SQL Formatter

SQL Formatter is a free browser-based tool that reformats raw or unindented SQL queries into clean, structured, and readable code. SQL queries written by hand often become long one-liners, especially when copied from application logs, ORM output, or code strings. This tool restores proper formatting with keywords capitalised, clauses on separate lines, and subqueries indented.

Structured Query Language (SQL) is the standard language for communicating with relational databases including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, and Oracle. While SQL itself is whitespace-insensitive, formatted queries are dramatically easier to read, review, and debug. Complex queries involving multiple JOINs, subqueries, CTEs (Common Table Expressions), and window functions are especially difficult to parse without proper indentation.

The formatter handles all major SQL statement types: SELECT queries with joins and aggregations, INSERT and UPDATE statements, CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE DDL statements, stored procedures, and multi-statement scripts. Keywords like SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, and HAVING are placed on separate lines and aligned for maximum clarity.

Database developers use SQL formatters when debugging query plans, writing documentation, conducting code reviews, or extracting queries from application logs where all formatting has been stripped. Data analysts use them to make complex analytical queries readable before sharing them with team members or stakeholders.

The tool can also minify SQL by removing all unnecessary whitespace, useful when embedding queries as strings in application code where indentation would cause issues or add unnecessary characters.

One of the most common use cases is formatting ORM-generated queries. When an ORM like Hibernate, SQLAlchemy, or ActiveRecord executes a query, it often logs a single-line unformatted SQL string. Pasting that string here instantly reveals the structure of the query for debugging.

All processing happens in your browser — no SQL is sent to any server. This means you can safely format queries that contain sensitive table names, column names, or data without any privacy risk.