Install Azure Data Studio on a Mac

How to install Microsoft Azure Data Studio so you can manage SQL Server straight from your Mac!

Microsoft Azure Data Studio (formerly called SQL Operations Studio) is a lightweight management tool for managing SQL Server. Azure Data Studio is free, and it's available for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Here are instructions for installing it on a Mac. I also demonstrate how to connect to SQL Server once you've installed it.

  1. Download Azure Data Studio

    Go to the Azure Data Studio download page and click the .zip file for macOS (there are also options for Windows and Linux if you need them).

    Screenshot of the Microsoft download page for Azure Data Studio

  2. Install Azure Data Studio

    Once the .zip file has downloaded, double-click it to expand its contents. Then drag the .app file to your Application folder (it will probably be called Azure Data Studio.app).

    Screenshot of the Azure Data Studio icon

  3. Launch Azure Data Studio

    Launch Azure Data Studio (by clicking on its icon in your Launchpad or the Applications folder).

  4. Connect to SQL Server

    Enter the SQL Server connection details.

    Here are the details I used on the SQL Server installation tutorial:

    • Server Name: localhost
    • Authentication Type: SQL Login
    • User name: sa
    • Password: myPassw0rd
    • Database Name: <default>
    • Server Group: <default>
    Screenshot of connecting to SQL Server with Azure Data Studio

You've now connected to SQL Server with Azure Data Studio. Once logged in, the Server Dashboard is displayed:

Screenshot of the Azure Data Studio server dashboard