SQL Formatter

Goal

Writing SQL is fast, but keeping it tidy and consistent — especially in a team, or when you switch between Snowflake, PostgreSQL and T-SQL — takes time nobody has to spare. The SQL Formatter plugin adds a format button to Notepad++ that automatically indents, aligns and structures your SQL according to settings you control and can save as a profile.

The plugin is written entirely in C++ and runs as a single DLL inside Notepad++ — no Python or .NET runtime, no background process, no network traffic or telemetry. Everything happens locally, right in the editor, in milliseconds. Source fully open (MIT license) on GitHub.

Besides formatting, the plugin also converts between SQL dialects — including function names that differ per database (NVL vs. ISNULL vs. IFNULL) — and between quote, comma and casing styles. A script a Snowflake colleague sent you becomes readable, formatted T-SQL in two clicks.

What to expect

See it in action

One keystroke, from messy one-line SQL to consistently formatted output — with the default settings.

SELECT o.order_id, c.name, SUM(ol.amount) total FROM orders o JOIN customers c ON c.customer_id = o.customer_id JOIN order_lines ol ON ol.order_id = o.order_id WHERE o.status = 'active' GROUP BY o.order_id, c.name

select o.order_id
     , c.name
     , sum(ol.amount) as total
  from orders o
  join customers c
    on c.customer_id = o.customer_id
  join order_lines ol
    on ol.order_id = o.order_id
 where o.status = 'active'
 group by o.order_id
        , c.name

Usage

1. Installation

Easiest: Plugins → Plugins Admin... → search Datamodder SQL Formatter → Install. Manual install also works:

Copy the plugin DLL and help.txt to the Notepad++ plugin folder (64-bit Notepad++ required). The two files must be in the same folder:

C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\
  FormatSQL\
    FormatSQL.dll
    help.txt

2. Activate plugin

Restart Notepad++. The plugin appears automatically under Plugins → Datamodder SQL Formatter.

3. Format SQL

Open a SQL file or paste a query into a new tab. Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F or go via the menu:

Plugins → Datamodder SQL Formatter → Format SQL

Frequently asked questions