SQL Stylist — VS Code Formatter for T‑SQL

An opinionated formatter that gets your .sql files to look like the way I usually send them: UPPERCASE keywords, clean indentation, optional AS alignment, and block‑style comments.

Quick Start

1. Create the project

mkdir sql-stylist && cd sql-stylist
# drop the files from this repo into this folder
npm i
npm run compile

2. Run in VS Code

• Open this folder in VS Code.
• Press F5 (Run → Start Debugging) to launch an Extension Development Host.
• Open any .sql file there and run Format Document.

3. Make it your default SQL formatter

• In the Extension Host window: Command Palette → Preferences: Open Settings (JSON) and add:

{
  "editor.defaultFormatter": "your-name.sql-stylist",
  "[sql]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "your-name.sql-stylist",
    "editor.formatOnSave": true
  },
  "sqlStylist.convertLineCommentsToBlock": true,
  "sqlStylist.alignAs": false
}

4. Package to VSIX (optional)

npm run package
# then install the .vsix in VS Code (Extensions → … → Install from VSIX)

Options

• sqlStylist.keywordCase — upper | lower | preserve (default: upper)
• sqlStylist.tabWidth — spaces per indent (default: 4)
• sqlStylist.linesBetweenQueries — blank lines between queries (default: 2)
• sqlStylist.convertLineCommentsToBlock — turn -- comment-only lines into /* ... */ (default: true)
• sqlStylist.alignAs — pad spaces to align AS in SELECT lists (naive; off by default)

Notes & Limitations

• Uses sql-formatter under the hood with the transactsql dialect.
• alignAs is a simple text pass that works best when sql-formatter has put one select item per line.
• Comment conversion only targets comment-only lines. Inline -- after code are left as-is.

Dev Tips

• See logs in View → Output → SQL Stylist.