MS SQL on Mac

Use MS SQL Server directly on your Mac without the need of using virtual machine with Windows

Andrew Lu
Microsoft has recently made the SQL Server available for the non-windows operating system, including Linux and macOS. Which means its now possible to run the SQL Server on the macOS with some support from a Docker container.

Install SQL Image

Pull the latest SQL Server Image

# Latest SQL Image: microsoft/mssql-server-linux
$ docker pull microsoft/mssql-server-linux

# Image: SQL Server 2017
$ docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest-ubuntu

# Image: SQL Server 2019
$ docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-CTP3.2-ubuntu

Run the SQL Instance

docker run -d --name {replace with the container name} -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'SA_PASSWORD={replace with the strong sa password}' -p 1433:1433 {replace with image name}

Check if the container is running

$ docker ps -all

Manage SQL Server Instance

Now we have successfully installed the SQL Server on our Mac, its the time to go ahead and pick one of your favorite tools for managing the SQL instance