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SQL Formatter

SQL Formatter - a browser-based developer tools utility.

Browser tool

About SQL Formatter

Query text that arrives from an ORM, a log line or a colleague is often one long line with no structure at all. Formatting it makes the clause order, the joins and the nesting visible, which is usually enough to see what a query is actually doing before you change it. This page gives you the individual settings; the SQL Beautifier applies a preset instead, if you would rather not choose. It is free, it runs online, and it requires no sign up. The statement is reformatted locally, so production SQL never leaves your machine.

How to use it

  1. Paste the query or open a fileBoth work, and a .sql file keeps its name so the formatted download is recognisable rather than "output.sql".
  2. Pick the dialectDialects differ over quoting, functions and keywords. Choosing the one you actually use avoids the formatter mangling an identifier it does not recognise.
  3. Set indent and keyword caseMatch whatever your repository already does. Consistency matters more than the particular choice, and a diff full of reformatting hides the real change.
  4. Copy or downloadCompare view shows the before and after side by side if you want to confirm nothing but whitespace moved.

Formatting does not change meaning

Whitespace between tokens is not significant in SQL, so reformatting cannot change what a query returns. What it can change is string literals if a tool is careless with them, which is why the formatting is parser-based rather than a set of regular expressions: the parser knows a keyword inside quotes is text, not a keyword.

What it does not do

  • A query that does not parse cannot be formatted. The error names the position it stopped at, which usually points straight at the missing bracket or comma.
  • Vendor-specific extensions outside the chosen dialect may be passed through unchanged rather than aligned.
  • Very large scripts are processed in the page, so the ceiling on a multi-megabyte file is how much memory the tab can claim, not a server-side quota.

Questions people ask

Will formatting change my results?
No. Only whitespace and keyword case change, and neither affects what the database returns. Identifiers inside quotes are left exactly as written.
Which dialect should I choose?
The one your database speaks. If you are unsure, format with the default and check the output: a dialect mismatch usually shows up as a function name or a quoted identifier being broken across lines oddly.
Is my query sent anywhere?
No. Parsing and formatting both happen in your browser, which is worth knowing when the query contains table names or literals you would rather not paste into someone else’s server.

Questions about ToolsVerse itself — privacy, cost, what happens to your files — are answered in the frequently asked questions.

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