-patterns-index)"]]
