Docs Editor

Writing queries

Completion that knows your schema, join suggestions from foreign keys, snippets, and the editing commands in the T-SQL editor.

On this page

Completion
Join suggestions
Aliases
Snippets
Editing commands
Navigating your code
Links that open the editor

The editor reads your database's schema, so completion, checks and fixes are about your tables, not generic SQL.

A query on Northwind in the editor, with results below — A query tab: the connection and database are in the tab, the statement under the cursor is shaded.

#Completion

Completion appears as you type (⌃Space shows it any time) and knows the query around the cursor:

Tables after FROM and JOIN, with their schemas.
Columns with their types after an alias and a dot (cus.), and every column in scope elsewhere, qualified when two tables share a name.
CTE and derived-table columns, and declared variables.
Whole joins from foreign keys after JOIN, with the ON clause written and a meaningful alias.
* → the column list, INSERT INTO t → its column list and a VALUES template, and EXEC proc → named parameters with their types.

Tab or ↩ accepts a suggestion.

#Join suggestions

Type JOIN after a table and the suggestions are the tables it has foreign keys to, each with its ON clause:

T-SQL

SELECT soh.SalesOrderID, soh.TotalDue
FROM Sales.SalesOrderHeader soh
JOIN Sales.Customer cus ON cus.CustomerID = soh.CustomerID   -- picked from the list

After a join, the next JOIN suggests the tables the joined one leads to as well, so a chain such as Customers → Orders → Order Details is two picks:

Recorded in the app: two joins from the list, a run, and the sum of the selected cells in the status bar.

#Aliases

New aliases are meaningful rather than t1, t2: Customers becomes cus and SalesOrderHeader becomes soh. Choose your own per table in Settings ▸ Editor ▸ Table aliases.

#Snippets

Type a snippet's name and press Tab:

Snippet	Expands to
`ssf`	`SELECT * FROM`
`s100`	`SELECT TOP (100) * FROM`
`scf`	`SELECT COUNT(*) FROM`
`ii`	`INSERT INTO … VALUES`
`uu`	`UPDATE … SET … WHERE`
`df`	`DELETE FROM … WHERE`
`cte`	a common table expression
`bt`	a transaction that rolls back (safe to try), with `COMMIT` commented out
`tc`	`BEGIN TRY … END TRY BEGIN CATCH THROW; END CATCH` around the selection
`ifex`	`IF EXISTS (…) BEGIN … END`
`ct`	`CREATE TABLE` with an identity primary key
`sp`	`CREATE OR ALTER PROCEDURE` with `SET NOCOUNT ON`
`fn`	`CREATE OR ALTER FUNCTION` (inline table-valued)
`ex`	`EXEC`
`w`, `ob`, `gb`	`WHERE`, `ORDER BY`, `GROUP BY`
`lj`, `ij`	`LEFT JOIN`, `INNER JOIN`

Tab then jumps between the snippet's placeholders. Edit these or add your own in Settings ▸ Snippets; a snippet can use $CURSOR$ , $SELECTEDTEXT$ , $DATE$ , $USER$ and numbered placeholders such as ${1:name}.

Settings ▸ Snippets, listing the built-in snippets — Settings ▸ Snippets.

#Editing commands

Besides the usual text editing, the editor has the commands developers expect from their IDE (shortcuts in the Lukla keymap; see Keyboard shortcuts for the others):

Command	Shortcut
Comment/uncomment lines	`⌘/`
Block comment	`⌥⌘/`
Duplicate line or selection	`⌘D`
Delete line	`⇧⌘K`
Move line up / down	`⌥⇧↑` / `⌥⇧↓`
Join lines	`⌃⇧J`
Expand / shrink selection	`⌃⇧↑` / `⌃⇧↓`
Upper / lower case	`⇧⌘U` / `⇧⌘L`
Rename an alias or variable everywhere	`⇧F6`
Go to definition	`F12`
Quick documentation	`F1`
Find usages	`⌥F7`
Go to line	`⌘L`

#Navigating your code

Go to definition (F12) on a table, view, procedure or function opens its definition.
Quick documentation (F1) shows a table's columns and keys, or a procedure's parameters, in a popover.
Drag a table or column from Object Explorer into the editor to insert its bracketed name.

#Links that open the editor

Other apps and scripts can open a query tab:

Terminal

open "lukla://editor"
open "lukla://query?sql=SELECT%201&connection=Local&database=Shop"