SQL Formatter (localtools)

Lint, auto-fix and format SQL in 28 dialects with sqlfluff, and transpile between dialects with sqlglot. Runs on your machine: a one-page web UI on http://127.0.0.1:47117, plus a CLI for scripts and CI.

Install

The script installs a self-contained build (bundled Python) into ~/.localtools/sql-formatter and adds a launcher.

Use

localtools-sql-formatter opens the UI. Paste SQL or drop .sql files (several at once), pick the dialect, then:

• Lint: every violation with line:column, rule code (linked to the sqlfluff docs) and whether it can be auto-fixed. Download the report as JSON.
• Fix: the fixed SQL with a diff, Copy and Download, plus what still needs a human.
• Transpile: rewrite between dialects (e.g. T-SQL TOP/ISNULL to Postgres LIMIT/COALESCE), with notes on unsupported constructs.

Options: rule selection/exclusion (LT01,CP01, core, layout), templater (Jinja, or placeholders :name, ?, $1, %(name)s, @name), and an uploaded .sqlfluff / setup.cfg / tox.ini / pyproject.toml.

localtools-sql-formatter lint models/*.sql --dialect postgres --format json   # or human | sarif; exit 1 on violations
localtools-sql-formatter fix query.sql --dialect snowflake                     # fixed SQL to stdout
localtools-sql-formatter fix *.sql --in-place --config .sqlfluff              # rewrite files; exit 1 if anything is left
localtools-sql-formatter fix - --diff < query.sql                             # stdin, unified diff
localtools-sql-formatter transpile q.sql --read tsql --write duckdb
localtools-sql-formatter dialects | rules

API: POST /api/lint, /api/fix, /api/transpile (multipart: sql and/or file..., dialect, rules, exclude_rules, templater, config file; transpile: read, write), GET /api/meta. /api/lint with format=sarif returns SARIF 2.1.0.

Engine and why

• sqlfluff 4 (with its Rust parser, sqlfluffrs) is the most complete open-source SQL linter: dialect-aware parsing, ~70 rules, real auto-fix, Jinja/placeholder templating. Results are identical to the sqlfluff CLI with the same config (tested on TPC-H, sqlfluff's dialect fixtures, dbt's jaffle_shop and GitLab's schema).
• fix repeats sqlfluff's fix pass until nothing changes, so running it twice gives the same SQL; when sqlfluff oscillates between two layouts (it happens), the tool settles on one of them deterministically.
• sqlglot transpiles (sqlfluff cannot): it parses into an AST and regenerates SQL for 31 dialects. Output equals the python -m sqlglot --identify false CLI. It reformats in its own style, which is why lint/fix stay with sqlfluff.

Limits and safety

• The web UI/API takes up to 512 KB of SQL and about 2,000 statements per run, and each run has a 120 s deadline (sqlfluff is thorough but slow: a messy 20 KB file can take 10+ s). Every run is a separate worker process that is killed at the deadline, when the browser disconnects, or when the server exits; at most 1–4 run at once (else HTTP 503). On Linux each worker is capped at 2 GB of memory. The CLI has no size limit or deadline.
• Config files are parsed, never executed: library_path, macro/loader paths (any *_path / *_dir key), the python and dbt templaters and processes are ignored and listed in the result. sqlfluff's 20 KB "skip large file" default is off.
• Files that do not parse are not fixed (like the sqlfluff CLI); the parse error shows line and column.

Cut

• dbt templater (needs a dbt project, adapters and a database connection) and the python templater (runs code): use jinja, which provides dbt's ref/source/config builtins.
• Automatic discovery of .sqlfluff files next to the SQL: pass --config explicitly.
• winget/Homebrew/Scoop packages: Python-runtime tools ship through the install scripts and PyPI.

Update / uninstall

localtools-sql-formatter update · localtools-sql-formatter uninstall (pipx: pipx upgrade|uninstall localtools-sql-formatter).

License

MIT. Bundled components: see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.