Oracle SQL Developer for VS Code

About Oracle SQL Developer for VS Code

The de facto standard for Oracle Database development and administration tools is now fully integrated into Visual Studio Code.

Oracle SQL Developer for VS Code brings familiar SQL Developer workflows to experienced Oracle Database users who want to stay inside VS Code. Execute SQL queries and scripts, build and debug PL/SQL, manage schema objects, inspect performance, administer users and roles, and work with Oracle APEX application source from one workspace.

The extension also integrates with Oracle SQLcl, Oracle's command-line interface and MCP Server for Oracle Database. Use SQLcl from an integrated terminal, run SQL and PL/SQL from your editor, and make SQL Developer database connections available to GitHub Copilot and other MCP-compatible VS Code extensions.

Product updates are delivered quarterly, adding capabilities from SQL Developer Classic along with new features that take advantage of the VS Code platform.

Getting Started

Install SQL Developer for VS Code by clicking the Install button above.

Complete Feature List

• Oracle SQLcl MCP Server Integration

• 🔥 APEXLang IDE Support

• JSON Duality Views Support

• Diagramming

• 🔥 Connectivity

• 🔥 DBA Panel

• 🔥 Performance

• 🔥 Security

• Schema Navigation

• SQL Worksheet

• Data Grids

• SQL Notebooks

• PL/SQL Code Editor

• PL/SQL Debugger

• Post-Execution Debugging of MLE JavaScript Modules

• Code Snippets

• Integrated Command Line Interface via Oracle SQLcl

• Useful Commands

• Quick Start Examples

  • Start working
  • Worksheet
  • Auto-complete
  • SQL Snippets
  • SQL History
  • Working with database objects
  • JSON data and JSON duality views

• Supported Locales

• Bookmarks

• Support

• Data and Telemetry

• License

Oracle SQLcl MCP Server Integration

When installed, the extension registers the Oracle SQLcl MCP Server for GitHub Copilot, making your SQL Developer database connections available for agentic chat requests, including running SQL and PL/SQL against your database.

Optionally, you can invoke the Configure Cline SQLcl MCP command palette operation to get a JSON snippet that registers SQLcl's MCP Server for any local AI agent. Cline is provided only as an example. Neither Cline nor Copilot is required.

In this Copilot session, a request for a list of managers from the HR database can use a database connection named HR, inspect the schema, identify the EMPLOYEES table, query the requested information, and return a summary report.

Note regarding Oracle Database access via MCP and AI chat assistants

• Apply least privilege: Use dedicated database users with minimal permissions for AI assistants and MCP integrations.
• Segregate environments: Connect to sanitized development and test databases; restrict and monitor access to production systems.
• Never auto-approve actions: Always review and approve actions requested by AI or Copilot integrations.

Oracle APEXLang IDE Support

APEXLang is a complete application specification language for Oracle APEX, with a documented grammar and compiler. APEXLang files are plain-text, human-readable, source-control friendly, and designed for diffing, merging, reviewing, and automation.

SQL Developer for VS Code includes native APEXLang support, providing a rich editing experience powered by the Language Server Protocol (LSP). Features include syntax highlighting, code completion, validation, diagnostics, formatting, and intelligent editing assistance. Export APEX applications from the database, manage them as source code, and import them back to create or update applications.

The extension simplifies AI-assisted development through its built-in SQLcl MCP Server. This enables AI agents to generate and work with APEXLang while securely connecting to your Oracle AI Database. Rather than producing arbitrary code, AI assistants generate structured application specifications that are validated and compiled through the same APEX compiler, governance, and security model used by developers.

By leveraging the integrated SQLcl MCP Server, AI-driven workflows operate with the same database identity, security policies, and audit controls as traditional development workflows, enabling secure and governed application development with Oracle APEX.

JSON Duality Views Support

With the JSON duality view builder, you can create, edit, and test JSON duality views. Duality views are treated as database objects and are available as a separate node in the Connections panel.

Diagramming

Right-click a connection and select Open Diagram to create an empty diagram. Select tables and views, then drag and drop them onto the diagram.

NOTE: Hold Shift while the cursor is over the diagram. Hold Alt/Option while releasing the mouse button to add objects with dependencies defined by foreign key constraints.

Drag a connection folder to a diagram to add all tables, views, and duality views from the connection schema.

To add all tables and views to a diagram, select the table or view folders from the connected schema, or from schemas under the Other Users node.

Arrange objects on the diagram using Auto Layout, then fine-tune the layout manually. Save diagrams to the file system and reopen them later with the same connection, or with another connection that has access to the same objects.

Connectivity

Everything required to connect to your database is included in the extension. If you have a tnsnames.ora file, you can use it to define your database connections.

Create connections by entering EZConnect or Basic connection properties, referencing a TNS entry, using an Oracle Cloud Autonomous Database wallet ZIP file, or importing existing connections from the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Database Tools service.

You can also import existing connections you have previously defined in your Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) tenancy via the Database Tools service.

Set your profile, region, and compartment, then search for your connection.

Features include:

• Named connections
• Connection folders and subfolders for organizing connections
• Create, save, test, clone, and import connections
• Preferences for the location of tnsnames.ora and auto-execute startup SQL scripts
• 🔥Import and use existing connections defined in OCI Database Tools
• 🔥Connection colors that decorate the Connections tree and open editor tabs, making it easier to identify editors and files by database connection
• 🔥DBA connection mode, which adds DBA-focused tree nodes and administration workflows
• 🔥Connection-level licensing opt-ins for features that require the Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack

Add a connection color and/or toggle on the DBA features.

Once connected, right-click to open a Worksheet. For any code editor, use the connection selector in the bottom-right corner to switch to a different database.

If a connection is interrupted, you will be prompted to reconnect automatically.

We take security seriously. Saved connection passwords are stored securely in private Java wallets.

Connections defined in SQL Developer for VS Code are also available to independent installs of Oracle SQLcl on your machine.

DBA Panel

Mark a connection as DBA to enable DBA-focused nodes and workflows in the Connections tree.

The DBA Panel now includes DBMS_SCHEDULER support, so you can review existing scheduler jobs and create new jobs from VS Code.

• View and manage DBA tree nodes from marked DBA connections
• Browse existing DBMS_SCHEDULER jobs
• Create new scheduler jobs
• Keep administrative workflows close to the SQL and PL/SQL code you are already working on

Performance

Create database performance reports directly from SQL Developer for VS Code, including Active Session History (ASH) and Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) reports.

Add a connection color and/or toggle on the DBA features.

• Create ASH reports
• Create AWR reports
• Use connection-level licensing opt-ins for features that require the Oracle Diagnostics Pack or Oracle Tuning Pack
• Keep performance investigation in the same workspace as your database code

Security

Manage users and roles from SQL Developer for VS Code, with workflows designed for experienced Oracle Database administrators and developers who need to understand exactly what will change.

• Create new users
• Clone existing users
• Lock and unlock accounts
• Manage role privileges, including removing privileges from a role
• Generate DDL for user and role changes so you can review, save, or run it according to your change-management process

Schema Navigation

Your connection can be expanded to display a tree representation of your schema and the other schemas in your database.

To open an object, click it. You can also drag and drop items into a code editor to generate SQL or DML code.

An alternative navigation aid is available through VS Code breadcrumbs. SQL Developer presents the contents of your database as a virtual file system. Use the drop-down controls to change the schema, object type, or object you want to browse.

Easily navigate your schema with breadcrumbs.

• Objects supported

  • Tables
  • Views
  • Indexes
  • Packages
  • Procedures
  • Functions
  • MLE Environments
  • JavaScript Modules
  • Operators
  • Queues
  • Queue Tables
  • Triggers
  • Types
  • Sequences
  • Materialized Views
  • Materialized View Logs
  • Synonyms
  • Public Synonyms
  • Database Links
  • Public Database Links
  • Directories
  • Editions
  • APEX apps
  • XML DB Repository
  • DBMS Jobs
  • DBMS Scheduler Jobs
  • Recycle Bin

• Object Browser features

  • 300+ context menu operations, such as disabling all foreign key constraints for a selected table or making a selected index unusable
  • Drag and drop to an editor to insert an object name or generated code for INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and SELECT
  • Detailed reports for each object, such as partitions on a table or constraints on a view
  • DDL generation for the object on the SQL page
  • For tables and views:
    • Insert, update, and delete rows through the Data Grid
    • Upload and download files to and from BLOBs and CLOBs

SQL Worksheet

The worksheet is where most Oracle Database professionals spend their time. Run ad hoc queries, execute complex SQL scripts, inspect plans, use SQL history, format code, and rely on completion and snippets to stay productive.

Automatic insight, or invoke it on demand with Ctrl+Space.

Existing SQL Developer users will find familiar keyboard shortcuts intact, including Ctrl+Enter to execute a statement and Ctrl+Up to recall the previous item from SQL History.

• Execute SQL statements
• Execute scripts
• Execute via the integrated SQLcl command-line interface
• Explain Plan
  • All
  • Basic
  • Serial
  • Typical
• SQL History and SQL Recall
• SQL Formatter
• SQL Parser with problem detection
• Code completion
  • Oracle command syntax
  • Data Dictionary
  • Editor contents
• Go To Declaration to open dictionary objects directly from the editor
• Peek Declaration to view the PL/SQL definition for the program at the cursor
• Access to advanced SQLcl scripting commands, including:
  • CTAS
  • INFO
  • DDL
  • OERR
  • CODESCAN
  • SODA

Query and generate output files using your favorite SQL Developer scripting commands.

Data Grids

Browsing table data and query results is straightforward with spreadsheet-style displays.

Use Single Record View to browse one record at a time in a vertical, index-card-style viewer.

Vertical display in Single Record View.

Drag and drop columns to arrange the display, or double-click column headers to apply ascending, descending, or no sort.

When results are ready to share, right-click to export them to the desired format.

• Browse and interact with SQL query results and table or view contents
• Single Record View
• Optimized column sizing based on data and column headers
• Reorder and hide columns
• Multi-column sorts
• Double-click a column to toggle sort order: ascending, descending, or off
• Column sort indicators
• Count rows
• Export
  • CSV
  • Delimited
  • Fixed width
  • HTML
  • INSERT
  • JSON
  • JSON (pretty)
  • SQL*Loader
  • Text
  • XML
• BLOB, CLOB, and JSON content preview

Inspect the contents of LOB and JSON columns.

SQL Notebooks

Streamline database development, investigation, and reporting with interactive SQL Notebooks.

• Integrated SQL and PL/SQL: Combine executable code blocks with rich Markdown for seamless documentation and interactive development.
• Independent output panels: Each code block displays results in its own region, making analysis and side-by-side debugging more efficient.
• Feature-rich editors: Use advanced SQL Worksheet capabilities, including syntax highlighting and IntelliSense.
• Convenient file management: Save work as .sqlnb files and quickly create new notebooks by right-clicking any database connection.

PL/SQL Code Editor

Whether you are working directly with PL/SQL programs in your database or from files in your local workspace, SQL Developer makes it easy to develop stored procedures, functions, packages, triggers, and more.

As you code, problems are detected through the PL/SQL and SQL parser. Compiler errors are displayed automatically when you save your work to the database.

When it is time to test or execute your program, SQL Developer provides an interactive panel where you can enter the required parameters. The generated PL/SQL anonymous block can be executed immediately or saved to a new code editor for further customization.

Execute PL/SQL, review generated scripts, and see the results.

OUT and RETURN parameters are automatically captured and displayed after execution, including SYS_REFCURSOR results.

• Compile stored procedures and PL/SQL programs
• Detect client-side errors as you code
• View compiler error feedback
• Execute programs and review results
• Work with files or directly with database objects from your connections

PL/SQL Debugger

The PL/SQL debugger makes it easy to debug stored procedures, packages, and more using VS Code's native debugger.

• Set breakpoints and execute code step by step
• Step into or over lines of code
• Inspect variables and the call stack
• Stop and restart debugging sessions

Post-Execution Debugging of MLE JavaScript Modules

The MLE post-execution debugging feature in Oracle Database enables developers to debug JavaScript code deployed as MLE modules. It captures module execution state at predefined breakpoints, allowing you to analyze the code after it has run to completion.

To start a debug session, set breakpoints in the module's code and define a PL/SQL snippet within the debug runner file. When you open a new debug runner file, a sample DBMS_MLE snippet is generated automatically to help invoke the MLE module code for debugging.

After execution, you can review collected data, including variable values and call stacks, to identify and resolve issues using standard debugging controls such as step into, step over, and continue. All breakpoints must be added before the debug session starts; no breakpoints can be added while the session is running. Only one debug session can be active at a time.

Code Snippets

Your favorite analytic functions, date format options, conversion functions, and examples are available through VS Code's integrated code completion support for extension snippets.

• Aggregate Functions
• Analytic Functions
• Character Functions
• Conversion Functions
• Date Formats
• Date/Time Functions
• Number Formats
• Numeric Functions
• Optimizer Hints
• PL/SQL Programming Techniques
• Predictive Analytics
• Pseudocolumns
• Flashback

Integrated Command Line Interface via Oracle SQLcl

Many database professionals are most comfortable at a command prompt. With the SQL Developer for VS Code, you do not have to choose between a rich editor and a command-line workflow. Connections defined in the extension can also be used to start command-line sessions to your database.

Oracle SQLcl is a modern command-line interface and MCP Server for Oracle Database. Popular SQL Developer features such as code completion, SQL History, and DDL generation are available in SQLcl. Oracle's enhanced implementation of Liquibase for schema versioning is delivered in SQLcl through the liquibase (lb) command.

Start a CLI session on demand, or execute the contents of any code editor immediately in a new, independent session.

Use the editor, execute in the terminal, and choose the workflow that fits the task.

Useful Commands

Command	Shortcut
Execute SQL	Ctrl+Enter
Execute SQL as Script	F5
Execute SQL as Script in SQLcl	Ctrl+Shift+F5
Explain Plan	F10
Replace with previous or next item from SQL History	Ctrl+Up / Ctrl+Down

Quick Start Examples

Start Working

Start working with your database by expanding a connection in the Connections panel.

Worksheet

To write and execute SQL against your database, click the Worksheet icon.

Auto-Complete

Auto-complete can accelerate database development.

SQL Snippets

SQL snippets help you keep moving without leaving the editor.

SQL History

To revisit earlier work, use the SQL History tab in the bottom panel.

Working With Database Objects

Working with database objects is a click away. Inspect objects, gather important details, and generate SQL without leaving VS Code.

JSON Data and JSON Duality Views

If you work with JSON documents, JSON duality views make it easier to create, manage, view, and query JSON data within your relational database.

Supported Locales

The extension is available in multiple languages: de, en, es, fr, it, ja, ko, pt-BR, zh-CN, zh-TW.

Bookmarks

• Learn SQL @ Free SQL
• License
• Official community forums

Support

Support documentation for Oracle SQL Developer for VS Code can be found here.

Customers with My Oracle Support established for their Oracle Database can create Service Requests for official product support, including filing bugs or submitting enhancement requests.

Data and Telemetry

To continuously improve our products, Oracle is interested in learning about product usage. Automated reports can occasionally be sent to Oracle describing the product features in use. No personally identifiable information will be sent, and the report will not affect performance. You can review Oracle's privacy policy.

License

Oracle SQL Developer for VS Code is distributed free, under the Free Use Terms and Conditions (FUTC) License.