diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestHelper.scala b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestHelper.scala
index 899fd85a8bb80..5ad9605c7d78b 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestHelper.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestHelper.scala
@@ -400,11 +400,16 @@ trait SQLQueryTestHelper extends SQLConfHelper with Logging {
   protected def splitCommentsAndCodes(input: String): (Array[String], Array[String]) =
     input.split("\n").partition { line =>
       val newLine = line.trim
-      newLine.startsWith("--") && !newLine.startsWith("--QUERY-DELIMITER")
+      newLine.startsWith("--") && !newLine.startsWith("--QUERY-DELIMITER") &&
+        newLine != "--DEBUG"
     }
 
-  protected def getQueries(code: Array[String], comments: Array[String],
-      allTestCases: Seq[TestCase]): Seq[String] = {
+  /**
+   * Parses queries from code lines and returns each query paired with a Boolean indicating
+   * whether it was preceded by a --DEBUG marker.
+   */
+  protected def getQueriesWithDebugFlag(code: Array[String], comments: Array[String],
+      allTestCases: Seq[TestCase]): Seq[(String, Boolean)] = {
     def splitWithSemicolon(seq: Seq[String]) = {
       seq.mkString("\n").split("(?<=[^\\\\]);")
     }
@@ -450,10 +455,18 @@ trait SQLQueryTestHelper extends SQLConfHelper with Logging {
       splitWithSemicolon(allCode.toImmutableArraySeq).toSeq
     }
 
-    // List of SQL queries to run
-    tempQueries.map(_.trim).filter(_ != "")
-      // Fix misplacement when comment is at the end of the query.
-      .map(_.split("\n").filterNot(_.startsWith("--")).mkString("\n")).map(_.trim).filter(_ != "")
+    // Detect --DEBUG markers before stripping comment lines from each query.
+    tempQueries.map(_.trim).filter(_ != "").map { query =>
+      val lines = query.split("\n")
+      val isDebug = lines.exists(_.trim == "--DEBUG")
+      val cleanedQuery = lines.filterNot(_.startsWith("--")).mkString("\n").trim
+      (cleanedQuery, isDebug)
+    }.filter(_._1 != "")
+  }
+
+  protected def getQueries(code: Array[String], comments: Array[String],
+      allTestCases: Seq[TestCase]): Seq[String] = {
+    getQueriesWithDebugFlag(code, comments, allTestCases).map(_._1)
   }
 
   protected def getSparkSettings(comments: Array[String]): Array[(String, String)] = {
diff --git a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestSuite.scala b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestSuite.scala
index a57c72f5fc155..f4be4c38ce932 100644
--- a/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/core/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/SQLQueryTestSuite.scala
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 package org.apache.spark.sql
 
-import java.io.File
+import java.io.{File, PrintWriter, StringWriter}
 import java.net.URI
 import java.nio.file.Files
 import java.util.Locale
@@ -84,6 +84,16 @@ import org.apache.spark.util.Utils
  *     times, each time picks one config set from each dimension, until all the combinations are
  *     tried. For example, if dimension 1 has 2 lines, dimension 2 has 3 lines, this testing file
  *     will be run 6 times (cartesian product).
+ *  6. A line with --DEBUG (on its own line before a query) marks that query for debug mode.
+ *     When any --DEBUG marker is present, the test enters debug mode:
+ *     - Commands (CREATE TABLE, INSERT, DROP, SET, etc.) are always executed automatically.
+ *     - Only --DEBUG-marked non-command queries are executed; all others are skipped.
+ *     - For failed queries, the full error stacktrace is printed to the console.
+ *     - Query results are still compared against the golden file.
+ *     - The test always fails at the end with a reminder to remove --DEBUG markers.
+ *     To inspect the DataFrame interactively, set a breakpoint in `runDebugQueries` at the
+ *     line where `localSparkSession.sql(sql)` is called, then evaluate the DataFrame in the
+ *     debugger (e.g., `df.queryExecution.analyzed`, `df.explain(true)`).
  *
  * For example:
  * {{{
@@ -92,6 +102,17 @@ import org.apache.spark.util.Utils
  *   select current_date;
  * }}}
  *
+ * To debug a specific query, add --DEBUG before it:
+ * {{{
+ *   CREATE TABLE t (id INT, val INT) USING parquet;
+ *   INSERT INTO t VALUES (1, 10), (2, 20);
+ *   -- this query is skipped in debug mode
+ *   SELECT count(*) FROM t;
+ *   -- this is the query I'm debugging
+ *   --DEBUG
+ *   SELECT sum(val) OVER (ORDER BY id) FROM t;
+ * }}}
+ *
  * The format for golden result files look roughly like:
  * {{{
  *   -- some header information
@@ -232,15 +253,18 @@ class SQLQueryTestSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSparkSession with SQLHelper
   protected def runSqlTestCase(testCase: TestCase, listTestCases: Seq[TestCase]): Unit = {
     val input = Files.readString(new File(testCase.inputFile).toPath)
     val (comments, code) = splitCommentsAndCodes(input)
-    val queries = getQueries(code, comments, listTestCases)
+    val queriesWithDebug = getQueriesWithDebugFlag(code, comments, listTestCases)
     val settings = getSparkSettings(comments)
+    val debugMode = queriesWithDebug.exists(_._2) && !testCase.isInstanceOf[AnalyzerTest]
 
-    if (regenerateGoldenFiles) {
-      runQueries(queries, testCase, settings.toImmutableArraySeq)
+    if (debugMode && !regenerateGoldenFiles) {
+      runDebugQueries(queriesWithDebug, testCase, settings.toImmutableArraySeq)
+    } else if (regenerateGoldenFiles) {
+      runQueries(queriesWithDebug.map(_._1), testCase, settings.toImmutableArraySeq)
     } else {
       val configSets = getSparkConfigDimensions(comments)
       runQueriesWithSparkConfigDimensions(
-        queries, testCase, settings, configSets)
+        queriesWithDebug.map(_._1), testCase, settings, configSets)
     }
   }
 
@@ -287,12 +311,13 @@ class SQLQueryTestSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSparkSession with SQLHelper
     }
   }
 
-  protected def runQueries(
-      queries: Seq[String],
+  /**
+   * Creates and configures a local SparkSession for running test queries.
+   * Handles UDF/UDTF registration, SQL config, and TPCDS table setup.
+   */
+  private def setupLocalSession(
       testCase: TestCase,
-      sparkConfigSet: Seq[(String, String)]): Unit = {
-    // Create a local SparkSession to have stronger isolation between different test cases.
-    // This does not isolate catalog changes.
+      sparkConfigSet: Seq[(String, String)]): SparkSession = {
     val localSparkSession = spark.newSession()
 
     testCase match {
@@ -337,6 +362,127 @@ class SQLQueryTestSuite extends QueryTest with SharedSparkSession with SQLHelper
       }
     }
 
+    localSparkSession
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Runs queries in debug mode. Only commands and --DEBUG-marked queries are executed.
+   * Failed debug queries print the full error stacktrace. Results are compared against
+   * the golden file. The test always fails at the end to prevent accidental commits.
+   *
+   * To inspect the DataFrame interactively, set a breakpoint at the line where
+   * `localSparkSession.sql(sql)` is called inside this method, then evaluate the DataFrame
+   * in the debugger (e.g., `df.queryExecution.analyzed`, `df.explain(true)`).
+   */
+  protected def runDebugQueries(
+      queriesWithDebug: Seq[(String, Boolean)],
+      testCase: TestCase,
+      sparkConfigSet: Seq[(String, String)]): Unit = {
+    val localSparkSession = setupLocalSession(testCase, sparkConfigSet)
+    val lowercaseTestCase = testCase.name.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT)
+    val segmentsPerQuery = 3
+
+    val goldenFileExists = new File(testCase.resultFile).exists()
+    val segments = if (goldenFileExists) {
+      Files.readString(new File(testCase.resultFile).toPath).split("-- !query.*\n")
+    } else {
+      Array.empty[String]
+    }
+
+    queriesWithDebug.zipWithIndex.foreach { case ((sql, isDebug), i) =>
+      val isCommand = try {
+        localSparkSession.sessionState.sqlParser.parsePlan(sql).isInstanceOf[Command]
+      } catch {
+        case _: ParseException => false
+      }
+
+      if (isCommand) {
+        localSparkSession.sql(sql).collect()
+      } else if (isDebug) {
+        // Capture exception stacktrace if the query fails.
+        var exceptionTrace: Option[String] = None
+        val (schema, result) = handleExceptions {
+          try {
+            // Set a breakpoint here and evaluate `localSparkSession.sql(sql)` to get the
+            // DataFrame for ad-hoc debugging (e.g., df.queryExecution.analyzed).
+            getNormalizedQueryExecutionResult(localSparkSession, sql)
+          } catch {
+            case e: Throwable =>
+              val sw = new StringWriter()
+              e.printStackTrace(new PrintWriter(sw))
+              exceptionTrace = Some(sw.toString)
+              throw e
+          }
+        }
+        val output = ExecutionOutput(
+          sql = sql,
+          schema = Some(schema),
+          output = normalizeTestResults(result.mkString("\n")))
+
+        // Build consolidated debug output.
+        val debugOutput = new StringBuilder()
+        debugOutput.append(s"\n=== DEBUG: Query #$i ===")
+        debugOutput.append(s"\nSQL: $sql")
+        exceptionTrace.foreach { trace =>
+          debugOutput.append(s"\n$trace")
+        }
+
+        // Compare against golden file and append result.
+        var mismatch: Option[String] = None
+        if (goldenFileExists &&
+            segments.length > segmentsPerQuery * i + segmentsPerQuery) {
+          val expected = ExecutionOutput(
+            segments(segmentsPerQuery * i + 1).trim,
+            Some(segments(segmentsPerQuery * i + 2).trim),
+            normalizeTestResults(segments(segmentsPerQuery * i + 3)))
+
+          if (expected.sql != output.sql) {
+            debugOutput.append("\nGolden answer: no matching entry " +
+              "(SQL text differs, likely a new or moved query)")
+          } else if (expected.schema != output.schema) {
+            mismatch = Some(s"Schema did not match for query #$i\n${expected.sql}")
+            debugOutput.append(s"\nGolden answer: schema mismatch")
+            debugOutput.append(s"\n  Expected: ${expected.schema.getOrElse("")}")
+            debugOutput.append(s"\n  Actual:   ${output.schema.getOrElse("")}")
+          } else if (expected.output != output.output) {
+            mismatch = Some(s"Result did not match for query #$i\n${expected.sql}")
+            debugOutput.append(s"\nGolden answer: result mismatch")
+            debugOutput.append(s"\n  Expected:\n${expected.output}")
+            debugOutput.append(s"\n  Actual:\n${output.output}")
+          } else {
+            debugOutput.append("\nGolden answer: matches")
+          }
+        } else {
+          debugOutput.append("\nGolden answer: no golden file to compare")
+        }
+
+        // scalastyle:off println
+        println(debugOutput.toString)
+        // scalastyle:on println
+
+        mismatch.foreach(fail(_))
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (requireTPCDSCases.contains(lowercaseTestCase)) {
+      tpcDSTableNamesToSchemas.foreach { case (name: String, _: String) =>
+        localSparkSession.sql(s"DROP TABLE IF EXISTS $name")
+      }
+    }
+
+    fail("Test is in debug mode. " +
+      "Remove --DEBUG markers from the input file before committing.")
+  }
+
+  protected def runQueries(
+      queries: Seq[String],
+      testCase: TestCase,
+      sparkConfigSet: Seq[(String, String)]): Unit = {
+    // Create a local SparkSession to have stronger isolation between different test cases.
+    // This does not isolate catalog changes.
+    val localSparkSession = setupLocalSession(testCase, sparkConfigSet)
+    val lowercaseTestCase = testCase.name.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT)
+
     // Run the SQL queries preparing them for comparison.
     val outputs: Seq[QueryTestOutput] = queries.map { sql =>
       testCase match {