SQL Formatter
Format and beautify SQL queries online. Supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, T-SQL, and standard SQL. Free SQL beautifier.
What is SQL Formatter?
A SQL formatter takes dense, unformatted SQL queries and reformats them with proper indentation, line breaks, and keyword capitalization for readability. Complex SQL queries — especially those with multiple JOINs, subqueries, CASE statements, and CTEs (Common Table Expressions) — become nearly impossible to understand when written as a single line. This tool structures them visually so the logical flow is clear, making code review, debugging, and optimization significantly easier.
How It Works
Paste your SQL query and select the dialect (Standard SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or T-SQL). The tool parses the SQL syntax, identifies keywords (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN, etc.), and applies consistent formatting rules: major keywords start new lines, sub-clauses are indented, long expressions are wrapped, and keywords are uppercased for distinction from identifiers. The formatter handles subqueries, CTEs, UNION/INTERSECT, window functions, and all standard SQL constructs while preserving the query's logical meaning exactly.
Examples
SELECT u.name, o.total FROM users u JOIN orders o ON u.id=o.user_id WHERE o.total>100 ORDER BY o.total DESC
SELECT u.name, o.total FROM users u JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id WHERE o.total > 100 ORDER BY o.total DESC
Tips & Best Practices
Uppercase SQL keywords (SELECT, FROM, WHERE) and lowercase identifiers to visually distinguish structure from data.
Each JOIN should start on its own line for readability. The ON clause can stay on the same line for simple conditions.
CTE (WITH clauses) should be formatted with the CTE name and AS on one line, the query body indented below.
Common Use Cases
- •Making complex analytical queries readable for code review and team collaboration
- •Formatting auto-generated SQL from ORMs or query builders for debugging purposes
- •Standardizing SQL formatting across a codebase for consistency and maintainability
- •Cleaning up legacy queries before optimization to understand their structure
- •Preparing SQL examples for documentation, tutorials, and technical blog posts
- •Formatting stored procedures and views for better readability in database management
Frequently Asked Questions
What SQL dialects are supported?▼
Standard SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and T-SQL (Microsoft SQL Server).
Does formatting change what my query does?▼
No. Only whitespace and line breaks are altered, so the query is semantically identical. The one thing to watch is string literals and comments, whose contents are preserved exactly and must not be reflowed.
Which SQL dialects are supported?▼
The common ones — standard SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server (T-SQL), SQLite and BigQuery. Dialect matters because each has its own keywords and quoting rules: MySQL uses backticks for identifiers, SQL Server uses square brackets, and PostgreSQL uses double quotes.
Why are keywords uppercased?▼
It is a long-standing convention that makes the structure of a query scannable: uppercase `SELECT`, `FROM` and `WHERE` stand out from lowercase table and column names. SQL keywords are not case-sensitive, so this is purely for readability.
Can it format a query containing placeholders or template variables?▼
Named and positional placeholders such as `?`, `$1` and `:name` are handled normally. Template syntax from an application layer — Jinja tags, ORM interpolation or string concatenation — is not valid SQL and may confuse the parser. Format the finished SQL rather than the template.
Does formatting help query performance?▼
Not directly; the database planner ignores whitespace entirely. It helps indirectly, because a readable query is one where you can actually see a missing join condition or an accidental cross join. For real performance work, read the `EXPLAIN` output.
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