I Built SQLTranslate: An AI-Powered Tool to Convert SQL Between Database Dialects

The Problem
As developers, we've all been there - you're migrating from MySQL to PostgreSQL, or inheriting a project that uses Oracle when your team works in SQL Server. Manually converting SQL queries between database dialects is tedious, error-prone, and time-consuming. Each database has its own syntax quirks, function names, and date handling approaches.
I've spent countless hours converting DATE_SUB() to NOW() - INTERVAL, fixing quote styles, and hunting down documentation for equivalent functions across different SQL flavors. There had to be a better way.

The Solution
That's why I built SQLTranslate - an AI-powered tool that translates SQL queries between five major database dialects:

• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• SQLite
• SQL Server
• Oracle

Just paste your query, select the source and target dialects, and get an accurate translation in seconds. The tool even provides helpful translation notes explaining what changed and why.

How It Works
SQLTranslate uses AI to understand not just the syntax differences, but the semantic meaning of your queries. It handles:

• Date and time functions
• String manipulation
• Aggregation functions
• Join syntax variations
• Database-specific features
• Quote and identifier conventions

For example, converting this MySQL query:
SELECT user_id, username,
COUNT(o.order_id) AS total_orders,
IFNULL(SUM(o.amount), 0) AS total_spent
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.user_id = o.user_id
WHERE u.created_at > DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 30 DAY)
GROUP BY u.user_id, u.username
LIMIT 10;

PostgreSQL Translation:
SELECT
u.user_id,
u.username,
COUNT(o.order_id) AS total_orders,
COALESCE(SUM(o.amount), 0) AS total_spent
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.user_id = o.user_id
WHERE u.created_at >= NOW() - INTERVAL '30 days'
GROUP BY u.user_id, u.username
LIMIT 10;

The tool automatically:

• Changed IFNULL() to COALESCE()
• Converted DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 30 DAY) to (NOW() - INTERVAL '30 DAY')
• Adjusted the interval literal format for PostgreSQL

Why I Built This
After 20+ years working with industrial automation and database systems, I've seen how much time teams waste on database migrations. Whether you're:

• Migrating legacy systems to modern databases
• Working across multiple client environments
• Prototyping in SQLite and deploying to PostgreSQL
• Converting vendor-specific queries

SQLTranslate saves hours of manual work and reduces errors.

Try It Out
The tool is live at: sqltranslate.makerlabssv.com
I'd love your feedback! What database dialects do you work with most? What SQL conversion challenges have you faced?

Tags: #sql #database #postgresql #mysql #devtools #ai #opensource #webdev #productivity