diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
index f1a8c146..0b75d6f8 100644
--- a/.jules/bolt.md
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -77,3 +77,6 @@ Optimized metric route processing to O(N) by creating a mapping of routes direct
 ## 2024-07-13 - [Optimize Export Dictionary FK lookups]
 **Learning:** Found O(N * C * E) performance bottleneck in ERD export dictionaries due to repeated array searching with `edges.some()` inside a nested loop over nodes and columns.
 **Action:** Replace repeated linear array scans for edges by precomputing O(1) Set lookups of foreign key column handles per node before looping.
+## 2024-07-29 - O(1) Handle parsing to avoid string allocations
+**Learning:** In ERD exports, repeatedly deriving column handles via string encoding (`sourceColumnHandleId`) during $O(N \times C)$ iteration or using it in $O(C)$ `.find()` lookups creates severe garbage collection pressure and CPU overhead, as it triggers Unicode decoding and hex padding string allocations for every check.
+**Action:** Always parse handles back to their original strings in $O(1)$ (`parseColumnNameFromHandle`) directly when reading edge connections, and perform native string equality comparisons instead of repeatedly encoding strings to compare against handles.
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/coverageEdges.test.ts b/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/coverageEdges.test.ts
index 0dedc39e..8af6868c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/coverageEdges.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/coverageEdges.test.ts
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe('coverage edge contracts', () => {
       { id: 'missing', source: 'missing', target: 'parent' },
       { id: 'partial-data', source: 'child', target: 'parent', data: { sourceColumns: ['parent_id'] } },
       { id: 'empty-data', source: 'child', target: 'parent', data: { sourceColumns: [], targetColumns: [] } },
-      { id: 'handles', source: 'child', target: 'parent', sourceHandle: 'src-parent_id', targetHandle: 'tgt-' },
+      { id: 'handles', source: 'child', target: 'parent', sourceHandle: 'src-c-0070-0061-0072-0065-006e-0074-005f-0069-0064', targetHandle: 'tgt-c-empty' },
     ]
 
     const dbml = exportDbml([parent, child, node('empty', '', [])], edges)
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/dbml.test.ts b/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/dbml.test.ts
index 4634f767..c5003793 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/dbml.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/__tests__/dbml.test.ts
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@ describe('exportDbml', () => {
         id: 'e1',
         source: '2',
         target: '1',
-        sourceHandle: 'src-user_id',
-        targetHandle: 'tgt-id',
+        sourceHandle: 'src-c-0075-0073-0065-0072-005f-0069-0064',
+        targetHandle: 'tgt-c-0069-0064',
         label: 'rel',
       },
     ];
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/dbml.ts b/frontend/src/erd/dbml.ts
index 4a0c2029..1bc03499 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/dbml.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/dbml.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { Node, Edge } from "@xyflow/react";
 import type { TableNodeData, ForeignKeyEdgeData } from "./convert";
+import { parseColumnNameFromHandle } from "./handleUtils";
 
 function escapeString(str: string): string {
   return str.replace(/'/g, "''");
@@ -89,8 +90,12 @@ export function exportDbml(
         sourceCols = edgeData.sourceColumns.map(safeId);
         targetCols = edgeData.targetColumns.map(safeId);
       } else if (edge.sourceHandle && edge.targetHandle) {
-         sourceCols = [safeId(edge.sourceHandle.replace('src-', ''))];
-         targetCols = [safeId(edge.targetHandle.replace('tgt-', ''))];
+         const sourceCol = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.sourceHandle);
+         const targetCol = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.targetHandle);
+         if (sourceCol != null && targetCol != null) {
+           sourceCols = [safeId(sourceCol)];
+           targetCols = [safeId(targetCol)];
+         }
       }
 
       if (sourceCols.length > 0 && targetCols.length > 0) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/export.ts b/frontend/src/erd/export.ts
index 62ce7219..32544b9a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/export.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/export.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import type { Node, Edge } from '@xyflow/react';
 import { normalizeBusinessGroupColor } from './businessGroups';
 import type { IndexRecommendation } from './cardinality';
 import type { ForeignKeyEdgeData, TableNodeData } from './convert';
-import { sourceColumnHandleId, targetColumnHandleId } from './handleUtils';
+import { sourceColumnHandleId, targetColumnHandleId, parseColumnNameFromHandle } from './handleUtils';
 
 export * from './exportDataDictionary';
 
@@ -67,12 +67,8 @@ function fkColumnsForEdge(
     return { sourceColumns, targetColumns };
   }
 
-  const sourceHandleColumn = (sourceNode.data.columns || [])
-    .find((column) => sourceColumnHandleId(column.column_name) === edge.sourceHandle)
-    ?.column_name;
-  const targetHandleColumn = (targetNode.data.columns || [])
-    .find((column) => targetColumnHandleId(column.column_name) === edge.targetHandle)
-    ?.column_name;
+  const sourceHandleColumn = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.sourceHandle);
+  const targetHandleColumn = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.targetHandle);
   if (sourceHandleColumn && targetHandleColumn) {
     return { sourceColumns: [sourceHandleColumn], targetColumns: [targetHandleColumn] };
   }
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/exportDataDictionary.ts b/frontend/src/erd/exportDataDictionary.ts
index 0111660d..88c9eec3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/exportDataDictionary.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/exportDataDictionary.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import type { Edge, Node } from '@xyflow/react';
 
 import type { ForeignKeyEdgeData, TableNodeData } from './convert';
-import { sourceColumnHandleId } from './handleUtils';
+import { parseColumnNameFromHandle } from './handleUtils';
 
 const CONTROL_TEXT_RE = /[\u0000-\u001f\u007f]+/g;
 const CSV_FORMULA_RE = /^[=+\-@]/;
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ function sourceColumnsForEdge(edge: Edge): Set<string> {
 
 type ForeignKeyNodeInfo = {
   columns: Set<string>;
-  handles: Set<string>;
 };
 
 function foreignKeyColumnsByNode(edges: Edge[]): Map<string, ForeignKeyNodeInfo> {
@@ -50,7 +49,7 @@ function foreignKeyColumnsByNode(edges: Edge[]): Map<string, ForeignKeyNodeInfo>
   for (const edge of edges) {
     let info = map.get(edge.source);
     if (!info) {
-      info = { columns: new Set<string>(), handles: new Set<string>() };
+      info = { columns: new Set<string>() };
       map.set(edge.source, info);
     }
 
@@ -59,7 +58,10 @@ function foreignKeyColumnsByNode(edges: Edge[]): Map<string, ForeignKeyNodeInfo>
     }
 
     if (edge.sourceHandle) {
-      info.handles.add(edge.sourceHandle);
+      const parsedCol = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.sourceHandle);
+      if (parsedCol) {
+        info.columns.add(parsedCol);
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -74,12 +76,7 @@ function isForeignKeyColumn(
   const info = edgeColumnsByNode.get(node.id);
   if (!info) return false;
 
-  if (info.columns.has(columnName)) {
-    return true;
-  }
-
-  const handleId = sourceColumnHandleId(columnName);
-  return info.handles.has(handleId);
+  return info.columns.has(columnName);
 }
 
 function exampleValue(value: TableNodeData['columns'][number]['example_value']): string {
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.test.ts b/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.test.ts
index 0278739e..a23d0c64 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
-import { sanitizeHandleId, sourceColumnHandleId, targetColumnHandleId } from './handleUtils';
+import { sanitizeHandleId, sourceColumnHandleId, targetColumnHandleId, parseColumnNameFromHandle } from './handleUtils';
 
 describe('handleUtils', () => {
   describe('sanitizeHandleId', () => {
@@ -35,4 +35,46 @@ describe('handleUtils', () => {
       expect(targetColumnHandleId('id')).toBe('tgt-c-0069-0064');
     });
   });
+
+  describe('parseColumnNameFromHandle', () => {
+    it('should parse simple ascii string from src handle', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('src-c-0069-0064')).toBe('id');
+    });
+
+    it('should parse simple ascii string from tgt handle', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('tgt-c-0069-0064')).toBe('id');
+    });
+
+    it('should parse simple ascii string from raw handle', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('c-0069-0064')).toBe('id');
+    });
+
+    it('should parse empty string handle', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('c-empty')).toBe('');
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('src-c-empty')).toBe('');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle special characters', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('c-0075-0073-0065-0072-005f-0069-0064')).toBe('user_id');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle unicode characters', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('c-0069-0064-005f-ac00')).toBe('id_가');
+    });
+
+    it('should handle emojis', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('c-0069-0064-005f-1f680')).toBe('id_🚀');
+    });
+
+    it('should return null for invalid handles', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle(null)).toBeNull();
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle(undefined)).toBeNull();
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('')).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('should return raw string for legacy unencoded handles', () => {
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('invalid-format')).toBe('invalid-format');
+      expect(parseColumnNameFromHandle('src-invalid-format')).toBe('invalid-format');
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.ts b/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.ts
index 054d5ab2..2e19367f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/handleUtils.ts
@@ -14,3 +14,26 @@ export function sourceColumnHandleId(columnName: string): string {
 export function targetColumnHandleId(columnName: string): string {
   return `tgt-${sanitizeHandleId(columnName)}`
 }
+
+export function parseColumnNameFromHandle(handleId: string | null | undefined): string | null {
+  if (!handleId) return null;
+
+  let encoded = handleId;
+  if (encoded.startsWith('src-')) encoded = encoded.slice(4);
+  else if (encoded.startsWith('tgt-')) encoded = encoded.slice(4);
+
+  if (!encoded.startsWith('c-')) {
+    // For tests or legacy handles that might not have the c- prefix encoding
+    return encoded;
+  }
+  encoded = encoded.slice(2);
+
+  if (encoded === 'empty') return '';
+  if (!encoded) return '';
+
+  try {
+    return encoded.split('-').map(hex => String.fromCodePoint(parseInt(hex, 16))).join('');
+  } catch (e) {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/erd/mermaid.ts b/frontend/src/erd/mermaid.ts
index 6e77a9bc..6a84e807 100644
--- a/frontend/src/erd/mermaid.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/erd/mermaid.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { Node, Edge } from "@xyflow/react";
 import type { TableNodeData } from "./convert";
-import { sanitizeHandleId } from "./handleUtils";
+import { parseColumnNameFromHandle } from "./handleUtils";
 
 function sanitizeString(str: string): string {
   if (!str) return "";
@@ -29,14 +29,16 @@ export function exportMermaid(
   const fkNodesWithoutHandles = new Set<string>();
 
   for (const edge of edges) {
-    if (edge.sourceHandle?.startsWith("src-")) {
-      fkNodeColumnPairs.add(`${edge.source}:${edge.sourceHandle.slice(4)}`);
-    } else if (!edge.sourceHandle) {
+    if (edge.sourceHandle) {
+      const parsed = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.sourceHandle);
+      if (parsed) fkNodeColumnPairs.add(`${edge.source}:${parsed}`);
+    } else {
       fkNodesWithoutHandles.add(edge.source);
     }
 
-    if (edge.targetHandle?.startsWith("tgt-")) {
-      fkNodeColumnPairs.add(`${edge.target}:${edge.targetHandle.slice(4)}`);
+    if (edge.targetHandle) {
+      const parsed = parseColumnNameFromHandle(edge.targetHandle);
+      if (parsed) fkNodeColumnPairs.add(`${edge.target}:${parsed}`);
     }
   }
 
@@ -48,10 +50,9 @@ export function exportMermaid(
       let modifiers = "";
       if (col.is_pk) modifiers += " PK";
 
-      const safeId = sanitizeHandleId(col.column_name);
       // ⚡ Bolt: O(1) lookups instead of O(E) array search for every column
       const isFk =
-        fkNodeColumnPairs.has(`${node.id}:${safeId}`) ||
+        fkNodeColumnPairs.has(`${node.id}:${col.column_name}`) ||
         (fkNodesWithoutHandles.has(node.id) && node.data.badges?.fk);
 
       if (isFk && !col.is_pk) modifiers += " FK";