sqlode

sqlode reads SQL schema and query files, then generates typed Gleam code. The workflow follows sqlc conventions: write SQL, run the generator, get type-safe functions.

Note: sqlode is inspired by sqlc’s workflow but is not a drop-in replacement. Macro syntax uses the sqlode.* prefix exclusively (e.g., sqlode.arg(name), sqlode.embed(table)). The sqlc.* prefix is not supported.

Supported engines: PostgreSQL, MySQL (parsing only), SQLite.

Getting started

Install

sqlode ships as an Erlang escript. Every install path therefore needs an Erlang/OTP runtime on the host (escript on PATH). The easiest way to cover both downloading the escript and detecting a missing runtime is the one-line installer:

Option A: One-line install (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nao1215/sqlode/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Prefer to inspect the script before executing it? Download it first, read it, then run it:

curl -fsSL -o install.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nao1215/sqlode/main/scripts/install.sh
sh install.sh

The installer writes the latest release’s escript to $HOME/.local/bin/sqlode, makes it executable, and warns if Erlang/OTP is missing (with a per-distro install hint).

Environment variables:

• SQLODE_VERSION=v0.1.0 — pin a specific release tag instead of latest.
• SQLODE_INSTALL_DIR=/path/to/bin — install into a different directory. System paths such as /usr/local/bin require elevated privileges, e.g. curl -fsSL ... | sudo SQLODE_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin sh.

If $HOME/.local/bin is not on your PATH, add it to your shell config:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

You still need sqlode as a project dependency because generated code imports sqlode/runtime:

gleam add sqlode

Option B: Manual escript download

Download the pre-built escript from GitHub Releases and place it on your PATH:

chmod +x sqlode
./sqlode generate --config=sqlode.yaml

Option C: Run via Gleam

If you already have a Gleam project, you can invoke the CLI through gleam run without downloading a separate binary:

gleam add sqlode
gleam run -m sqlode -- generate

Initialize config

# standalone CLI
sqlode init

# or via Gleam
gleam run -m sqlode -- init

This creates sqlode.yaml along with stub files db/schema.sql and db/query.sql:

version: "2"
sql:
  - schema: "db/schema.sql"
    queries: "db/query.sql"
    engine: "postgresql"
    gen:
      gleam:
        out: "src/db"
        runtime: "raw"

schema and queries accept either a single file path, a list of file paths, or a directory path. When given a directory, sqlode auto-discovers every .sql file inside it. An optional name field can be set on each sql block for diagnostics when multiple blocks are configured.

The schema parser accepts a schema snapshot or migration history. Supported DDL: CREATE TABLE / CREATE VIEW / CREATE TYPE / ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN / DROP TABLE / DROP VIEW / DROP TYPE / ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN / ALTER TABLE ... RENAME / ALTER TABLE ... ALTER COLUMN TYPE / ALTER TABLE ... SET/DROP NOT NULL. Both additive and destructive migrations can be processed. See Limitations for the full list.

Write SQL

Schema (db/schema.sql):

CREATE TABLE authors (
  id BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  bio TEXT,
  created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL
);

Queries (db/query.sql):

-- name: GetAuthor :one
SELECT id, name, bio
FROM authors
WHERE id = $1;

-- name: ListAuthors :many
SELECT id, name
FROM authors
ORDER BY name;

-- name: CreateAuthor :exec
INSERT INTO authors (name, bio)
VALUES (sqlode.arg(author_name), sqlode.narg(bio));

Generate

# standalone CLI
sqlode generate

# or via Gleam
gleam run -m sqlode -- generate

This produces params.gleam and queries.gleam in the configured output directory. models.gleam is also generated when the schema defines tables or when at least one query uses :one or :many and returns result columns.

Generated code

params.gleam

pub type GetAuthorParams {
  GetAuthorParams(id: Int)
}

pub fn get_author_values(params: GetAuthorParams) -> List(Value) {
  [runtime.int(params.id)]
}

pub type CreateAuthorParams {
  CreateAuthorParams(author_name: String, bio: Option(String))
}

models.gleam

sqlode generates reusable record types for each table in the schema, plus per-query row types for queries that return results. When a query’s result columns exactly match a table (same columns, types, nullability, and order), a type alias is emitted instead of a duplicate record type.

// Table record type (singularized) — reusable across queries
pub type Author {
  Author(id: Int, name: String, bio: Option(String), created_at: String)
}

// Exact table match — alias instead of duplicate
pub type GetAuthorRow =
  Author

// Partial match — separate row type
pub type ListAuthorsRow {
  ListAuthorsRow(id: Int, name: String)
}

queries.gleam

Each query function returns a RawQuery(p):

QueryInfo and all() list all queries in a module without type parameters.

pub type QueryInfo {
  QueryInfo(name: String, sql: String, command: runtime.QueryCommand, param_count: Int)
}

pub fn all() -> List(QueryInfo) { ... }

pub fn get_author() -> runtime.RawQuery(params.GetAuthorParams) { ... }
pub fn list_authors() -> runtime.RawQuery(Nil) { ... }
pub fn create_author() -> runtime.RawQuery(params.CreateAuthorParams) { ... }

Usage example — for the common case, use the generated prepare_<function_name> helper. It constructs the params record and delegates to runtime.prepare in a single call, returning the (sql, values) pair that Gleam database drivers consume directly:

let #(sql, values) = queries.prepare_get_author(id: 1)
// sql has final placeholders: "... WHERE id = $1"
// values is the encoded parameter list

The generated SQL contains engine-agnostic markers for all parameter types (sqlode.arg, sqlode.narg, and sqlode.slice), and the helper substitutes the correct engine-specific placeholders at runtime.

Slice parameters (sqlode.slice) work the same way — the helper accepts a List for each slice field and the generated SQL expands it into the correct number of placeholders:

let #(sql, values) = queries.prepare_get_authors_by_ids(ids: [1, 2, 3])
// sql has expanded placeholders: "... WHERE id IN ($1, $2, $3)"
// values is the flattened parameter list

If you need to hold the RawQuery descriptor (for caching, batch execution, or building custom wrappers), the low-level pieces are still exported. queries.get_author() returns the descriptor and runtime.prepare composes it with a params record:

let q = queries.get_author()
let #(sql, values) = runtime.prepare(
  q,
  params.GetAuthorParams(id: 1),
)

The placeholder dialect ($1 for PostgreSQL, ? for SQLite) is baked into the RawQuery by the generator, so runtime.prepare does not take a placeholder argument.

Runtime modes

The runtime option controls what code sqlode generates and what dependencies your project needs.

In all modes, sqlode must be a dependency (not just a dev-dependency) because the generated code imports sqlode/runtime. The native mode additionally requires a database driver package:

gleam add sqlode
gleam add pog       # for PostgreSQL with native runtime
gleam add sqlight   # for SQLite with native runtime

Self-contained generation (vendor_runtime)

Setting gen.gleam.vendor_runtime: true asks sqlode to copy the sqlode/runtime module into the output directory as runtime.gleam and rewrite the generated imports to point at the local copy. The generated package no longer needs sqlode as a runtime dependency, only as a dev dependency (the tool you invoke with sqlode generate). Native adapters still need their driver package (pog / sqlight).

gen:
  gleam:
    out: "src/db"
    runtime: "raw"
    vendor_runtime: true

Trade-offs: shared-runtime code is smaller and auto-updates with gleam update sqlode; vendored code is self-contained at the cost of re-running sqlode generate to pick up runtime changes.

Adapter generation

When runtime is set to native, sqlode generates adapter modules that wrap pog (PostgreSQL) or sqlight (SQLite).

MySQL adapter generation is not available. MySQL works with runtime: "raw" only; runtime: "native" is rejected at config validation.

gen:
  gleam:
    out: "src/db"
    runtime: "native"

The adapter provides functions that handle parameter binding, query execution, and result decoding:

// pog_adapter.gleam (generated)
pub fn get_author(db: pog.Connection, p: params.GetAuthorParams)
  -> Result(Option(models.GetAuthorRow), pog.QueryError)

Using the generated adapter

SQLite example

import db/params
import db/sqlight_adapter
import gleam/io
import gleam/option
import sqlight

pub fn main() {
  let assert Ok(db) = sqlight.open(":memory:")

  // Create table
  let assert Ok(_) = sqlight.exec(
    "CREATE TABLE authors (
      id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
      name TEXT NOT NULL,
      bio TEXT
    );",
    db,
  )

  // :exec — returns Result(Nil, sqlight.Error)
  let assert Ok(_) = sqlight_adapter.create_author(
    db,
    params.CreateAuthorParams(
      author_name: "Alice",
      bio: option.Some("Author bio"),
    ),
  )

  // :one — returns Result(Option(Row), sqlight.Error)
  let assert Ok(option.Some(author)) = sqlight_adapter.get_author(
    db,
    params.GetAuthorParams(id: 1),
  )
  io.debug(author.name)  // "Alice"

  // :many — returns Result(List(Row), sqlight.Error)
  let assert Ok(authors) = sqlight_adapter.list_authors(db)
  io.debug(authors)  // [ListAuthorsRow(id: 1, name: "Alice")]
}

PostgreSQL example

import db/params
import db/pog_adapter
import gleam/io
import gleam/option
import pog

pub fn main() {
  let db = pog.default_config()
    |> pog.host("localhost")
    |> pog.database("mydb")
    |> pog.connect()

  // :one — returns Result(Option(Row), pog.QueryError)
  let assert Ok(option.Some(author)) = pog_adapter.get_author(
    db,
    params.GetAuthorParams(id: 1),
  )
  io.debug(author.name)

  // :many — returns Result(List(Row), pog.QueryError)
  let assert Ok(authors) = pog_adapter.list_authors(db)
  io.debug(authors)
}

Return types by annotation

:batchone, :batchmany, :batchexec, and :copyfrom are not yet implemented. Using them currently fails generation with an unsupported-annotation error. See the Planned annotations section below.

:execresult is available with raw runtime only. It is rejected with native runtime because its semantics are not distinct from :execrows.

Query annotations

Planned annotations

The following annotations are reserved for future work. Using any of them currently fails generation with an unsupported-annotation error.

Query macros

Skipping a query

Prefix a query block with -- sqlode:skip to exclude it from generation. Useful for queries that rely on syntax sqlode cannot yet parse:

-- sqlode:skip
-- name: ComplexQuery :many
SELECT ...;

sqlode.slice example

-- name: GetAuthorsByIds :many
SELECT id, name FROM authors
WHERE id IN (sqlode.slice(ids));

Generates a parameter with type List(Int):

pub type GetAuthorsByIdsParams {
  GetAuthorsByIdsParams(ids: List(Int))
}

sqlode.embed example

-- name: GetBookWithAuthor :one
SELECT sqlode.embed(authors), books.title
FROM books
JOIN authors ON books.author_id = authors.id
WHERE books.id = $1;

The embedded table becomes a nested field in the result type:

pub type GetBookWithAuthorRow {
  GetBookWithAuthorRow(authors: Author, title: String)
}

JOIN support

Columns from JOINed tables are resolved when inferring result types:

-- name: GetBookWithAuthor :one
SELECT books.title, authors.name
FROM books
JOIN authors ON books.author_id = authors.id;

Both title from books and name from authors are correctly typed in the generated row type.

RETURNING clause

Queries with a RETURNING clause (PostgreSQL) generate result types from the returned columns:

-- name: CreateAuthor :one
INSERT INTO authors (name, bio) VALUES ($1, $2)
RETURNING id, name;

pub type CreateAuthorRow {
  CreateAuthorRow(id: Int, name: String)
}

CTE (WITH clause)

Common Table Expressions are supported. sqlode strips the CTE prefix and infers types from the main query:

-- name: GetRecentAuthors :many
WITH filtered AS (
  SELECT id FROM authors WHERE id > 0
)
SELECT authors.id, authors.name
FROM authors
JOIN filtered ON authors.id = filtered.id;

Type mapping

Nullable columns (without NOT NULL) are wrapped in Option(T).

Overrides

Type overrides and column renames can be configured per SQL block:

sql:
  - schema: "db/schema.sql"
    queries: "db/query.sql"
    engine: "postgresql"
    gen:
      gleam:
        out: "src/db"
    overrides:
      types:
        - db_type: "uuid"
          gleam_type: "String"
        - column: "users.id"
          gleam_type: "String"
      renames:
        - table: "authors"
          column: "bio"
          rename_to: "biography"

Type overrides support two targeting modes:

• db_type: Overrides all columns of a given database type (e.g., all uuid columns become String)
• column: Overrides a specific column using table.column format (e.g., only users.id becomes String)

Column-level overrides take precedence over db_type overrides.

Custom type aliases

Opaque types are not supported. The custom type you map to must be a transparent type alias (pub type UserId = Int). Opaque single-constructor types (pub opaque type UserId { UserId(Int) }) will fail to compile because the generated code calls primitive encoders (e.g. runtime.int(params.id)) directly on the value. Adding a codec hook for opaque types is tracked for a future release.

When you specify a non-primitive gleam_type (e.g., UserId instead of Int), sqlode preserves the type name in generated record fields but uses the underlying primitive type for encoding and decoding.

// OK — transparent type alias
pub type UserId = Int

// Error — opaque type (fails to compile against generated code)
pub opaque type UserId {
  UserId(Int)
}

sqlode validates that gleam_type values start with an uppercase letter (valid Gleam type name) and emits a warning during generation when custom types are used.

Semantic type mappings

By default, sqlode maps UUID, JSON, DATE, TIME, and TIMESTAMP columns to String. You can enable semantic type aliases with the type_mapping option:

gen:
  gleam:
    out: "src/db"
    type_mapping: "rich"

sqlode emits type aliases for database types in models.gleam:

rich: Type aliases over String. Readable in signatures but not enforced by the compiler.

strong: Single-constructor wrapper types with unwrap helpers (e.g. sql_uuid_to_string). SqlUuid and String are distinct at compile time. Generated adapters wrap decoded values and unwrap encoded values automatically.

Example with type_mapping: "strong":

// Generated in models.gleam
pub type SqlUuid {
  SqlUuid(String)
}

pub fn sql_uuid_to_string(value: SqlUuid) -> String {
  let SqlUuid(inner) = value
  inner
}

Limitations

sqlode is in an early phase. The following constraints are worth checking before you adopt it; several are tracked for future releases.

Parameter type inference

sqlode infers a parameter’s type from the SQL context the parameter appears in. Inference currently fires in four contexts:

1. INSERT INTO t (col) VALUES ($1) — the parameter takes the type of col.
2. WHERE col = $1 (and !=, <, <=, >, >=) — the parameter takes the column type.
3. WHERE col IN ($1, $2, ...) / sqlode.slice($1) — the parameter (or slice element type) takes the column type.
4. $1::int / CAST($1 AS int) — explicit type cast.

Outside those contexts, sqlode cannot infer a type and fails with an actionable error:

Query "Name": could not infer type for parameter $N. Use a type cast (e.g. $N::int) to specify the type

Typical cases that need an explicit cast today: parameters inside scalar arithmetic (price + $1), inside CASE WHEN branches whose other branches are also parameters, or inside function calls whose arguments sqlode does not yet recognise. Adding more inference contexts is tracked for a future release; until then, pin the type with $N::int (PostgreSQL) / CAST($N AS INTEGER) (SQLite).

Schema DDL scope

The schema parser supports both schema snapshots and migration histories including destructive DDL. Supported statements:

• CREATE TABLE, CREATE VIEW, CREATE TYPE (enum)
• ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN
• DROP TABLE, DROP VIEW, DROP TYPE
• ALTER TABLE ... DROP COLUMN
• ALTER TABLE ... RENAME TO / RENAME COLUMN
• ALTER TABLE ... ALTER COLUMN TYPE / SET NOT NULL / DROP NOT NULL

Other statements (CREATE INDEX, transaction blocks, comments) are silently skipped.

View resolution

CREATE VIEW ... AS SELECT ... columns are resolved against the base tables so the generated models have correct types. By default sqlode fails generation when any view column cannot be resolved (unknown base table, ambiguous expression, etc.) — a partially resolved view almost always means the schema and the configuration are out of sync, and silently dropping the column would let that mismatch reach generated code.

For legacy schemas that still need the old warn-and-continue behaviour, set strict_views: false explicitly:

sql:
  - schema: "db/schema.sql"
    queries: "db/query.sql"
    engine: "postgresql"
    gen:
      gleam:
        out: "src/db"
        strict_views: false

With strict_views: false each unresolvable column is reported to stderr and dropped from the generated model (and the view itself is dropped if every column is unresolvable).

Custom types must be transparent aliases

See Custom type aliases — opaque types (pub opaque type Foo { ... }) are not supported today.

Config options

emit_sql_as_comment

When set to true, each generated adapter function includes the original SQL as a comment:

gen:
  gleam:
    out: "src/db"
    emit_sql_as_comment: true

emit_exact_table_names

When set to true, table type names use the exact table name instead of singularized form:

gen:
  gleam:
    out: "src/db"
    emit_exact_table_names: true

For example, a table named authors generates pub type Authors { ... } instead of the default pub type Author { ... }.

CLI

# Standalone escript
sqlode generate [--config=./sqlode.yaml]
sqlode verify   [--config=./sqlode.yaml]
sqlode init     [--output=./sqlode.yaml]

# Via Gleam
gleam run -m sqlode -- generate [--config=./sqlode.yaml]
gleam run -m sqlode -- verify   [--config=./sqlode.yaml]
gleam run -m sqlode -- init     [--output=./sqlode.yaml]

sqlode verify

verify is the static verification lane for CI. It loads the project the same way generate would — schema parsing, query parsing, analyser pass — but does not write files and collects every failure it can see into a single report instead of short-circuiting on the first error.

$ sqlode verify
Verifying config: sqlode.yaml
[src/db] query "FilterAuthors" has 4 inferred parameter(s), exceeds query_parameter_limit 3

The command exits non-zero when at least one finding is reported, so it can gate generation in CI:

- run: sqlode verify
- run: sqlode generate

Per-block policies that influence verify:

• strict_views — view-resolution warnings are promoted to findings (the same policy generate uses).
• query_parameter_limit — per-query cap on inferred parameters, mirroring the sqlc setting of the same name. Unset means no limit.

Verification roadmap

verify today covers the static phase of Issue #395. Later phases are expected to layer on:

1. Static analysis (shipped). The current command: schema + query parsing, full analyser pass, query_parameter_limit.
2. DB-backed analysis. A database / analyzer config concept that runs queries through EXPLAIN (or equivalent) against a real database to catch mistakes the local analyser cannot, such as view drift or engine-specific typing.
3. Execution-lane validation. Running generated code against an ephemeral test database as part of the verify command.

Each phase is additive: new findings show up in the existing Report without breaking the CLI contract.

Migrating from sqlc

sqlode follows sqlc conventions, so most SQL files work without changes. Key differences:

Migration steps

1. Install sqlode (see Install above).

2. Keep your existing sqlc.yaml / sqlc.yml / sqlc.json in place — sqlode generate auto-discovers them in the current directory when --config is not passed. (The search order is sqlode.yaml, sqlode.yml, sqlc.yaml, sqlc.yml, sqlc.json; if more than one exists, pass --config=<path> to pick explicitly.) If you prefer a dedicated file, copy the config to sqlode.yaml. Either way keep version: "2" and the sql blocks. Replace the gen section:

   gen:
     gleam:
       out: "src/db"
       runtime: "raw"   # or "native" for full adapter generation
   

3. Replace sqlc.arg(...), sqlc.narg(...), sqlc.slice(...), and sqlc.embed(...) with sqlode.arg(...), sqlode.narg(...), sqlode.slice(...), and sqlode.embed(...) in your .sql query files. The @name shorthand remains unchanged.

4. Run sqlode generate (or gleam run -m sqlode -- generate).

Unsupported sqlc features

• sqlc.yaml v1 format
• vet and verify commands
• emit_json_tags and other sqlc-specific emit options not listed above
• MySQL adapter generation (runtime: "raw" works for MySQL)

License

MIT