SQL Formatter
Format, beautify, and highlight SQL queries with dialect support and keyword casing options.
Input
Output
Usage Tips
- Formatting: Adds line breaks, indentation, and keyword casing to make SQL readable.
- Minify: Removes comments and excess whitespace to compress SQL into a single line.
- Dialects: Choose your SQL dialect for appropriate identifier quoting style.
- Keyword case: UPPERCASE (default), lowercase, or preserve original casing.
- String safety: Content inside quotes is never modified during formatting.
- Comments: Both single-line (--) and multi-line (/* */) comments are preserved.
About SQL Formatting
SQL formatter (also called SQL beautifier) restructures minified or poorly-formatted SQL queries into clean, readable code with consistent indentation, keyword casing, and line breaks. When queries come from ORM-generated output, database logs, or minified sources, they're often compressed into a single line with inconsistent spacing—nearly impossible to read or review. A SQL formatter solves this by parsing the query structure and applying consistent formatting rules: keywords (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, etc.) are capitalized, clauses are separated onto new lines with proper indentation, and logical operators are aligned for visual clarity. Beyond readability, formatted SQL is easier to debug, explain to colleagues, and include in documentation or pull requests.
SQL formatting is essential across the development lifecycle. Developers use formatters to clean up ORM-generated queries during debugging—when Hibernate or SQLAlchemy generates a complex JOIN, formatting makes the logic visible and errors obvious. Code reviewers demand readable SQL in pull requests; unformatted SQL obscures logic and slows review. Database administrators use formatters to standardize query style across teams. Data analysts clean up exported queries from BI tools before sharing. DevOps engineers format infrastructure-as-code SQL for version control. By standardizing SQL style, teams improve collaboration, reduce bugs, and create living documentation that's easier to maintain.
Common Use Cases
- Formatting ORM-generated queries: Clean up complex SQL output from Hibernate, SQLAlchemy, Sequelize, or TypeORM so you understand what queries your ORM is actually executing.
- Standardizing SQL in code reviews: Format messy SQL before committing to version control or including in pull requests—reviewers can focus on logic, not deciphering formatting.
- Prettifying queries copied from logs: Database slow-query logs often contain minified SQL; formatting makes performance bottlenecks and missing indexes immediately visible.
- Reformatting minified queries: SQL dumped from databases, exported from BI tools, or provided by external systems is often on a single line; formatting restores readability.
How to Use This Tool
- Select mode and options: Choose Format (to prettify) or Minify (to compress). Select your SQL dialect (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, T-SQL, BigQuery, or generic). Pick keyword case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, or preserve original).
- Paste your SQL: Paste minified or poorly-formatted SQL into the input panel. The tool immediately formats and displays the result in the output panel with syntax highlighting.
- Copy and use: Copy the formatted SQL to your clipboard with one click. View statistics (line count, keyword count) before and after formatting to understand the impact.
Features
Multi-Dialect Support
Format for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, T-SQL (MSSQL), BigQuery, or generic SQL. Dialect-specific identifier quoting rules automatically applied.
Keyword Casing Control
Choose UPPERCASE (default), lowercase, or preserve original casing for keywords. Ensures consistency across your codebase.
Configurable Indentation
Select 2-space, 4-space, or tab indentation. Clauses (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN) indent consistently for visual hierarchy.
Syntax Highlighting
Output displays syntax-highlighted SQL with keywords, strings, numbers, and comments colored for easy scanning and visual verification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does formatting change the behavior of a SQL query?
No. Formatting is purely syntactic—it rearranges whitespace and casing but never modifies the query logic. The formatted query executes identically to the original, returning the same results. This is why formatting is safe to apply in all contexts.
What SQL dialects are supported?
This tool supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, T-SQL (Microsoft SQL Server), BigQuery (Google Cloud), and generic SQL. Each dialect has specific rules for identifier quoting, comments, and data types. Choose your database to ensure format correctness.
Why does my subquery look wrong after formatting?
Subqueries in parentheses may indent further than expected when nested deeply. This is intentional—deep nesting is visually represented with deeper indentation to show the query structure hierarchy. If indentation seems excessive, you can minify first to compress, then reformat with fewer spaces.
Can I use this for NoSQL queries?
This tool is SQL-specific and won't understand MongoDB, DynamoDB, or other NoSQL query languages. For JSON, use a dedicated JSON formatter. For database-specific query languages (Cypher for Neo4j, etc.), use dialect-specific formatters.