--- title: Understanding SHOWPLAN_ALL in SQL Server and Microsoft... description: SHOWPLAN_ALL is a SQL Server session-level setting that returns the estimated execution plan instead of executing a query. It reveals physical operators the... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/understanding-showplan-all-in-sql-server-and-microsoft-fabric-sbipvmnjj twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Understanding SHOWPLAN_ALL in SQL Server and Microsoft Fabric | daily.dev og:description: SHOWPLAN_ALL is a SQL Server session-level setting that returns the estimated execution plan instead of executing a query. It reveals physical operators the... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/understanding-showplan-all-in-sql-server-and-microsoft-fabric-sbipvmnjj og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/sbIPvMNjj.png og:image:alt: Understanding SHOWPLAN_ALL in SQL Server and Microsoft Fabric og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Understanding SHOWPLAN_ALL in SQL Server and Microsoft Fabric **[C\# Corner](https://daily.dev/sources/csharpcorner)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary SHOWPLAN_ALL is a SQL Server session-level setting that returns the estimated execution plan instead of executing a query. It reveals physical operators the optimizer intends to use, helping diagnose slow queries, identify expensive operations like sorts and scans, and compare query implementations. A key pitfall: once enabled, every subsequent query in the session returns a plan rather than data — until explicitly disabled with SET SHOWPLAN_ALL OFF. The post also covers related session settings (SHOWPLAN_XML, STATISTICS IO, STATISTICS TIME) and explains why reading execution plans is an essential skill for data engineers working with SQL Server or Microsoft Fabric SQL Database. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why does every query in my SQL Server session suddenly return an execution plan instead of results? SHOWPLAN_ALL is a session-level setting, not a one-time command, so once enabled it affects every subsequent query in that session until explicitly turned off. Running SET SHOWPLAN_ALL OFF disables it and immediately restores normal query execution, returning actual data instead of the estimated plan. _Debugging odd SQL Server session behavior gets easier when you track fixes like this on daily.dev._ ### How is SHOWPLAN_ALL different from EXPLAIN in PostgreSQL or MySQL? SQL Server does not support an EXPLAIN command like PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, or Databricks SQL; instead it relies on SHOWPLAN_ALL and graphical execution plans to show the optimizer's intended physical operators without running the query. SHOWPLAN_ALL returns the estimated execution plan as a result set rather than executing the query and returning data. _Comparing execution plan tools across databases is easier when you follow SQL Server tips on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [AI Execution Plan Analysis: I Gave It My Plan and Asked What Was Wrong](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-execution-plan-analysis-i-gave-it-my-plan-and-asked-what-was-wrong-goqe4azrt) · SQL Authority · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Understanding EXPLAIN FORMATTED in Databricks SQL](https://daily.dev/posts/understanding-explain-formatted-in-databricks-sql-p3cwhgdei) · C\# Corner · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Introducing the Query Tuning Agent: Optimize Your Most Complex Workloads](https://daily.dev/posts/introducing-the-query-tuning-agent-optimize-your-most-complex-workloads-hhvgwretf) · SingleStore · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Query Plan Hints in PostgreSQL 19: How & When to Use Advice](https://daily.dev/posts/query-plan-hints-in-postgresql-19-how-when-to-use-advice-nuiwyskol) · Planet PostgreSQL · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#microsoft-sql-server](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft-sql-server), [#microsoft-fabric](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft-fabric) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/understanding-showplan-all-in-sql-server-and-microsoft-fabric-sbipvmnjj) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Understanding SHOWPLAN_ALL in SQL Server and Microsoft Fabric","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/understanding-showplan-all-in-sql-server-and-microsoft-fabric-sbipvmnjj","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/understanding-showplan-all-in-sql-server-and-microsoft-fabric-sbipvmnjj"},"datePublished":"2026-07-21T06:37:15.336Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T09:05:31.238Z","description":"SHOWPLAN_ALL is a SQL Server session-level setting that returns the estimated execution plan instead of executing a query. 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