Skip to content
Skillpedia
Testing40k · #5375

sql-code-review

Analyzes SQL code to ensure security, quality, and best practices across any database. It helps prevent security flaws and keep the code organized.

What it does

This tool reviews your SQL code to find security issues, like SQL injection, and suggests improvements to make the code faster and easier to understand. It checks if data access is correct and if the code follows best practices.

When to use it

  • ✓Before putting SQL code into production.
  • ✓When you suspect an SQL query is running slowly.
  • ✓When reviewing someone else's code to ensure quality.

Example of what to ask your AI

“Review this SQL code for security and performance: [paste your SQL code here]”

Want more? Open the sections below.

How to use

The easiest way: copy the message below and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any AI. It reads the skill and follows the instructions.

Skill link

https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/main/skills/sql-code-review/SKILL.md

Ready-to-paste message

Use this skill to help me: https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/main/skills/sql-code-review/SKILL.md Read the SKILL.md file at that link and follow its instructions for my task.
How it works

The tool analyzes your SQL code by comparing it against security rules and best practices. It identifies dangerous patterns, like the possibility of SQL injection attacks, and suggests more efficient ways to write your queries.

Installation

Easiest way: copy the skill link and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor asking it to follow the instructions.

In the terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), in your project folder:

npx skills add github/awesome-copilot --skill sql-code-review

Or download just the file:

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/awesome-copilot/main/skills/sql-code-review/SKILL.md -o SKILL.md
Technical content (original SKILL.md)

Original text by the author, straight from GitHub.

SQL Code Review

Perform a thorough SQL code review of ${selection} (or entire project if no selection) focusing on security, performance, maintainability, and database best practices.

🔒 Security Analysis

SQL Injection Prevention

-- ❌ CRITICAL: SQL Injection vulnerability
query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = " + userInput;
query = f"DELETE FROM orders WHERE user_id = {user_id}";

-- ✅ SECURE: Parameterized queries
-- PostgreSQL/MySQL
PREPARE stmt FROM 'SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?';
EXECUTE stmt USING @user_id;

-- SQL Server
EXEC sp_executesql N'SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = @id', N'@id INT', @id = @user_id;

Access Control & Permissions

  • Principle of Least Privilege: Grant minimum required permissions
  • Role-Based Access: Use database roles instead of direct user permissions
  • Schema Security: Proper schema ownership and access controls
  • Function/Procedure Security: Review DEFINER vs INVOKER rights

Data Protection

  • Sensitive Data Exposure: Avoid SELECT * on tables with sensitive columns
  • Audit Logging: Ensure sensitive operations are logged
  • Data Masking: Use views or functions to mask sensitive data
  • Encryption: Verify encrypted storage for sensitive data

⚡ Performance Optimization

Query Structure Analysis

-- ❌ BAD: Inefficient query patterns
SELECT DISTINCT u.* 
FROM users u, orders o, products p
WHERE u.id = o.user_id 
AND o.product_id = p.id
AND YEAR(o.order_date) = 2024;

-- ✅ GOOD: Optimized structure
SELECT u.id, u.name, u.email
FROM users u
INNER JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id
WHERE o.order_date >= '2024-01-01' 
AND o.order_date < '2025-01-01';

Index Strategy Review

  • Missing Indexes: Identify columns that need indexing
  • Over-Indexing: Find unused or redundant indexes
  • Composite Indexes: Multi-column indexes for complex queries
  • Index Maintenance: Check for fragmented or outdated indexes

Join Optimization

  • Join Types: Verify appropriate join types (INNER vs LEFT vs EXISTS)
  • Join Order: Optimize for smaller result sets first
  • Cartesian Products: Identify and fix missing join conditions
  • Subquery vs JOIN: Choose the most efficient approach

Aggregate and Window Functions

-- ❌ BAD: Inefficient aggregation
SELECT user_id, 
       (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders o2 WHERE o2.user_id = o1.user_id) as order_count
FROM orders o1
GROUP BY user_id;

-- ✅ GOOD: Efficient aggregation
SELECT user_id, COUNT(*) as order_count
FROM orders
GROUP BY user_id;

🛠️ Code Quality & Maintainability

SQL Style & Formatting

-- ❌ BAD: Poor formatting and style
select u.id,u.name,o.total from users u left join orders o on u.id=o.user_id where u.status='active' and o.order_date>='2024-01-01';

-- ✅ GOOD: Clean, readable formatting
SELECT u.id,
       u.name,
       o.total
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id
WHERE u.status = 'active'
  AND o.order_date >= '2024-01-01';

Naming Conventions

  • Consistent Naming: Tables, columns, constraints follow consistent patterns
  • Descriptive Names: Clear, meaningful names for database objects
  • Reserved Words: Avoid using database reserved words as identifiers
  • Case Sensitivity: Consistent case usage across schema

Schema Design Review

  • Normalization: Appropriate normalization level (avoid over/under-normalization)
  • Data Types: Optimal data type choices for storage and performance
  • Constraints: Proper use of PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, CHECK, NOT NULL
  • Default Values: Appropriate default values for columns

🗄️ Database-Specific Best Practices

PostgreSQL

-- Use JSONB for JSON data
CREATE TABLE events (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    data JSONB NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- GIN index for JSONB queries
CREATE INDEX idx_events_data ON events USING gin(data);

-- Array types for multi-value columns
CREATE TABLE tags (
    post_id INT,
    tag_names TEXT[]
);

MySQL

-- Use appropriate storage engines
CREATE TABLE sessions (
    id VARCHAR(128) PRIMARY KEY,
    data TEXT,
    expires TIMESTAMP
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

-- Optimize for InnoDB
ALTER TABLE large_table 
ADD INDEX idx_covering (status, created_at, id);

SQL Server

-- Use appropriate data types
CREATE TABLE products (
    id BIGINT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
    name NVARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    price DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL,

…
FAQ

What is SQL injection?

It's a type of attack where someone inserts malicious SQL commands into your code to steal or alter data.

How does it improve performance?

It suggests using indexes correctly, optimizing how tables connect (joins), and rewriting slow queries to run faster.

Does it work for all databases?

Yes, it's designed to work with common databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and Oracle.

Details

Original description by the author

Universal SQL code review assistant that performs comprehensive security, maintainability, and code quality analysis across all SQL databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle). Focuses on SQL injection prevention, access control, code standards, and anti-pattern detection. Complements SQL optimization prompt for complete development coverage.

repo: github/awesome-copilot

Popularity

GitHub stars
40k
Ranking position
#5375
License
MIT
Updated
10/15/2026

Is this skill useful?

0

Sign in to vote.

Comments

  • …

More skills from this repository

Similar skills