Stop Hacking SQL: How to Build a Scalable Query Automation System

This article explains how to replace ad-hoc SQL jobs with a small, spec-driven system.It outlines the common failure modes (UI-only jobs, copy-paste SQL, no validation/observability), defines the target state (specs in Git, templated SQL, pre-deploy validation and dry-runs, CI deployment, metrics/alerts), and gives a minimal architecture to implement it. Result: predictable costs, fewer incidents, reproducible jobs across environments.