MySQL Query Formatter — Beautify MySQL Queries in Your Browser

MySQL Workbench has a Beautify Query button under the SQL menu, but it has been broken for years on certain query patterns. INSERT statements with VALUES blocks larger than 100 rows tend to crash it. Subqueries inside JOIN ON clauses get the wrong indentation. And there is no way to use it without opening Workbench, which is overkill if you just want to clean up a query you copied from a Slack message.

Our formatter handles MySQL syntax in your browser. Pick the MySQL or MariaDB dialect, paste your query, and you get clean output that respects MySQL conventions — backticks stay intact, ENUM definitions format properly, and JSON path expressions do not get broken by stray spaces. No Workbench, no upload, no signup.

Why MySQL Workbench Beautify Query Falls Short for Real Work

The Beautify Query feature in MySQL Workbench was solid in 2015. It has not kept up with how people actually write MySQL today:

• Large INSERT statements crash it — anything with 100+ rows in the VALUES block tends to hang Workbench.
• Subqueries in JOIN ON get mis-indented — the inner subquery either floats unanchored or sits flush with the JOIN keyword.
• JSON path expressions get broken — column->'$.path' sometimes gets a space inserted between the column and the arrow.
• Stored procedure bodies lose nesting — nested IF/THEN/ELSE inside BEGIN/END blocks get flattened.
• Window functions added in MySQL 8.0 — Workbench's beautifier predates these and treats OVER clauses as plain text.
• It only runs inside Workbench — there is no command-line version, no web version, no way to use it without launching the full IDE.

Our formatter addresses each of these and runs in any browser tab.

MySQL and MariaDB Syntax Our Formatter Handles Cleanly

The MySQL dialect setting handles everything Workbench used to handle plus everything that has been added since:

Backtick-quoted identifiers — column names with reserved words like order, group, or desc in backticks stay intact.

JSON path expressions — column->'$.user.email' and column->>'$.tags[0]' format without breaking the path syntax.

ENUM and SET column definitions — CREATE TABLE statements with ENUM('a','b','c') get the option list on one line if short, wrapped if long.

Window functions (MySQL 8.0+) — ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY user_id ORDER BY created_at) gets readable line breaks.

Common Table Expressions (MySQL 8.0+) — WITH cte_name AS (SELECT ...) blocks format with proper spacing between CTEs.

INSERT ... ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE — the upsert pattern gets the ON DUPLICATE KEY clause on its own line, properly aligned.

Stored procedure bodies — DELIMITER //, CREATE PROCEDURE, BEGIN/END, IF/THEN/ELSEIF/ELSE/END IF, LOOP, WHILE — all the procedural constructs nest correctly.

MariaDB-specific keywords — RETURNING (MariaDB 10.5+), INTERSECT, EXCEPT, and Oracle compatibility mode constructs.

How to Format a MySQL Query in Your Browser

1. Copy your query — from Workbench, phpMyAdmin, the mysql command line, a Slack message, or anywhere else.
2. Paste it into the formatter input — handles up to ~500KB of SQL.
3. Pick MySQL or MariaDB as the dialect — for MariaDB-specific features like RETURNING, pick MariaDB. For most other queries, MySQL is fine.
4. Set indent — 2 or 4 spaces depending on your team. The MySQL community guide is split.
5. Toggle uppercase keywords — most MySQL conventions use uppercase keywords. Leave it on.
6. Click Format — output appears with syntax highlighting. Copy or download.

For DDL files (CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE), save the formatted version to your migrations directory.

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MySQL Patterns That Workbench Breaks But This Tool Handles

Large bulk inserts. An INSERT INTO events (...) VALUES (...), (...), (...), (...), (...) with 500 rows formats cleanly. Each row goes on its own line, properly aligned.

JSON column queries. SELECT id, name, JSON_EXTRACT(metadata, '$.user.id') FROM events WHERE metadata->'$.event_type' = 'purchase'. Both JSON_EXTRACT() and the arrow shorthand stay intact.

Stored procedures with deep nesting. CREATE PROCEDURE with DECLARE, IF/ELSEIF/ELSE blocks 3-4 levels deep, and EXIT HANDLER FOR clauses gets readable nesting.

Window functions for ranking. SELECT id, name, RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY department ORDER BY salary DESC) AS rank_in_dept FROM employees gets proper line breaks in the OVER clause.

UPSERT with VALUES(). INSERT INTO users (...) VALUES (...) ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE name = VALUES(name), updated_at = NOW(). The ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE block sits clearly under the INSERT.

When Workbench Beautify Is Still the Right Tool

Workbench beautify still has one advantage: it runs inside Workbench. If you are already in Workbench writing a query, switching tabs costs you flow. For these cases, Cmd+B (or whatever you have it bound to) is fine:

• Quick SELECTs with under 10 columns and no JSON.
• Iterating on a query you are still writing.
• When you want the formatted query to run immediately in the same tool.

Use our browser tool when you are about to share the query, paste it into a migration file, or post it in a code review. Anywhere the formatting matters more than the immediate execution.

Other Browser Tools MySQL Developers Use

MySQL devs spend a lot of time moving data between formats and validating things. These browser tools handle the most common tasks:

JSON formatter — when you SELECT a JSON column from MySQL 8.0, the result is a JSON string. Paste it into the JSON formatter for a readable tree view.

CSV to JSON converter — exporting a small MySQL result as CSV and need it in JSON? Use our CSV to JSON converter.

SQL diff checker — compare two versions of a MySQL query side by side using the SQL query diff tool.

Regex tester — MySQL supports REGEXP and RLIKE for pattern matching. Test patterns in our regex tester first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this formatter handle MySQL backtick identifiers?

Yes. Column and table names wrapped in backticks (commonly used to escape reserved words like order, group, desc, etc.) stay intact during formatting. The backticks are not stripped or replaced.

Will the formatter run my query against my MySQL server?

No. This is a text-only formatter that runs in your browser. It does not connect to MySQL or any database. Your query is reformatted locally and never leaves your device.

Does it support MySQL 8.0 window functions and CTEs?

Yes. Window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, DENSE_RANK, LAG, LEAD, etc.) format with proper line breaks in the OVER clause. WITH ... AS (SELECT ...) common table expressions get spacing between CTEs.

What about MariaDB-specific syntax like RETURNING?

Pick MariaDB as the dialect. The MariaDB option enables RETURNING clauses on INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE, and Oracle compatibility mode constructs available in MariaDB 10.3+.

Can I format a stored procedure with DELIMITER //?

Yes. The DELIMITER directive and the procedure body inside it format cleanly. BEGIN/END blocks, IF/THEN/ELSEIF/ELSE/END IF chains, LOOP and WHILE constructs all get proper nested indentation.