.sql file format
View, inspect, merge, and learn how SQL files are used for database scripts, queries, exports, migrations, schema changes, reports, and development workflows.
Format
.sql
Original files stay unchanged. Tools download a new file when output is generated.
Every tool listed here works with .sql files and runs in your browser. If the task you need is not here, the related formats below may cover it.
Open SQL files, inspect queries, and review database scripts.
Merge SQL files in order while preserving each script's original content.
Open, search, and inspect plain text files in your browser.
Merge plain text files in your chosen order with clean spacing between files.
There is no binary SQL format — a .sql file is a script of statements. What varies is the dialect. Quoting identifiers uses backticks in MySQL, double quotes in PostgreSQL, and square brackets in SQL Server. Auto-increment, string concatenation, date functions, and upsert syntax all differ too, so a dump from one engine rarely runs unmodified on another.
A schema dump has to create tables before the tables that reference them, and load data before adding the constraints that validate it. This is why concatenating SQL files in the wrong order fails with foreign key errors, and why merging scripts is about sequence rather than just text.
The most useful thing to do with an unfamiliar .sql file is read it before executing it. Look for DROP and TRUNCATE statements, an UPDATE or DELETE without a WHERE clause, hardcoded credentials or connection details, and any statement that assumes a database name. A viewer that lays the statements out clearly makes this a two-minute job.
Not against your database — these tools read and inspect .sql files rather than connecting to a server. Use them to review a script before you run it somewhere that matters.
Dialect differences: identifier quoting, auto-increment syntax, engine and charset clauses, and several built-in functions are not portable. The file needs converting rather than just importing.
Schema first, then data, then constraints and indexes. Within the schema, parent tables before the tables whose foreign keys reference them.