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mssql-python 1.9.0: Row-friendly Bulk Copy, smarter NULL parameters, and a more portable wheel

DavidLevy — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:50:56 GMT

We just shipped mssql-python 1.9.0, the official Microsoft SQL driver for Python. This release focuses on day-to-day ergonomics for data loading, a long-standing correctness gap around NULL parameter binding, and a build change that makes the published wheels work on clean macOS and Linux machines.

pip install --upgrade mssql-python

Highlights

Bulk Copy now accepts Row objects (and lists)

Bulk Copy previously required tuples. In 1.9.0 you can hand it Row objects straight from a SELECT, or plain lists, and the driver converts each row to a tuple internally before passing data to the Rust backend.

rows = source_cursor.execute( "SELECT id, display_name, created_at FROM users" ).fetchall() target_cursor.bulkcopy("staging.users", rows)

The common "fetch from one table, bulk-insert into another" pattern just works, with no manual row reshaping and no type errors on the boundary.

NULL parameters now resolve to the right SQL type

When you bound None to a parameter, the driver used to fall back to SQL_VARCHAR. That was fine for character columns and quietly wrong for everything else, especially VARBINARY and all-NULL columns where the server had no other type signal to lean on.

1.9.0 adds a thread-safe per-statement cache for SQLDescribeParam results, so NULL parameters resolve to the parameter's actual declared type. The cache is invalidated when a new statement is prepared, which also cuts redundant round-trips to the server during repeated executions of the same prepared statement.

simdutf is now statically linked into the extension

The published wheels (especially the macOS universal2 wheel) previously dynamically linked simdutf against a path that only existed on the CI build machine. On a clean install, import mssql_python could fail with missing-symbol or dlopen errors.

The build no longer calls find_package(simdutf). FetchContent is used unconditionally, simdutf is built as a static library, and its symbols are embedded directly in the extension. There is nothing for end users to do; reinstall the wheel and the import works on a clean machine. Thanks to @edgarrmondragon for the contribution.

Bug fixes worth calling out

executemany with large Decimal values. Batch inserts of Decimal values larger than the SQL Server MONEY range raised an SQL_C_NUMERIC type-mismatch at runtime. executemany now binds DECIMAL / NUMERIC parameters as SQL_C_CHAR and sizes the column to fit the longest string representation, so large-decimal batches (including NULLs and multi-column inserts) succeed.
Exception pickle round-trips. ConnectionStringParseError and the DB-API exception subclasses now implement __reduce__, so driver exceptions survive pickle / copy.deepcopy with every attribute intact. multiprocessing, distributed task queues, and anything that ships exceptions across process boundaries no longer lose context on the way through.
nextset() and PRINT output. nextset() now collects diagnostic messages whenever SQL returns SQL_SUCCESS_WITH_INFO. Previously, PRINT output from secondary result sets in multi-statement batches and stored procedures was silently dropped after the first set.
executemany data-at-execution path with Row objects. The DAE fallback used by large columns such as varchar(max) only recognized primitive types, so passing Row objects in that path failed. The fallback now converts Row to a tuple before mapping types.
Fetch methods now type-check under ty. Catalog and metadata result-set handling no longer monkey-patches fetchone, fetchmany, and fetchall as instance attributes. A cached _column_map is built instead, so the fetch APIs stay proper class methods and static type checkers like ty stop tripping on cursor fetch calls.

Upgrading

For most users, pip install --upgrade mssql-python is all you need. If you had any workarounds for NULL parameter typing (manually setting inputsizes, casting in SQL, or sending sentinel values), you can drop it. If you were converting fetched rows to tuples before handing them to bulkcopy or executemany, that's no longer required either.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who filed issues, sent repros, and reviewed PRs in this cycle. The NULL parameter fix, the Row handling in Bulk Copy and executemany, and the simdutf linking change all came directly from user-reported scenarios, and the simdutf change was a community contribution from @edgarrmondragon.

Full changelog and PR list: microsoft/mssql-python releases.

Introducing Execution Context for GitHub Copilot in SSMS

erinstellato — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:45:47 GMT

The GA release of GitHub Copilot in SSMS in March included Ask mode support for the chat window, interaction with the results pane, and code completions. Yesterday’s release of SSMS 22.7 introduced Agent mode (preview) for the chat window, backed by skills to complete complex, multi-step tasks on your behalf. You've been able to ask questions in natural language, get help writing T-SQL, and interact with your database right from SSMS. Now you can leverage built-in skills to get help troubleshooting performance issues, analyze missing indexes, review configuration and more, as well as create custom skills to streamline your own workflows.

But...since the very first time I presented about Copilot, I’ve been asked: can we control what Copilot is allowed to do, separately from the user's own permissions? When Copilot executes queries, it uses the same credentials as the connected user. If you connect as a sysadmin, Copilot has sysadmin-level access. Customers asked for a way to let users take advantage of GitHub Copilot, but limit what queries it can execute.

Introducing agentExecuteAsUser in the database CONSTITUTION.md

Starting with SSMS 22.7, database owners can now configure the Copilot execution context separate from the user's permissions. You can specify either a database user or SQL login that Copilot uses when running queries. This gives organizations the control they've been asking for: users keep their access, but Copilot is constrained to exactly what you allow. The configuration is stored in the frontmatter of the database's CONSTITUTION.md file (database-level extended property), and must be configured per database. The following format must exist in the CONSTITUTION.md:

---
agentExecuteAsUser: GHCP_DatabaseUser
---

How to set it up

The following T-SQL code shows how to configure a database user, GHCP_DatabaseUser, for the General Hospital database.

Step 1: Created a dedicated database user (or SQL login) with limited permissions

Follow the principle of least privilege when creating the user or login you create for GitHub Copilot to use.

/* Set database context */

USE GeneralHospital;

/* Add database user with READONLY permissions, except on dbo.CustomerPayments */

DECLARE @GHCPUser NVARCHAR(128) = N'GHCP_DatabaseUser'; 

/* Create a contained database user (no server login required) */ 

IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.database_principals WHERE name = @GHCPUser) 

BEGIN 

    DECLARE @sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'CREATE USER ' + QUOTENAME(@GHCPUser) + N' WITHOUT LOGIN'; 

    EXEC sp_executesql @sql; PRINT 'Created user: ' + @GHCPUser; 

END 

    ELSE PRINT 'User already exists: ' + @GHCPUser; 

/* Grant the user appropriate permissions (adjust to your scenario) db_datareader is a safe starting point, add additional roles or specific GRANTs as needed */ 

DECLARE @roleSql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'ALTER ROLE db_datareader ADD MEMBER ' + QUOTENAME(@DBUser); 

EXEC sp_executesql @roleSql; 

/* Deny agent user READ access to a table with sensitive data */ 

DECLARE @denySql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'DENY SELECT ON dbo.CustomerPayments TO ' + QUOTENAME(@DBUser); EXEC sp_executesql @denySql;

Step 2: Add the CONSTITUTION.md extended property for the database

Specify the user in the frontmatter of the CONSITUTION.md for the database, which is stored as a database-level extended property. You can add or update it with T-SQL.

/* Set database context */

USE GeneralHospital;

/*

Check to see if CONSITUTION exists

*/

SELECT

name,

CAST(value AS NVARCHAR(MAX)) AS ConstitutionContent

FROM sys.extended_properties

WHERE class = 0 AND name = N'CONSTITUTION.md';

/*

Write (or update) CONSTITUTION.md with the agentExecuteAsUser frontmatter

*/

DECLARE @constitution NVARCHAR(4000) =

    N'---' + CHAR(10)

   + N'agentExecuteAsUser: ' + @DBUser + CHAR(10)

   + N'---' + CHAR(10)

   + N'# Database Constitution' + CHAR(10)

   + CHAR(10)

   + N'## Purpose

This database manages operations for General Hospital including patient records, appointments, medical staff, and billing information.

## Naming Conventions

- **Tables**: Use abbreviated names for clarity (e.g., Pts = Patients, Docs = Doctors, Apts = Appointments)

- **Primary Keys**: Use `[TableName]ID` format

- **Foreign Keys**: Use descriptive names indicating the relationship



## Data Integrity Rules

- All tables must have a primary key

- Use foreign key constraints to enforce referential integrity

- Implement appropriate indexes on foreign key columns

- Use constraints to enforce business rules at the database level



## Coding Guidelines

- Avoid SELECT * in production code

- Use appropriate data types (avoid oversizing)';



IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.extended_properties WHERE class = 0 AND name = N'CONSTITUTION.md')

    EXEC sp_updateextendedproperty @name = N'CONSTITUTION.md', @value = @constitution;

ELSE

    EXEC sp_addextendedproperty @name = N'CONSTITUTION.md', @value = @constitution;



/* Verify the CONTITUTION.md extended property was created/updated correctly */

PRINT 'CONSTITUTION.md written with agentExecuteAsUser: ' + @DBUser;

Step 3: Grant IMPERSONATE permission to users of GitHub Copilot

Any SSMS user that will use GitHub Copilot for the database must have the IMPERSONATE permissions when an agentExecuteAsUser is specified. Use of IMPERSONATE is intentional — it ensures that the database owner explicitly controls which users can leverage Copilot in a database with a configured execution context. If a user doesn't have IMPERSONATE permission, they can't use GitHub Copilot in SSMS against that database.

USE GeneralHospital;

DECLARE @DBUser NVARCHAR(128) = N'GHCP_DatabaseUser';

DECLARE @RegularUser NVARCHAR(128) = N'PeterParker';

/*

Grant IMPERSONATE to the users (or to a role) of GitHub Copilot

This must be granted to the principal that the copilot actually connects as.

*/

DECLARE @impersonateSql NVARCHAR(MAX) =

N'GRANT IMPERSONATE ON USER::' + QUOTENAME(@DBUser) + N' TO ' + @RegularUser;

EXEC sp_executesql @impersonateSql;

As a general best practice, apply the principle of least privilege to all database users. This also applies to the user you configure for agentExecuteAsUser. Grant only the minimum permissions needed for the tasks you want Copilot to assist with. If Copilot only needs to execute with SELECT queries, don't grant INSERT or UPDATE. If it doesn't need access to certain schemas or tables, don't grant it. The tighter the permissions on this user, the more confidence you have in what GitHub Copilot in SSMS can and can't do.

Step 4: Verify the configuration

Once configured, GitHub Copilot in SSMS will automatically impersonate the specified user when generating and executing queries. You can verify this by asking Copilot to run a query that accesses a denied table. Access will fail, confirming the security boundary is in place.

What this means in practice

Consider a Data Engineer who has db_owner on a production database - perhaps they need it for deployments and maintenance. Without a configured execution context, GitHub Copilot executes queries with db_owner permissions. With agentExecuteAsUser, you can give Copilot read-only access while the engineer retains full permissions for their day-to-day work and in the Query Editor.

The user's permissions and capabilities, outside of GitHub Copilot, are unchanged. They can still run any query they have permissions to execute in the Query Editor, they can still navigate within Object Explorer. The Copilot execution context only applies to what GitHub Copilot in SSMS executes on their behalf.

Combining with CONSTITUTION.md guidelines

The agentExecuteAsUser setting works alongside the guidelines you define in the CONSTITUTION.md body. While agentExecuteAsUser follows permissions established at the database engine level, the rules in the constitution body provide behavioral guidelines for the AI model.

Together, they provide:

Hard boundary: Database permissions for agentExecuteAsUser prevent unauthorized data access
Soft boundary: CONSTITUTION guidelines direct Copilot's behavior (e.g., “never suggest DROP statements,” “always include WHERE clauses on DELETE”)

Get started

To leverage execution context for GitHub Copilot in SSMS, update to version 22.7 and configure the agentExecuteAsUser frontmatter in your database constitution. We've had a delay in getting documentation for the release published (apologies!), but once that is resolved, you can check out the docs. In the interim, check out the quick video on our YouTube playlist, along with all the others videos for GitHub Copilot in SSMS (including Agent mode!). As always, please share your feedback using the Send Feedback button in SSMS or on the SSMS feedback site.

Announcing the Release of SSMS 22.7.0 - and many previews!

mbarickman — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:47:59 GMT

Today we shipped SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 22.7.0, and this is one of the bigger releases we've had in a while. The headline items are we’ve introduced a “What’s New” page, SQL formatting (preview), schema compare (preview), Agent Mode for GitHub Copilot in SSMS (preview), and a new execution context for GitHub Copilot. There's also continued investment in Database DevOps and a solid round of bug fixes. Thank you, as always, for taking the time to log issues and upvote what matters. It really does shape what we work on.

Let's dig in.

Introducing the "What's New" page

When you update to 22.7, you’ll see something new: an in-product “What’s New” page that showcases our top features and fixes in the release. It’s a short, abbreviated summary that gives you the chance to quickly skim and understand the highlights of the release. This page automatically appears the first time you open SSMS after updating. Once you close it, it won’t show again the next time you launch SSMS. You’ll only see it again after a future update. If, at any time, you want to see the What’s New page again, you can go to Help > What’s New.

The "What's new" page loads when you launch SSMS for the first time after an update.

Let us know what you think about it – I’ve created a suggestion ticket on Developer Community for folks to leave thoughts. If you encounter a bug with the page itself (something not loading, broken links, etc.) please open a separate Developer Community ticket so our engineering team can triage and investigate it properly.

T-SQL formatting in the query editor (preview)

If you’re one of the hundreds of SSMS users who has been asking (and patiently waiting) for T-SQL formatting capabilities, I am very happy to report that as of today, this feature is available in preview! This functionality has been built into the core SSMS experience, no workloads or components required. To get started, simply right-click any query editor window and find the Format SQL menu item.

The formatter supports a range of options that let you control how your SQL is styled. You can configure keyword casing (uppercase, lowercase, or PascalCase), indentation size, semicolons after statements, and how clauses like FROM, WHERE, and JOIN are broken across lines. Alignment options let you line up clause bodies, column definitions, and SET clause items for a clean, readable layout. Multi-line list options control whether SELECT columns, WHERE predicates, and INSERT values each get their own line.

From the query editor, right-click to bring up the context menu with the new "Format SQL" option.

We're continuing to expand the available options, and we encourage you to file feedback if there's a formatting behavior you'd like to see. The SQL formatting functionality in SSMS is built on top of the open-source .NET library for T-SQL parsing, ScriptDOM, also known as SqlScriptDOM. Get to know ScriptDOM in its GitHub repository, where the GitHub issues system can be used to discuss ideas and challenges encountered. Pull requests are welcome!

Learn more in the SQL formatter documentation.

GitHub Copilot in SSMS

Agent mode (preview)

GitHub Copilot capabilities have expanded significantly in this release with the introduction of Agent mode. Currently in preview, Agent mode allows you to offload complex, multi-step tasks to Copilot. Where Ask mode helps with quick answers, Agent mode helps you solve problems. Agent mode acts, with your approval, reducing your operational effort.

Agent mode is available in the mode picker, in the bottom left of the chat window. In the bottom right of the chat window you’ll find options for tools and skills, and you can use the plus icon to add a specific skill (listed under MCP resources) to the chat as context.

GitHub Copilot in SSMS Agent mode (preview).

Agent mode doesn’t inherit connection context from Object Explorer or the active editor, so it’s recommended to specify your database and/or server in the prompt to reduce ambiguity (e.g., the WideWorldImporters database on the SQL 2025 instance is slow, can you help me figure out what's going on?). With your prompt submitted, you remain in control through tool approvals – giving you the opportunity to review and approve (or reject) any queries executed on your behalf. Further, Agent mode operates as READ_ONLY by default to give you the opportunity to get comfortable with how it works in a database environment. Use Agent mode for investigation, analysis, and assessment, and extend its capabilities by creating your own skills. Check out the documentation and our YouTube playlist for examples and scenarios.

Copilot execution context

Perhaps more important than making Agent mode available, we introduced the ability to configure the execution context for GitHub Copilot - a feature that has been requested every session and in feedback items. We’ll have more details in tomorrow’s blog post, but for those of you that want to restrict what GitHub Copilot can access, this is your solution. The execution context is configured per database, using the CONSTITUTION.md for the database (as an extended property). Within the frontmatter (a metadata block at the top of a Markdown file) of the CONSTITUTION.md, you specify a database user or SQL login as the agentExecuteAsUser. When GitHub Copilot connects to your database, it reads the CONSTITUTION.md for the database, and if it sees the agentExecuteAsUser specified, all queries are executed under the context of the user or login. This configuration applies to both Ask and Agent mode.

Database DevOps (preview) updates, including schema compare (preview)

Earlier this year we introduced SQL projects in SSMS via the Database DevOps workload. This release, we’re expanding the available capabilities with graphical schema compare (preview) and SQLCMD variable support in the publish dialog. I won’t say too much more, because Drew has an entire blog post dedicated to these features, but I hope these features supercharge your experience in SSMS and give you back some time.

Other improvements and bug fixes

The full list is in the release notes, but a few that I expect folks will be happy to see:

Azure SQL Managed Instance — Added support for creating a new login using your Windows domain account directly from SSMS. Small change, frequently requested, and it removes a workflow that previously required dropping into scripts.
Command Line — Fixed an issue where the Connect to Server dialog still appeared even when both -S and -d were provided alongside a filename. See Unable to skip the Connect dialog, even with -S and -d parameters, if you pass as filename.
Connection — Selecting Activity Monitor (Ctrl+Alt+A) from the toolbar no longer opens the legacy connection dialog when no Object Explorer connection is active. See If there is no open connection on object explorer and I click Activity Monitor (Ctrl+alt+A) from toolbar, it opens the old connect to server dialog.
Object Explorer — Pressing F2 on a schema-qualified object and then clicking away no longer warns about unsaved name changes when nothing actually changed. See Object Explorer rename on Schema Database objects – warns on out of focus after F2 with no name change.
Results Grid — The Save Results As dialog no longer filters All files as *.txt. See Results Grid "Save Results As" dialog filters "All files" as *.txt.
Settings — Debug-only settings errors are no longer displayed in the Output window. See SQL Server Management Studio 22 versions later than 22.2.1.
Query Hint Recommendation Tool — The Do not consider combinations of hints label is now theme-compliant.

In summary

As always, thank you for using SSMS, for the feedback items, the upvotes, the comments, and the patience as we keep iterating. With Agent mode, the new execution context for Copilot, schema compare, and SQL formatting all landing in the same release, there's a lot to try in 22.7 - please tell us how it goes.

SQL Server FCI CSV storage flips multiple times into Online (No Access) state and eventually fails

jobymathew10 — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:09:57 GMT

Dear Team,

I'm encountering an issue with our SQL Server multi‑instance failover cluster after applying the OS security patches and restarting the second node.

Once the second node comes back online, the Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) briefly flips multiple times into Online (No Access) state and eventually fails.(we can make it online manually, but again flips and failed after sometime).

To make the SQL cluster available, we either need to shut down the VM or revert the patch.

Before the patching, all cluster roles and SQL instances were moved off the node, and the cluster appeared healthy. The issue only occurs after the reboot of the second node. (first node patched and restarted and everything working fine)

OS : Windows Server 2025 Standard

Patch tried:

KB5075899 (February,2026 )

KB5078740 (March,2026)

KB5082063 (April 2026 )

KB5087539 (May 2026)

Could you please advise if there are any specific checks or steps we should follow during OS patching to prevent CSV access loss?

Is it an issue with the patch or something else?

Any insights or recommended actions would be really helpful to perform the security OS patch in the server

Thanks you!

Windows server 2025 SQL patching cluster problem.

SRENGCHANNY — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:17:35 GMT

Dear Team,

I have a problem when I am patching upgrade windows server 2025 with KB5091157. After patching is the clustering is not able to join back; it shows the error with credentials. The log error is "Cannot connect sqlxxxxxxx." you do not have administrative privileges on the cluster. Contact your network administrator to request access.
Note: The server is not in a different VLAN network.

mssql-python 1.8.0: friendlier Row access, Bulk Copy with MSI, and a refreshed ODBC driver

DavidLevy — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:00:59 GMT

We just shipped mssql-python 1.8.0, the official Microsoft SQL Server driver for Python. This release focuses on day-to-day ergonomics, a long-requested authentication option for Bulk Copy, and a refresh of the bundled ODBC driver.

pip install --upgrade mssql-python

Highlights

Row objects now support string-key indexing

Row already supported integer indexing and attribute access. In 1.8.0 you can also index by column name, which is the pattern most users reach for first:

cursor.execute("SELECT id, display_name FROM users WHERE id = ?", [42]) row = cursor.fetchone() row[0] # 42 - by index row.display_name # 'Ada' - by attribute row["display_name"] # 'Ada' - new in 1.8.0

If you set cursor.lowercase = True, string-key lookups become case-insensitive too, matching the casing behavior of attribute access.

ActiveDirectoryMSI authentication for Bulk Copy

Bulk Copy operations now support Authentication=ActiveDirectoryMSI, so workloads running with a managed identity (Azure VMs, App Service, Functions, Container Apps, AKS) can stream bulk inserts to Azure SQL without provisioning a separate credential.

Bundled ODBC driver upgraded to 18.6.2.1

We've upgraded the bundled Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server from 18.5.1.1 to 18.6.2.1. You pick up the upstream fixes and TLS/cert improvements just by upgrading the wheel. No separate ODBC install step.

Bug fixes worth calling out

Deferred connect-attribute use-after-free. Values passed to connection attributes set before connect are now stored in member buffers, so the driver no longer reads freed memory in some attribute-set paths.
Connection string parsed multiple times in the auth path. The auth code path was reparsing the connection string several times per connect. It now operates on the already-parsed parameter dictionary, which is both faster and easier to reason about. Sensitive parameters (UID, PWD, Trusted_Connection, Authentication) are sanitized through a single canonical path before the ODBC handoff.
executemany type annotation regression. seq_of_parameters now uses a covariant Sequence, so passing a list of tuples (or any covariant sequence type) type-checks cleanly again.

Upgrading

For most users, pip install --upgrade mssql-python is all you need. Nothing in this release is intentionally breaking. If you have type stubs or mypy pins that depended on the previous invariant seq_of_parameters annotation, you can drop the workaround.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who filed issues, sent repros, and reviewed PRs in this cycle. The Row indexing and connection-string parsing work came directly from user-reported scenarios.

Full changelog and PR list: microsoft/mssql-python releases.

Announcing the release of Microsoft OLE DB Driver 19.4.2 for SQL Server

DavidLevy — Tue, 26 May 2026 17:12:48 GMT

We're pleased to announce the general availability (GA) release of Microsoft OLE DB Driver 19.4.2 for SQL Server. This is a maintenance update to the 19.4 line that improves TLS handling, raises a long-standing connection redirection limit, refreshes the bundled authentication library, and fixes accessibility issues in the UDL dialog.

Download

x64 / Arm64 installer
x86 installer

The 64-bit MSI continues to install the appropriate binary (x64 or Arm64) automatically based on the OS platform. MSOLEDBSQL 19 installs side by side with MSOLEDBSQL 18.

Prerequisite: the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable must be installed before running the driver installer.

What's new in 19.4.2

Features added

Feature	Details
SSL/TLS improvements	Improved SSL/TLS handling for better security and performance.
10 redirects per connection	The driver no longer caps connection redirections at 2, which removes a long-standing failure mode for workloads that hit redirection-heavy topologies (for example, certain Azure SQL routing scenarios).

Bugs fixed

Fix	Details
UDL accessibility defects	Fixed accessibility issues in the Universal Data Link (UDL) dialog.
Updated authentication library	Microsoft SQL Driver Authentication library (mssql-auth.dll) updated to version 1.1.3. mssql-auth.dll is the ADAL replacement introduced in 19.4.1 and is installed as part of the driver setup.

Supported languages

19.4.2 is available in: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, English (United States), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Direct per-language download links are available in the Release notes and the Download page.

Upgrading

If you're on 19.4.1 or earlier in the 19.x line, an in-place upgrade is supported. As always, we recommend validating in a non-production environment first, especially if your application depends on the redirection or TLS behaviors touched in this release.

Feedback

Please file issues and feature requests on the Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server feedback site or via your usual support channel. Thanks to everyone who reported the UDL accessibility and redirection-limit issues that drove this release.

Announcing mssql-django 1.7.2

DavidLevy — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT

We're pleased to announce the release of mssql-django 1.7.2, a patch release that ships three targeted bug fixes for the Django backend for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL. This release focuses on correctness: timezone-aware datetimes, QuerySet.explain() on Django 4.0+, and exception handling in a test utility.

Install or upgrade from PyPI:

pip install --upgrade mssql-django

What's new in 1.7.2

Correct timezone handling for DATETIMEOFFSET and Now() under USE_TZ=True

Two long-standing timezone issues are fixed in this release:

handle_datetimeoffset now parses the timezone offset from SQL Server's binary DATETIMEOFFSET representation. Previously, values read from DATETIMEOFFSET columns could be returned without their offset, leading to naive datetimes or values converted using the wrong zone. The backend now returns properly timezone-aware datetime objects.
Now() emits SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() when USE_TZ=True. When Django is configured with USE_TZ=True, the expression Now() previously compiled to SYSDATETIME(), which returns the SQL Server host's local time without offset information. On non-UTC hosts this produced timestamps that were silently shifted. With this fix, Now() compiles to SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() under USE_TZ=True and continues to compile to SYSDATETIME() when USE_TZ=False, matching Django's expectations.

The release adds regression tests covering UTC, +05:30 (IST), -05:00 (EST), -09:30 (Marquesas), and +05:45 (Nepal) offsets, plus a new NowSQLTemplateTests that pins the SQL template emitted in each USE_TZ mode.

QuerySet.explain() no longer raises AttributeError on Django 4.0+

In Django 4.0 the internal API for EXPLAIN plans changed: query.explain_format and query.explain_options were replaced by a single query.explain_info object. The mssql-django compiler still read the old attributes, which raised AttributeError whenever an application called .explain() on a queryset.

The compiler now reads the correct attribute based on the running Django version, so .explain() works again on Django 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, and 6.0. A new ExplainRegressionTests suite locks in the behavior.

Test utility no longer swallows exceptions in finally

A return statement inside a finally block in the JSONField support probe (_check_jsonfield_supported_sqlite()) was silently swallowing exceptions, including KeyboardInterrupt and other BaseException subclasses. The return has been removed so exceptions propagate as Python intends.

Compatibility

mssql-django 1.7.2 supports:

Django: 3.2, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 6.0
Python: 3.8 through 3.14
SQL Server: 2017, 2019, 2022, 2025; Azure SQL Database; Azure SQL Managed Instance
ODBC Driver: 17 or 18 for SQL Server (driver 18 is the default since 1.7, with automatic fallback to 17 when 18 is not installed)

No configuration changes are required to pick up the fixes in 1.7.2. Upgrade in place:

pip install --upgrade mssql-django

Upgrading from 1.7.1

1.7.2 is a drop-in replacement for 1.7.1. If your application:

reads from DATETIMEOFFSET columns,
uses django.db.models.functions.Now() with USE_TZ=True, or
calls QuerySet.explain() on Django 4.0+,

you will see corrected behavior after upgrading. Applications that previously worked around the timezone offset issue (for example by manually attaching tzinfo to values read from DATETIMEOFFSET columns) should review those workarounds; values returned by the ORM are now timezone-aware by default.

Thank you

Thanks to everyone who reported the underlying issues, contributed reproductions and test cases. Bug reports and pull requests are always welcome on GitHub.

mssql-python 1.7.1 and the case of the missing megabytes

DavidLevy — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT

We just shipped mssql-python 1.7.1 to PyPI. This release is mostly polish, but the road to publishing it was bumpier than expected, and there is some housekeeping on the PyPI side worth talking about.

What's in 1.7.1

A handful of correctness, performance, and platform fixes that landed since 1.6.0:

PERF: UTF-16 string handling now goes through simdutf and std::u16string, cutting overhead on every string round-trip between Python and the driver.
PERF: Faster execute() hot path with soft reset, prepare caching, and guarded diagnostics.
FIX: Login failures now raise a proper mssql_python exception instead of a raw RuntimeError (issue #532).
FIX: Released the GIL around blocking SQLSetConnectAttr calls so that in-process SSH tunnels (paramiko + sshtunnel) no longer hang connect().
FIX: executemany no longer raises a RuntimeError when decimal signs change between rows (issue #557).
FIX: Consistent retrieval of CP1252-encoded data in VARCHAR columns across Windows and Linux (issue #468).
FIX: manylinux_2_28 build targets so RHEL 8 / glibc 2.28 users get wheels out of the box.
FIX: macOS Python 3.10 now gets a proper universal2 wheel.
DOC: Setup instructions for Azure Linux.

Full set of changes is in the 1.7.1 PR.

The PyPI space story

This release also forced us to confront something we've been watching for a while: we ran out of room on PyPI.

mssql-python ships native code with bundled ODBC driver binaries for every supported OS / architecture / Python version combination. Each wheel is sizeable on its own, and the number of combinations grows quickly: Windows x64 / ARM64 / x86, macOS universal2, manylinux x86_64 / aarch64, musllinux x86_64 / aarch64, across multiple Python versions. Multiply that by every release we keep on PyPI and the project size adds up fast.

PyPI projects have a per-project storage quota. When we tried to release 1.7.0 we hit it.

What we did short-term

To get 1.7.1 published we cleaned house on old artifacts that nobody should be pulling in fresh installs anymore:

Removed all 1.0.0-alpha packages from PyPI.
Removed all 1.x.x-beta packages from PyPI.
Removed the 1.7.0 packages that made it to PyPI before we hit the space limit.

Pre-release alphas and betas were intentionally there for early adopters during the ramp-up of the driver. None of them are recommended for production use, and the GA versions (1.0.0 and up) supersede everything those wheels offered. If you were pinned to an alpha or beta version, please move to the latest GA release (pip install -U mssql-python). If you have a specific reason that you can't, please let us know in an issue. We want to hear about it.

What we're doing longer-term

Cleaning out old pre-releases buys us breathing room, not a solution. The wheel matrix is going to keep growing as we add platforms, and we don't want to be back in the same spot in three releases.

We're attacking the problem from two directions in parallel:

Split up the deployment. We're working out how to break the published artifacts into smaller pieces so that an install only pulls down what it actually needs. Concretely we're evaluating splitting the bundled native dependencies (ODBC driver binaries, etc.) out of the main wheels so the per-platform wheel size drops substantially. Exact shape is still being designed and we'll have more to share when we've nailed it down. The goal is that a typical pip install mssql-python stays a one-liner with no extra steps, while the on-disk and on-PyPI footprint is a fraction of what it is today.
Asked PyPI for more space. In parallel we've put in a request to PyPI for a storage quota increase. This is a normal process for projects that legitimately need more room, and it gives us a safety net while the longer-term splitting work lands.

We are looking at the space increase as the immediate buffer, and the split is the durable fix.

Upgrading

Nothing user-visible has changed about how you install or use the driver:

pip install -U mssql-python

If you previously pinned to an alpha or beta version, you'll need to move to the latest GA. If you hit any issues during the upgrade, please file a GitHub issue — we read all of them.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who filed bug reports, repro scripts, and PRs that fed into this release. The fixes we shipped came from real user issues, and the SSH-tunnel and CP1252 ones in particular were caught by community reproductions that made the root cause obvious. Keep them coming.

SQL Server 2025 Express - service starts with delay of some hours after restart of computer

mniederer — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:31:01 GMT

Dear Community,

we started using SQL Server 2025 Express but experienced problems with the start of service at startup.

When the computer is restarted, the service is not started. I observed this on nearly all installations and in one case it took kinda exactly 2 hours to start the service (or it was somehow delayed but without any trace in settings or windows logs).

When we start the service manually or by batch script it is starting properly at startup ...

What exactly causes this?

We only have this issue with 2025 Express and i have not yet found similar cases in the internet.

Thank you,

kind regards

Failure to run SSMS

oneeyeman1 — Wed, 20 May 2026 23:30:12 GMT

Hi, ALL,

For sometime I had both MSVC 2010 and 2017 installed on my laptop.

Recently I needed space and decided to remove the old version.

Unfortunately I thin I killed one of the SSMS libraries, because while it successfully starts, trying to go to the "New Query" window, Im getting the error "Library not registered".

The server itself operates just fine as I can connect to it.

Is there anyway to make it work again?

Than you.

Cumulative Update #5 for SQL Server 2025 RTM

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 23:59:29 GMT

The 5th cumulative update release for SQL Server 2025 RTM is now available for download at the Microsoft Downloads site. Please note that registration is no longer required to download Cumulative updates.
To learn more about the release or servicing model, please visit:

CU5 KB Article: https://learn.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/sql/releases/sqlserver-2025/cumulativeupdate5

Starting with SQL Server 2017, we adopted a new modern servicing model. Please refer to our blog for more details on Modern Servicing Model for SQL Server.

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2025 RTM Latest Cumulative Update: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=69e0b8fc-1c50-41bd-a576-b9c66b2f302a
Update Center for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Cumulative Update #25 for SQL Server 2022 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:59:45 GMT

The 25th cumulative update release for SQL Server 2022 RTM is now available for download at the Microsoft Downloads site. Please note that registration is no longer required to download Cumulative updates.
To learn more about the release or servicing model, please visit:

CU25 KB Article: https://learn.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/sql/releases/sqlserver-2022/cumulativeupdate25

Starting with SQL Server 2017, we adopted a new modern servicing model. Please refer to our blog for more details on Modern Servicing Model for SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2022 RTM Latest Cumulative Update: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=105013
Update Center for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM CU4

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:13:35 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM CU4 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2025 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2025 RTM CU4 KB Article: KB5089899
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=a9274560-fbdb-421c-b2cb-123ab69dc098
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5089899
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:15:31 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2025 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2025 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5091223
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=070dacdf-e60d-4a91-8e94-e1f4e453b7b5
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5091223
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU24

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:13:00 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU24 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2022 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2022 RTM CU24 KB Article: KB5089900
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=34ec989d-5c02-41b7-99ec-f2c35c7a4cdf
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5089900
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:15:48 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2022 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5091158
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=9edbb614-c56a-4c5a-b4dc-157d4036f44c
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5091158
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:16:05 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2019 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32 KB Article: KB5090407
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=bb9b5d10-84c4-4cca-85bf-abb93a453f57
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5090407
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:16:32 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2019 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5090408
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=ad8a836a-cf79-44c9-b361-d94a8fe698e1
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5090408
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 26 May 2026 22:16:51 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2017 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-40370 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31 KB Article: KB5090354
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=3d1a0db7-cdd3-4021-be11-73f43c870fac
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5090354
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

rss.livelink.threads-in-node

mssql-python 1.9.0: Row-friendly Bulk Copy, smarter NULL parameters, and a more portable wheel

Highlights

Bulk Copy now accepts Row objects (and lists)

NULL parameters now resolve to the right SQL type

simdutf is now statically linked into the extension

Bug fixes worth calling out

Upgrading

Thanks

Introducing Execution Context for GitHub Copilot in SSMS

Introducing agentExecuteAsUser in the database CONSTITUTION.md

How to set it up

Step 1: Created a dedicated database user (or SQL login) with limited permissions

Step 2: Add the CONSTITUTION.md extended property for the database

Step 3: Grant IMPERSONATE permission to users of GitHub Copilot

Step 4: Verify the configuration

What this means in practice

Combining with CONSTITUTION.md guidelines

Get started

Announcing the Release of SSMS 22.7.0 - and many previews!

Introducing the "What's New" page

T-SQL formatting in the query editor (preview)

GitHub Copilot in SSMS

Agent mode (preview)

Copilot execution context

Database DevOps (preview) updates, including schema compare (preview)

Other improvements and bug fixes

In summary

SQL Server FCI CSV storage flips multiple times into Online (No Access) state and eventually fails

Windows server 2025 SQL patching cluster problem.

mssql-python 1.8.0: friendlier Row access, Bulk Copy with MSI, and a refreshed ODBC driver

Highlights

Row objects now support string-key indexing

ActiveDirectoryMSI authentication for Bulk Copy

Bundled ODBC driver upgraded to 18.6.2.1

Bug fixes worth calling out

Upgrading

Thanks

Announcing the release of Microsoft OLE DB Driver 19.4.2 for SQL Server

Download

What's new in 19.4.2

Features added

Bugs fixed

Supported languages

Upgrading

Feedback

Announcing mssql-django 1.7.2

What's new in 1.7.2

Correct timezone handling for DATETIMEOFFSET and Now() under USE_TZ=True

QuerySet.explain() no longer raises AttributeError on Django 4.0+

Test utility no longer swallows exceptions in finally

Compatibility

Upgrading from 1.7.1

Thank you

Links

mssql-python 1.7.1 and the case of the missing megabytes

What's in 1.7.1

The PyPI space story

What we did short-term

What we're doing longer-term

Upgrading

Thanks

SQL Server 2025 Express - service starts with delay of some hours after restart of computer

Failure to run SSMS

Cumulative Update #5 for SQL Server 2025 RTM

Cumulative Update #25 for SQL Server 2022 RTM

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM CU4

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU24

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM

Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31