SQL formatter

What is SQL formatting?

SQL formatting — sometimes called SQL beautifying or SQL pretty-printing — transforms compressed or inconsistently styled queries into clean, readable code. It applies consistent indentation, line breaks, and keyword casing so the logical structure of a query is immediately visible.

This matters more than it sounds. Poorly formatted SQL hides bugs, makes code reviews slower, and creates friction every time a teammate opens a query they didn't write. A formatter removes that friction in seconds.

When to use a SQL formatter

• Cleaning up auto-generated or ORM-produced queries before committing them
• Standardizing query style across a team, codebase, or wiki
• Making complex joins, subqueries, and CTEs easier to scan
• Preparing SQL snippets for documentation, pull requests, or Slack messages
• Reformatting one-liner queries from application logs into something readable

How the formatter handles different dialects

Each SQL dialect has its own reserved words, quoting conventions, and syntax quirks. This tool parses your query using dialect-specific grammar rules — so PostgreSQL-specific syntax like ILIKE or BigQuery's backtick-quoted identifiers are handled correctly instead of being treated as generic tokens.

From formatted SQL to instant charts

If you're writing and formatting SQL for analytics and reporting, Basedash can skip that entire step. Describe the chart or metric you want in plain English, and Basedash writes the SQL, runs it against your actual data, and renders the visualization — all in seconds. It connects to PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Snowflake, and 750+ other data sources.