# Steps that wait for no reason

Prompt · Performance and scale · P02

Finds steps that wait for each other to finish when they could run at the same time.

## Prompt

```text
Find all hot paths where independent asynchronous operations run sequentially. Establish which can safely run concurrently without violating ordering, rate limits, or transaction boundaries.
```

**What it returns:** Each chain with the operations, why they are independent, and a before/after timing on a realistic input.

**Skip it when:** Paths that run once a day or already finish in a few milliseconds.

**Tools:** Repository; a timing script to measure the result afterward.

**Watch for:** Agents wrap awaits in Promise.all without noticing they share one database transaction or hit a rate-limited API. Check transactions, rate limits and pool sizes before changing anything.

**Changes:** Changes nothing

**Sessions:** One session

## Skills

- [diagnosing-bugs](https://atlasscope.dev/skills/diagnosing-bugs): Diagnosis loop for hard bugs and performance regressions.

## Related

- [Parallel work with no limit](https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/parallel-work-with-no-limit): Finds work run in parallel with no limit, which can swamp the database connections or an outside service.
- [Code that relies on lucky timing](https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/code-that-relies-on-lucky-timing): Finds code that only works because things usually happen in the right order.
- [Reproduce, measure, prove](https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/reproduce-measure-prove)

Source: https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/steps-that-wait-for-no-reason