SQL Formatter — Beautify SQL Queries Online
Paste a SQL query to format it with keyword capitalisation, clause line breaks, and indentation. Supports SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, JOIN, and common DDL statements. Also minifies SQL by collapsing whitespace — useful for embedding queries in logs or code strings.
How to Format SQL
- 1Paste your SQL query into the input area
- 2Click 'Format SQL' to capitalise keywords and add clause line breaks
- 3Or click 'Minify SQL' to collapse the query into a single line
- 4Copy the result and use it in your editor, docs, or code
Key Benefits
- Capitalises SQL keywords for instant readability
- Adds line breaks before major clauses — SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN
- Indents AND / OR conditions within WHERE clauses
- Minify collapses the query for embedding in logs or strings
Frequently Asked Questions
What SQL dialects does this tool support?
This is a general-purpose formatter that handles standard ANSI SQL: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, JOINs, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, HAVING, subqueries, and common DDL statements. It does not validate dialect-specific syntax (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite). Formatting focuses on readability rather than dialect compliance — the output is safe to paste into any SQL editor.
Why does readable SQL matter?
Unformatted SQL is hard to scan, review, and debug. Consistent formatting makes WHERE conditions visible at a glance, makes JOIN chains easy to follow, and makes misplaced AND vs OR logic obvious. Most review errors in SQL stem from logic that only becomes clear once the query is properly formatted on multiple lines.
Does formatting change what my query does?
No. Formatting only changes whitespace and keyword casing — it never modifies table names, column names, string literals, or query logic. SQL is case-insensitive for keywords and whitespace-insensitive, so a formatted query executes identically to the original.
What is the difference between formatting and query optimisation?
Formatting improves human readability by adding consistent spacing and casing — it does not affect execution. Query optimisation improves execution performance: choosing the right indexes, rewriting subqueries as JOINs, avoiding SELECT *, or using query hints. Formatting is a code quality step; optimisation is a performance engineering step.
When should I minify SQL?
Minified SQL is useful when embedding queries in application logs, config files, JSON payloads, or code strings where line breaks would cause parsing issues. It is also handy for comparing two queries without whitespace noise. Minified SQL is harder to read but executes identically to the formatted version.
Can I use this for stored procedures and multi-statement scripts?
This tool is designed for single SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements. Multi-statement scripts, stored procedures with BEGIN/END blocks, and complex CTEs may not format perfectly. For those, a dedicated IDE plugin (DBeaver, pgAdmin, SQL Server Management Studio) that understands the full dialect syntax will produce more accurate results.