pgFormatter vs Squawk

pgFormatter is free software for formatting PostgreSQL SQL queries and PL/pgSQL code. It supports SQL-92, SQL-99, SQL-2003, SQL-2008, SQL-2011 and PostgreSQL syntax, and the project says it also works with other databases. You can run it as a console program or CGI application that returns text or HTML; a CGI request with an application/json Accept header can return JSON. Formatting controls cover keyword, function, identifier and type case, indentation, query wrapping and comma placement. The --anonymize option hides query literals before formatting. The project documents source installation with Perl Makefile.PL, make and make install, Docker use, Vim and (Neo)Vim integration, Atom and Visual Studio Code links, and a pre-commit hook for SQL files. An online demo limits queries to ten thousand characters. It is distributed under the PostgreSQL Licence at free.

Squawk is an open-source linter and language server for PostgreSQL migrations and SQL. It checks schema changes for risks that could prevent database reads or writes. Its rules flag potentially unsafe statements, incompatible changes, and migration patterns, with messages that include examples and reasoning. The command-line tool lints SQL files, and a language server and VS Code extension provide editor linting.

For pull requests, a GitHub Action can lint modified migrations; Squawk can also comment through its upload-to-github command or GitHub App. For CI outside GitHub Actions, the documentation recommends configuring the GitHub App, citing CircleCI as an example. Installation options include npm, PyPI, release binaries, Docker, the browser playground, and VS Code. The playground uses WebAssembly to lint SQL in a browser. Configuration can set the PostgreSQL version, include or exclude rules and paths, and specify whether SQL files are assumed to run in transactions. Some rules are disabled by default and require explicit enabling. Squawk supports PostgreSQL only and has no automatic fixes or custom rules.