Add an evidence-based Query Loop configuration audit #215

Summary

Add a read-only audit that inventories WordPress Query Loop block configurations and flags only evidence-based risk patterns.

This is a 2.0.0 advanced diagnostic layer, not a query profiler. It must distinguish static configuration findings from measured runtime behavior and must never rewrite content automatically.

Customer value

Non-technical owners can identify potentially expensive listing configurations and understand what to review, while advanced users receive the exact configuration evidence behind each recommendation.

Proposed scope

• Inventory Query Loop blocks from bounded public content and relevant block templates.
• Record safe configuration facts such as inheritance, post type, items per page, offset, ordering, sticky behavior, taxonomy filters, and pagination.
• Define conservative risk rules, for example unusually high item counts, large offsets, expensive ordering choices, or repeated similar loops on one view.
• Show the content/template reference, detected configuration, confidence, and a plain-language review action.
• Link to runtime slow-query evidence only when a separate bounded measurement exists.

Safety and scalability requirements

• Parse block attributes through WordPress block APIs; do not execute frontend queries to inventory configuration.
• Do not store post content, rendered HTML, raw SQL, private query parameters, or visitor data.
• Exclude or redact private content references unless the current administrator can access them.
• Scan in bounded batches with resumable progress and explicit refresh.
• Never edit blocks, templates, query arguments, or database indexes automatically.

Acceptance criteria

• A technical design lists supported attributes, risk rules, confidence levels, scan boundaries, exclusions, and copy.
• Findings clearly say configuration audit and never imply measured slowness without runtime evidence.
• Each finding links to an accessible owner review path and explains why it was flagged.
• Unsupported or dynamic query variations report not assessed rather than a guessed result.
• Scans are bounded, resumable, permission checked, and safe for multisite and large content sets.
• Tests cover inherited queries, custom post types, pagination, offsets, taxonomy filters, repeated loops, templates, private content, malformed blocks, and no-query-loop sites.
• No content is modified by the audit.

Validation and proof

• Fixture matrix for common and high-risk-looking configurations.
• Collection time and peak-memory benchmark on a high-content fixture.
• Desktop and narrow-width screenshots for no findings, findings, partial scan, and unsupported states.
• Security review of content references and permissions.
• Standard hosted checks remain green.

Dependencies

• Depends on Define a local site baseline inventory for performance guidance #214 for bounded content and post-type context.
• Research local slow query analysis and EXPLAIN-based guidance #185 owns temporary runtime query sampling and EXPLAIN research.
• Add plugin impact report for runtime and asset pressure #182 owns plugin-level impact attribution.
• Add Performance Health Dashboard with actionable optimization guidance #178 may summarize findings without duplicating the audit.

Non-goals

• Query execution tracing or database index recommendations.
• Automatic block edits.
• Declaring a Query Loop slow based only on its existence.
• Supporting every third-party query block in the first version.

Target and decision

• Target release: 2.0.0 advanced performance intelligence.
• Implementation base: release/2.0.0.