SELECT u.id, u.name, u.email, o.order_id, o.total, p.product_name
FROM users u
INNER JOIN orders o
ON u.id = o.user_id
LEFT JOIN order_items oi
ON o.order_id = oi.order_id
LEFT JOIN products p
ON oi.product_id = p.id
WHERE u.active = 1
AND o.created_at > '2024-01-01'
AND o.total > 100
GROUP BY u.id, u.name, u.email
HAVING count ( o.order_id) > 3
ORDER BY o.total DESC
LIMIT 50
OFFSET 10;Why Format SQL?
Well-formatted SQL is easier to read, review, and debug. When queries span dozens of lines with multiple joins, subqueries, and conditions, consistent formatting makes the logical structure immediately apparent. Each clause on its own line, proper indentation for sub-conditions, and uppercase keywords all contribute to scannable, maintainable SQL.
Formatted SQL is also essential for code reviews. Reviewers can quickly identify missing conditions, incorrect joins, or logic errors when the query structure is visually clear rather than crammed onto one line.
SQL Formatting Conventions
Most SQL style guides agree on a few core conventions: major clauses (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY) start on new lines, sub-conditions (AND, OR) are indented under their parent clause, and keywords are uppercased to distinguish them from identifiers.
Beyond these basics, teams vary on details like leading vs. trailing commas, alignment of column aliases, and whether to put each selected column on its own line. This formatter follows the most widely adopted conventions that work well across teams and codebases.
When to Minify SQL
While formatting improves readability, there are cases where single-line SQL is preferable. ORM query builders, logging systems, and some configuration formats expect SQL on one line. Minified SQL also saves bytes in network payloads and log storage.
The minify function strips all unnecessary whitespace while preserving meaningful spaces (like between keywords and identifiers) and keeps string literals intact. You can freely switch between formatted and minified views without losing any query semantics.
SQL in Modern Development
Despite the rise of ORMs and query builders, raw SQL remains essential for complex queries, database migrations, performance tuning, and data analysis. Tools like dbt, Metabase, and Jupyter notebooks use SQL extensively.
Keeping SQL well-formatted is especially important in version-controlled projects where diffs need to be readable. A consistently formatted codebase makes pull request reviews faster and reduces merge conflicts in SQL files.
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