diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 278bd4080..982c41389 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 
 - Format Query can now be undone with Cmd+Z; the formatting is applied as a single editor edit instead of clearing the undo history. (#1645)
+- Format Query now formats only the selected text when a selection is active, and the full query when nothing is selected. (#1656)
 - Sorting a query result no longer overwrites the SQL editor text or the contents of an opened `.sql` file; the sort runs as a separate query and the editor keeps what you wrote. (#1645)
 - iCloud Sync between the iPhone and Mac apps: the iOS app now uses the Production CloudKit environment, so a development build no longer syncs into a separate database the Mac never reads.
 - Exports no longer fail mid-table on servers that enforce a statement time limit; the export session disables the limit and restores it afterwards, the same way mysqldump does. (#1633)
diff --git a/TablePro/Core/Services/Formatting/FormatScopeResolver.swift b/TablePro/Core/Services/Formatting/FormatScopeResolver.swift
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7a2d95e62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/TablePro/Core/Services/Formatting/FormatScopeResolver.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+//
+//  FormatScopeResolver.swift
+//  TablePro
+//
+
+import Foundation
+
+internal enum FormatScopeResolver {
+    struct Scope: Equatable {
+        let range: NSRange
+        let sql: String
+        let cursorOffset: Int?
+        let isSelection: Bool
+    }
+
+    static func resolve(fullText: String, selectedRange: NSRange) -> Scope {
+        let nsText = fullText as NSString
+        let fullRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: nsText.length)
+        let hasSelection = selectedRange.location != NSNotFound
+            && selectedRange.length > 0
+            && NSIntersectionRange(selectedRange, fullRange).length == selectedRange.length
+
+        guard hasSelection else {
+            let cursor = selectedRange.location == NSNotFound
+                ? 0
+                : min(selectedRange.location, nsText.length)
+            return Scope(range: fullRange, sql: fullText, cursorOffset: cursor, isSelection: false)
+        }
+
+        return Scope(
+            range: selectedRange,
+            sql: nsText.substring(with: selectedRange),
+            cursorOffset: nil,
+            isSelection: true
+        )
+    }
+
+    static func reapplyBoundaryWhitespace(from original: String, to formatted: String) -> String {
+        guard let firstNonWhitespace = original.firstIndex(where: { !$0.isWhitespace }),
+              let lastNonWhitespace = original.lastIndex(where: { !$0.isWhitespace })
+        else { return formatted }
+
+        let prefix = original[original.startIndex..<firstNonWhitespace]
+        let suffix = original[original.index(after: lastNonWhitespace)...]
+        return prefix + formatted + suffix
+    }
+}
diff --git a/TablePro/Views/Editor/SQLEditorCoordinator.swift b/TablePro/Views/Editor/SQLEditorCoordinator.swift
index 844dac577..a54b4537b 100644
--- a/TablePro/Views/Editor/SQLEditorCoordinator.swift
+++ b/TablePro/Views/Editor/SQLEditorCoordinator.swift
@@ -251,23 +251,31 @@ final class SQLEditorCoordinator: TextViewCoordinator, TextViewDelegate {
     func performFormatSQL() {
         guard let textView = controller?.textView else { return }
         let dialect = databaseType ?? .mysql
-        let cursorLocation = textView.selectedRange().location
-        let cursorOffset = cursorLocation == NSNotFound ? 0 : cursorLocation
         let formatter = SQLFormatterService()
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(
+            fullText: textView.string,
+            selectedRange: textView.selectedRange()
+        )
 
         do {
             let result = try formatter.format(
-                textView.string,
+                scope.sql,
                 dialect: dialect,
-                cursorOffset: cursorOffset,
+                cursorOffset: scope.cursorOffset,
                 options: .default
             )
-            let fullRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: (textView.string as NSString).length)
-            textView.replaceCharacters(in: fullRange, with: result.formattedSQL)
+            let replacement = scope.isSelection
+                ? FormatScopeResolver.reapplyBoundaryWhitespace(from: scope.sql, to: result.formattedSQL)
+                : result.formattedSQL
+            textView.replaceCharacters(in: scope.range, with: replacement)
+            let replacementLength = (replacement as NSString).length
+            let caretLocation: Int
             if let newOffset = result.cursorOffset {
-                let clamped = min(newOffset, (result.formattedSQL as NSString).length)
-                controller?.setCursorPositions([CursorPosition(range: NSRange(location: clamped, length: 0))])
+                caretLocation = scope.range.location + min(newOffset, replacementLength)
+            } else {
+                caretLocation = scope.range.location + replacementLength
             }
+            controller?.setCursorPositions([CursorPosition(range: NSRange(location: caretLocation, length: 0))])
         } catch {
             Self.logger.error("SQL Formatting error: \(error.localizedDescription, privacy: .public)")
         }
diff --git a/TableProTests/Core/Services/FormatScopeResolverTests.swift b/TableProTests/Core/Services/FormatScopeResolverTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9fe168c58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/TableProTests/Core/Services/FormatScopeResolverTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+//
+//  FormatScopeResolverTests.swift
+//  TableProTests
+//
+
+import Foundation
+@testable import TablePro
+import Testing
+
+struct FormatScopeResolverTests {
+    private let text = "SELECT * FROM users;\nSELECT * FROM orders;"
+
+    @Test("No selection resolves to the full document")
+    func noSelectionReturnsFullRange() {
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: text, selectedRange: NSRange(location: 0, length: 0))
+        #expect(scope.range == NSRange(location: 0, length: (text as NSString).length))
+        #expect(scope.sql == text)
+        #expect(scope.cursorOffset == 0)
+    }
+
+    @Test("No selection keeps the cursor offset for caret mapping")
+    func noSelectionCursorMidDocument() {
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: text, selectedRange: NSRange(location: 10, length: 0))
+        #expect(scope.range == NSRange(location: 0, length: (text as NSString).length))
+        #expect(scope.cursorOffset == 10)
+    }
+
+    @Test("A selection resolves to exactly the selected subrange")
+    func selectionReturnsSubrange() {
+        let selection = NSRange(location: 21, length: 21)
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: text, selectedRange: selection)
+        #expect(scope.range == selection)
+        #expect(scope.sql == "SELECT * FROM orders;")
+        #expect(scope.cursorOffset == nil)
+    }
+
+    @Test("A selection covering the whole document behaves like a selection")
+    func selectionCoversWholeDocument() {
+        let fullRange = NSRange(location: 0, length: (text as NSString).length)
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: text, selectedRange: fullRange)
+        #expect(scope.range == fullRange)
+        #expect(scope.sql == text)
+        #expect(scope.cursorOffset == nil)
+    }
+
+    @Test("NSNotFound selection is treated as no selection")
+    func notFoundLocationTreatedAsNoSelection() {
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(
+            fullText: text,
+            selectedRange: NSRange(location: NSNotFound, length: 0)
+        )
+        #expect(scope.range == NSRange(location: 0, length: (text as NSString).length))
+        #expect(scope.cursorOffset == 0)
+    }
+
+    @Test("A selection extending past the document falls back to the full document")
+    func outOfBoundsSelectionFallsBack() {
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(
+            fullText: text,
+            selectedRange: NSRange(location: 30, length: 500)
+        )
+        #expect(scope.range == NSRange(location: 0, length: (text as NSString).length))
+        #expect(scope.cursorOffset == 30)
+    }
+
+    @Test("Scope reports whether it came from a selection")
+    func scopeReportsSelectionOrigin() {
+        let noSelection = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: text, selectedRange: NSRange(location: 0, length: 0))
+        #expect(noSelection.isSelection == false)
+        let selection = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: text, selectedRange: NSRange(location: 0, length: 6))
+        #expect(selection.isSelection)
+    }
+
+    @Test("A selection ending in a newline keeps the newline after formatting")
+    func trailingNewlinePreserved() {
+        let spliced = FormatScopeResolver.reapplyBoundaryWhitespace(
+            from: "select * from users;\n",
+            to: "SELECT *\nFROM users;"
+        )
+        #expect(spliced == "SELECT *\nFROM users;\n")
+    }
+
+    @Test("Leading and trailing whitespace of the selection both survive formatting")
+    func leadingAndTrailingWhitespacePreserved() {
+        let spliced = FormatScopeResolver.reapplyBoundaryWhitespace(
+            from: "\n  select 1; \n\n",
+            to: "SELECT 1;"
+        )
+        #expect(spliced == "\n  SELECT 1; \n\n")
+    }
+
+    @Test("Whitespace-only original returns the formatted text unchanged")
+    func whitespaceOnlyOriginalReturnsFormatted() {
+        let spliced = FormatScopeResolver.reapplyBoundaryWhitespace(from: "  \n ", to: "SELECT 1;")
+        #expect(spliced == "SELECT 1;")
+    }
+
+    @Test("Original without boundary whitespace returns the formatted text unchanged")
+    func noBoundaryWhitespaceReturnsFormatted() {
+        let spliced = FormatScopeResolver.reapplyBoundaryWhitespace(from: "select 1;", to: "SELECT 1;")
+        #expect(spliced == "SELECT 1;")
+    }
+
+    @Test("Unicode text resolves ranges in UTF-16 units")
+    func unicodeRangesUseUTF16() {
+        let unicodeText = "SELECT '😀' AS emoji;\nSELECT 1;"
+        let nsText = unicodeText as NSString
+        let secondStatement = NSRange(location: nsText.length - 9, length: 9)
+        let scope = FormatScopeResolver.resolve(fullText: unicodeText, selectedRange: secondStatement)
+        #expect(scope.sql == "SELECT 1;")
+        #expect(scope.range == secondStatement)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docs/features/keyboard-shortcuts.mdx b/docs/features/keyboard-shortcuts.mdx
index eac357308..c56cc6fd1 100644
--- a/docs/features/keyboard-shortcuts.mdx
+++ b/docs/features/keyboard-shortcuts.mdx
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ TablePro is keyboard-driven. Most actions have shortcuts, and most menu shortcut
 | Execute all statements | `Cmd+Shift+Enter` | Run all statements in the editor. Shows parameter panel if parameters are detected |
 | Cancel query | `Cmd+.` | Stop the currently running query |
 | Explain query | `Option+Cmd+E` | Show execution plan for query at cursor |
-| Format SQL | `Cmd+Shift+L` | Format SQL query |
+| Format SQL | `Cmd+Shift+L` | Format the selected SQL, or the whole query when nothing is selected |
 | Save as Favorite | `Cmd+D` | Save the current query as a favorite |
 
 ### Text Editing