SQL Formatter

What is SQL Formatter?

The SQL Formatter rewrites SQL with each clause on its own line and its contents indented, making long queries readable. Pick the dialect so vendor-specific syntax (backticks, :: casts, TOP, QUALIFY…) is understood, and choose upper, lower or preserved keyword case.

How to use SQL Formatter

1. Select the SQL dialect (for example MySQL or PostgreSQL).
2. Choose Keyword case and Indentation.
3. Paste your query into the input box.
4. Click Format (the output also updates while you type) and copy the result.

Example

select id,name from users where active=1 order by name

SELECT
  id,
  name
FROM
  users
WHERE
  active = 1
ORDER BY
  name

Dialect MySQL, keywords UPPERCASE, 2 spaces.

When to use SQL Formatter

Use it for reading queries from logs or ORMs, preparing SQL for code review or documentation. It does not validate table or column names and does not execute anything. Procedural code (PL/SQL blocks, T-SQL procedures) is formatted on a best-effort basis.

How SQL Formatter works

Formatting is done by the sql-formatter library. It tokenizes the query with the selected dialect's rules (quotes, comments, parameters, operators), parses it into clauses and expressions, then prints SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY and other clauses on separate lines with their items indented. Keyword case is applied only to reserved words; identifiers and string literals are never changed. Parse errors show the line and column.

Common Use Cases

• ✓ Reading a long one-line query from an application log
• ✓ Formatting SQL generated by an ORM
• ✓ Applying uppercase keywords before code review
• ✓ Preparing readable SQL for documentation

FAQs

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