The Microsoft.Build.Sql project SDK is now generally available
Your database should be part of a wholistic development process, where iterative development tools are coupled with automation for validation and deployment. As previously announced, the Microsoft.Build.Sql project SDK provides a cross-platform framework for your database-as-code such that the database obejcts are ready to be checked into source control and deployed via pipelines like any other modern application component. Today Microsoft.Build.Sql enters general availability as another step in the evolution of SQL database development. Standardized SQL database as code SQL projects are a .NET-based project type for SQL objects, compiling a folder of SQL scripts into a database artifact (.dacpac) for manual or continuous deployments. As a developer working with SQL projects, you’re creating the T-SQL scripts that define the objects in the database. While the development framework around SQL projects presents a clear build and deploy process for development, there’s no wrong way to incorporate SQL projects into your development cycle. The SQL objects in the project can be manually written or generated via automation, including through the graphical schema compare interfaces or the SqlPackage extract command. Whether you’re developing with SQL Server, Azure SQL, or SQL in Fabric, database development standardizes on a shared project format and the ecosystem of tooling around SQL projects. The same SQL projects tools, like the SqlPackage CLI, can be used to either deploy objects to a database or update those object scripts from a database. Free development tools for SQL projects, like the SQL database projects extension for VS Code and SQL Server Data Tools in Visual Studio, bring the whole development team together. The database model validation of a SQL project build provides early verification of the SQL syntax used in the project, before code is checked in or deployed. Code analysis for antipatterns that impact database design and performance can be enabled as part of the project build and extended. This code analysis capability adds in-depth feedback to your team’s continuous integration or pre-commit checks as part of SQL projects. Objects in a SQL project are database objects you can have confidence in before they’re deployed across your environments. Evolving from original SQL projects SQL projects converted to the Microsoft.Build.Sql SDK benefit from support for .NET 8, enabling cross-platform development and automation environments. While the original SQL project file format explicitly lists each SQL file, SDK-style projects are significantly simplified by including any .sql file in the SQL projects folder structure. Database references enable SQL projects to be constructed for applications where a single project isn’t an effective representation, whether the database includes cross-database references or multiple development cycles contribute to the same database. Incorporate additional objects into a SQL project with database references through project reference, .dacpac artifact reference, and new to Microsoft.Build.Sql, package references. Package references for database objects improve the agility and manageability of the release cycle of your database through improved visibility to versioning and simplified management of the referenced artifacts. Converting existing projects The Microsoft.Build.Sql project SDK is a superset of the functionality of the original SQL projects, enabling you to convert your current projects on a timeline that works best for you. The original SQL projects in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) continue to be supported through the Visual Studio lifecycle, providing years of support for your existing original projects. Converting an existing SQL project to a Microsoft.Build.Sql project is currently a manual process to add a single line to the project file and remove several groups of lines. The resulting Microsoft.Build.Sql project file is generally easier to understand and iteratively develop, with significantly fewer merge conflicts than the original SQL projects. A command line tool, DacpacVerify, is now available to validate that your project conversion has completed without degrading the output .dacpac file. By creating a .dacpac before and after you upgrade the project file, you can use DacpacVerify to confirm the database model, database options, pre/post-deployment scripts, and SQLCMD variables match. The road ahead With SQL Server 2025 on the horizon, support for the SQL Server 2025 target platform will be introduced in a future Microsoft.Build.Sql release along with additional improvements to the SDK references. Many Microsoft.Build.Sql releases will coincide with releases to the DacFx .NET library and the SqlPackage CLI with preview releases ahead of general availability releases several times a year. Feature requests and bug reports for the DacFx ecosystem, including Microsoft.Build.Sql, is managed through the GitHub repository. With the v1 GA of Microsoft.Build.Sql, we’re also looking ahead to continued iteration in the development tooling. In Visual Studio, the preview of SDK-style SSDT continues with new features introduced in each Visual Studio release. Plans for Visual Studio include project upgrade assistance in addition to the overall replacement of the existing SQL Server Data Tools. In the SQL projects extension for VS Code, we’re both ensuring SQL projects capabilities from Azure Data Studio are introduced as well as increasing the robustness of the VS Code project build experience. The Microsoft.Build.Sql project SDK empowers database development to integrate with the development cycle, whether you're focused on reporting, web development, AI, or anything else. Use Microsoft.Build.Sql projects to branch, build, commit, and ship your database – get started today from an existing database or with a new project. Get to know SQL projects from the documentation and DevOps samples.Data Migration - Collation mismatch error during an offline migration
This post explores a collation mismatch error during offline migration from SQL Server Express to Azure SQL. It identifies the root cause—AUTO_CLOSE being enabled—and offers a simple fix to ensure smooth migration using Azure DMS.
Breaking Limits: Full-Length SQL Audit Statements Now Supported for Azure SQL DB
We’re excited to announce a major enhancement to SQL auditing in Azure SQL Database, the removal of the 4,000-character truncation limit for audit records. What’s Changed? Previously, audit records were limited to storing 4,000 characters for fields like statement and data_sensitivity_information. Any content beyond that threshold was truncated, potentially leaving out critical details from lengthy queries or sensitive data traces. With this update, statements are no longer truncated. Audit logs now capture the entire content of auditable actions, ensuring complete visibility and traceability for security and compliance teams. Why It Matters Improved Security & Compliance: Full-length statements provide better context for threat detection and forensic analysis. Enhanced Customer Experience: No more guessing what was left out—customers get the full picture. Feature Parity with SQL Server and Managed Instance: This update brings Azure SQL Database in line with SQL Server and Managed Instance capabilities, ensuring consistency across environments.Enhanced Server Audit for Azure SQL Database: Greater Performance, Availability and Reliability
We are excited to announce a significant update to the server audit feature for Azure SQL Database. We have re-architected major portions of SQL Auditing resulting in increased availability and reliability of server audits. As an added benefit, we have achieved closer feature alignment with SQL Server and Azure SQL Managed Instance. Database auditing remains unchanged. In the remainder of this blog article, we cover Functional changes Changes Affecting customers Sample queries Call for action Implementation and Notification Time-based Filtering Functional Changes In the current design when server audit is enabled, it triggers a database level audit and executes one audit session for each database. With the new architecture, enabling server audit will create one extended event session at the server level that captures audit events for all databases. This optimizes memory and CPU and is consistent with how auditing works in SQL Server and Azure SQL Managed Instance. Changes Affecting Customers Folder Structure change for storage account Folder structure change for Read-Only replicas Permissions required to view Audit logs One of the primary changes involves the folder structure for audit logs stored in storage account containers. Previously, server audit logs were written to separate folders, one for each database, with the database name serving as the folder name. With the new update, all server audit logs will be consolidated into a single folder which is ‘Master’ folder. This behavior is the same as Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server For Read-Only database replicas, which previously had their logs stored in a read-only folder, those logs will now also be written into the Master folder. You can retrieve these logs by filtering on the new column ‘is_secondary_replica_true’. Please note that the audit logs generated after deployment will adhere to the new folder structure, while the existing audit logs will stay in their current folders until their retention periods expire. Sample Queries To help you adopt these changes in your workflows, here are some sample queries: Current New To Query audit logs for a specific database called "test" SELECT * FROM sys.fn_get_audit_file ('https://testaudit.blob.core.windows.net/sqldbauditlogs/auditpoc/test/ SqlDbAuditing_ServerAudit_NoRetention/2023-01-29/07_06_40_590_0.xel', default, default) SELECT * FROM sys.fn_get_audit_file ('https://testaudit.blob.core.windows.net/sqldbauditlogs/auditpoc/master/SqlDbAuditing_ServerAudit_NoRetention/2023-01-29/07_06_40_590_0.xel', default, default) WHERE database_name = 'test'; To query audit logs for test database from read only replica SELECT * FROM sys.fn_get_audit_file ('https://testaudit.blob.core.windows.net/sqldbauditlogs/auditpoc/test/SqlDbAuditing_ServerAudit_NoRetention/2023-01-29/RO/07_06_40_590_0.xel', default, default) SELECT * FROM sys.fn_get_audit_file ('https://testaudit.blob.core.windows.net/sqldbauditlogs/auditpoc/master/SqlDbAuditing_ServerAudit_NoRetention/2023-01-29/07_06_40_590_0.xel', default, default) WHERE is_secondary_replica_true = 'true'; Permissions Control database on user database VIEW Database SECURITY AUDIT permission in User Databases Implementation and Notifications We are rolling out this change region-wise. Subscription owners will receive notifications with the subject “Update your scripts to point to a new folder for server level audit logs” for each region as the update is implemented. It is important to update any scripts that refer to the folder structure to retrieve audit logs based on the database name for the specific region. Note that this change applies only to server-level auditing; database auditing remains unchanged. Call for Action These actions apply only to customers who are using storage account targets. No action is needed for customers using Log Analytics or Event hubs. Folder references: Change the reference for audit logs from the database name folder to the Master folder and use specific filters to retrieve logs for a required database. Read -Only Database Replicas: Update references for audit logs from the Read-Only replica folder to the Master folder and filter using the new parameter as shown in the examples. Permissions: Ensure you have the necessary control server permissions to review the audit logs for each database using fn_get_audit_file. Manual Queries This update also applies to manual queries where you use fn_get_audit_file to retrieve audit logs from the storage account Time-based filtering To enhance your ability to query audit logs using filters, consider using efficient time-based filtering with the fn_get_audit_file_v2 function. This function allows you to retrieve audit log data with improved filtering capabilities. For more details, refer to the official documentation here.Preview release of SDK-style SQL projects in Visual Studio 2022
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) in Visual Studio provides a development environment for SQL Server, Azure SQL, and Synapse Data Warehouse databases based on SQL projects. SQL projects enables database development to directly integrate with DevOps workflows, including functionality for connected databases to be converted into code and for databases to be updated from the SQL projects build artifact (.dacpac). Microsoft.Build.Sql is a project SDK that modernizes the well-established capabilities of SQL Server Data Tools, improving the flexibility and compatibility of SQL projects. In the preview 2 release of Visual Studio 17.12, Microsoft.Build.Sql SDK-style SQL projects begin their preview availability in Visual Studio as the component “SQL Server Data Tools, SDK-style (preview).”Announcing General Availability of UNISTR function and ANSI SQL || Operator in Azure SQL
We’re excited to announce the General Availability (GA) of two long-standing capabilities that address critical needs for SQL developers and enterprise customers in Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance, configured with the Always-up-to-date update policy: UNISTR function for Unicode character representation ANSI SQL string concatenation operator (`||`) for standard-compliant string operations These additions improve ANSI SQL compliance in Azure SQL, streamline migration from other platforms, and boost developer productivity. UNISTR function: Unicode made easy The UNISTR function provides support for Unicode string literals by letting you specify the Unicode encoding value of characters in the string, making it especially useful for working with international or special characters. If you want to include characters like emojis, accented letters, or symbols from non-Latin scripts, UNISTR lets you encode them directly using their Unicode values. Returns Unicode characters based on the input expression, following the Unicode standard. Supports escape sequences: \xxxx for UTF-16 codepoints. \+xxxxxx for full Unicode codepoints. Enables easy integration of complex Unicode characters into strings. You can look up Unicode codepoint values in the Unicode Code Charts. Comparison with NCHAR NCHAR: Converts a single Unicode value to a character. UNISTR: Handles multiple Unicode values and escape sequences, offering greater flexibility for constructing strings with diverse characters. Syntax UNISTR ( 'character_expression' [ , 'unicode_escape_character' ] ) The data type of character_expression could be char, nchar, varchar, or nvarchar. For char and varchar data types, the collation should be a valid UTF-8 collation only. A single character representing a user-defined Unicode escape sequence. If not supplied, the default value is \. Examples Example #1: In this example, Unicode value used with text literal: SELECT UNISTR (N'I \2764 Azure SQL.') AS string_with_unicode Results: I ❤️ Azure SQL. Example #2: In this example, we construct a non-Latin script string using Unicode escape sequence. SELECT UNISTR(N'\3053\3093\306B\3061\306F') AS Japanese_Greeting; Results: こんにちは ANSI SQL || Operator: A cleaner way to concatenate The || operator is now supported for string concatenation, offering a more readable and standard-compliant alternative to existing methods like + and CONCAT(). The || operator concatenates two or more characters or binary strings, columns, or a combination of strings and column names into one expression. The || operator does not honor the SET CONCAT_NULL_YIELDS_NULL option and always behaves as if the ANSI SQL behavior is enabled, yielding NULL if any of the inputs is NULL. This operator will work with character strings or binary data of any supported SQL Server collation. The ||operator supports compound assignment ||= similar to +=. If the operands are of incompatible collation, then an error will be thrown. The collation behavior is identical to the CONCAT function of character string data. Syntax expression || expression The expression is a character or binary expression. Both expressions must be of the same data type, or one expression must be able to be implicitly converted to the data type of the other expression. If one operand is of binary type, then an unsupported operand type error will be thrown. Examples Example #1: For example, the following query concatenates two strings and returns the result: SELECT 'Hello ' || ' World!'; Results: Hello World! Example #2: In this example, multiple character strings are concatenated. If at least one input is a character string, non-character strings will be implicitly converted to character strings. SELECT -- Combine first and last name 'Josè' || ' Doe' AS full_name, -- Construct a detailed order string with ID, timestamp, and unique identifier 'Order-' || CAST(1001 AS VARCHAR) || '~TS~' || current_timestamp || '~' || NEWID() AS order_details, -- Handle NULL safely in concatenation 'Item-' || NULL AS item_desc; Results: full_name order_details item_desc Josè Doe Order-1001~TS~Jul 29 2025 8:33PM~0387F607-1664-4EEB-A4E8-F16B396DDD73 NULL Example #3: In this example, the use of || operator is unsupported when used with only non-character types or when combining binary data with other types. -- Attempting to concatenate two numeric literals: 1 and 2 SELECT 1 || 2; -- Attempting to concatenate integer, string, and binary literals SELECT 1 || 'a' || 0x4e; Above queries will fail with error messages as below – The data types int and int are incompatible in the concat operator. The data types varchar and varbinary are incompatible in the concat operator. Comparison with + and CONCAT() Let’s explore how || differs from + and CONCAT() in Azure SQL using real examples. Sample queries: -- Binary + String SELECT CONCAT(0x01, 'a'); -- Returns: a SELECT 0x01 || 'a'; -- Returns: Error SELECT 0x01 + 'a'; -- Returns: Error -- Binary + Binary SELECT CONCAT(0x01, 0xff); -- Returns: ÿ SELECT 0x01 || 0xff; -- Returns: 0x01FF SELECT 0x01 + 0xff; -- Returns: 0x01FF -- NULL Handling SELECT CONCAT(NULL, 'a'); -- Returns: 'a' SELECT NULL || 'a'; -- Returns: NULL SELECT NULL + 'a'; -- Returns: NULL -- Numeric + String SELECT CONCAT(1, 'a'); -- Returns: '1a' SELECT 1 || 'a'; -- Returns: '1a' SELECT 1 + 'a'; -- Returns: Error -- Date + String SELECT CONCAT(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, 'a'); -- Returns: Jul 29 2025 9:29PMa SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP || 'a'; -- Returns: Jul 29 2025 9:29PMa SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP + 'a'; -- Returns: Error Key Differences Feature + Operator CONCAT() Function || Operator ANSI SQL Standard No Yes Yes NULL Handling Returns NULL Ignores NULL/ Empty string Returns NULL Type Safety Not type-safe Type-safe Type-safe Readability Moderate Verbose High Portability Low Moderate High Why these matters Easier Migration – Migrating from other databases becomes smoother with support for UNISTR and ||, reducing the need for syntax rewrites. Global Reach – UNISTR simplifies Unicode handling, making it easier to build apps for international markets. Cleaner Code – The || operator improves readability and aligns with modern SQL practices. Learn more UNISTR (Transact-SQL) – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn || (String Concatenation) (Transact-SQL) – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn ||= (Compound assignment) (Transact-SQL) – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn Conclusion In this blog post, we announced the General Availability (GA) of UNISTR function and ANSI SQL string concatenation operator (||) in Azure SQL. The UNISTR function allows you to escape Unicode characters, making it easier to work with international text. ANSI SQL || operator provides a simple and intuitive way to combine characters or binary data. These enhancements reflect our commitment to making Azure SQL the most developer-friendly, standards-compliant cloud-first database platform. Whether you’re modernizing legacy systems, building multilingual apps, or writing cleaner SQL, these features are designed to make your journey smoother. We hope you will explore these enhancements, apply them in your projects, and share your feedback with us to help us continue improving. Thank you!MSSQL Extension for VS Code: Agent Mode Updates, Colored Connections, and Schema Designer updates
The MSSQL Extension for VS Code keeps getting better—bringing thoughtful updates that make SQL development more conversational, more visual, and more local. In version v1.34.0, we’ve focused this release on deepening GitHub Copilot Agent Mode, improving connection clarity through color-coded indicators, making local container workflows more flexible, enhancing the Schema Designer, and solving bugs across the experience. Here’s a look at what’s new in this release and how it helps simplify your SQL development workflow. What’s new in MSSQL extension for VS Code v1.34 This release includes three major improvements: GitHub Copilot Agent Mode (update) — A more capable conversational experience, with new tools for connecting, managing, and navigating your database using natural language. Color-coded Connections — Bring clarity to your workspace by assigning custom colors to your active connections, now shown right in the status bar. Improved Local SQL Server Container Experience — Enhanced support for assigning containers to connection groups and managing profiles with even more flexibility. Schema Designer Improvements — Foreign key icons are now correctly displayed, and filter behavior has been refined to better reflect table relationships—making it easier to navigate complex schemas visually. GitHub Copilot Agent mode updates (Public Preview) We’ve deepened GitHub Copilot’s Agent Mode experience with expanded capabilities. You can now use chat to generate and execute queries, view data, connect to specific databases, and explore your schema—all from a conversational, schema-aware assistant right inside the editor. Key highlights Change database – Switch to a different database in the current session List schemas – Show all schemas in the connected database List tables – Show all tables in the connected database List views – Show all views in the connected database List functions – Show all functions in the connected database Show connection details – Get details about the current SQL connection List databases – Show all databases on the connected server Run query – Execute a SQL query in the active connection Here’s how easy it is to connect, switch databases, and explore your full schema—from chat. Color-Coded Connections Managing multiple databases just got easier. You can now assign custom colors to your connections and instantly recognize them in the VS Code status bar. Whether you’re working across dev, test, and prod environments—or switching between customers and projects—color makes it easy to stay oriented and avoid mistakes. Key highlights Assign a custom color to any saved connection profile Connection color appears in the status bar so you always know where you’re connected Optional group-based coloring lets teams align on shared conventions Thanks to the community! Group-based coloring length is now configurable (shout-out to @bathetrade) Here’s how it looks in action: Local SQL Server Container updates (Public Preview) We’ve made it even easier to use SQL Server containers for local development. You can now assign containers to connection groups and manage container profiles with more flexibility—all from a streamlined wizard in the extension. Key highlights Assign containers to connection groups for easier organization More flexible profile management to suit your dev workflow Streamlined wizard UI to spin up containers faster Schema Designer updates (Public Preview) We’ve improved the Schema Designer to make it more intuitive and visually informative. Key highlights Foreign key icons are now correctly displayed Smarter filtering reflects table relationships more clearly These enhancements make it easier to understand and navigate your database schema as you design it. Other updates Multiple Azure account sign-in – Sign into multiple Azure accounts to browse subscriptions and manage firewall rules Connection-sharing API – Other VS Code extensions can now access MSSQL connections for deeper integration Accessibility enhancements – Improved support across connection dialog, schema designer, and schema compare Always Encrypted fix – Resolved issues when using Azure Key Vault for encrypted columns UI consistency polish – Minor tweaks to dialogs and interactions for smoother user experience Conclusion The v1.34 release brings thoughtful updates across the board—from deepening GitHub Copilot Agent Mode with new schema-aware commands, to adding clarity through color-coded connections, to refining the local SQL Server container experience and Schema Designer filters. These updates help make SQL development more intuitive, flexible, and developer-friendly inside Visual Studio Code. If there’s something you’d love to see in a future update, here’s how you can contribute: 💬 GitHub discussions – Share your ideas and suggestions to improve the extension ✨ New feature requests – Request missing capabilities and help shape future updates 🐞 Report bugs – Help us track down and fix issues to make the extension more reliable Want to see these features in action? GitHub Copilot Agent Mode demo Full playlist of demos Thanks for being part of the journey—happy coding! 🚀MSSQL Extension for VS Code: Local Containers, GitHub Copilot Agent Mode and Connection Groups
The MSSQL Extension for VS Code continues to evolve, bringing powerful new features that make SQL development more local, more organized, and more intelligent. In version v1.33.0, we’re introducing Local SQL Server Containers, GitHub Copilot Agent Mode, and Server Groups—three capabilities designed to simplify and modernize the way developers build applications using SQL Server in Visual Studio Code. Here’s a closer look at what’s included in this release and how these features can enhance your SQL development workflow. What’s new in MSSQL extension for VS Code v1.33 This release introduces three major capabilities designed to streamline the SQL development experience: Local SQL Server Containers (Public Preview) — Easily spin up and manage SQL Server containers directly from within the extension. GitHub Copilot Agent Mode (Public Preview) — A conversational, schema-aware assistant that helps you explore, understand, and optimize your database through natural language interactions. Server Groups — Organize your saved connections into folders for improved clarity and control. Local SQL Server Containers (Public Preview) You can now create and manage SQL Server containers locally, without writing a single Docker command. The new Local SQL Container experience allows you to launch a fully configured SQL Server container from the MSSQL extension’s UI. By default, the SQL container wizard uses SQL Server 2025 (Public Preview), the latest version of SQL Server, which includes native support for vector data types, JSON functions, and other AI-ready features. This makes it ideal for building modern, intelligent applications locally. This new capability is perfect for prototyping, developing, or testing workloads using the same engine available in production environments. Key highlights Auto-connect: A connection profile is automatically created and ready for use Lifecycle controls: Start, stop, restart, or delete containers from the connection panel Docker environment checks: Get notified if Docker isn’t running or installed Port conflict detection: If port 1433 (the default SQL Server port) is already in use, the extension will automatically find and assign the next available port for your container. Custom settings: Define container name, hostname, and port via UI Other versions supported: You can also choose to run a SQL Server 2022, or 2019 container. In the Connections view, select the “Add” (+) button, then choose “Create local SQL Server container” from the options. GitHub Copilot Agent mode (Public Preview) We’re introducing GitHub Copilot Agent Mode in Public Preview, bringing a contextual, action-driven chat experience into the MSSQL extension. This first release enables Copilot to interpret your intent and perform real tasks inside Visual Studio Code—making it easier to interact with your database through natural language prompts. Key highlights List servers – View all available SQL Server connections Connect to server or database – Establish a new database connection Disconnect from server or database – End the active connection Run query – Execute a SQL query directly from the chat window Show database schema – Display the schema for the connected database These tools are surfaced through natural interactions. For example, you might type: "Connect to my LocalDev environment" or "Show me the schema of the Products table for my e-commerce database." Server Groups If you manage multiple projects, clients, or environments, Server Groups bring structure to your connection list by allowing you to group saved connections into folders. This improves navigation and makes it easier to keep development, staging, and production environments organized—all within the MSSQL extension. Key highlights Create and rename folders for saved connections Drag and drop connections into different groups Edit an existing connection and assign it to a group directly from the connection dialog. Collapse or expand groups to declutter your view Easily switch between environments with confidence Whether you’re managing five connections or fifty, Server Groups help you stay organized and focused. Conclusion The v1.33 release brings us closer to our vision of a modern, developer-first SQL experience inside Visual Studio Code. From launching a local container powered by SQL Server 2025, to organizing your connections with Server Groups, to exploring your schema through GitHub Copilot Agent Mode—this update is all about helping developers build faster, smarter, and more locally. If there’s something you’d love to see in a future update, here’s how you can contribute: 💬 GitHub discussions – Share your ideas and suggestions to improve the extension ✨ New feature requests – Request missing capabilities and help shape future updates 🐞 Report bugs – Help us track down and fix issues to make the extension more reliable Want to see these features in action? Local SQL Server Container demo GitHub Copilot Agent Mode demo Full playlist of demos Thanks for being part of the journey—happy coding! 🚀
