SQL Client for Mac OS X that works with MS SQL Server [closed]

Question

How can I connect to a remote SQL server using Mac OS X? I don't really need a GUI, but it would be nice to have for the color coding and resultset grid. I'd rather not have to use a VM.

Is there a SQL client for Mac OS X that works with MS SQL Server?

Billy

I found that Navicat supports SQL Server now. There's a Windows and Mac version. – Protochordate

Give SQL Client a try. There is a free trial and it was built to allow access to MSSQL databases (including Azure) from a mac without the need of a virtual machine. – Eagre

razorsql.com/download.html – Show

Recently I have been using 0xDBE its free from JetBrains in Early access – Howlett

If you happen to use JetBrains products (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PHPStorm) they have a nice DB tool built in. I managed to connect to Azure SQL / MSSQL Server with it with two clicks. Their upcoming product 0xDBE looks promising, too. – Hoot

Use macsqlclient.com on OSX – Hanger

I recommend this be migrated to Software Recommendations. – Bipod

Old post so an update: VSCode + mssql extension for Visual Studio Code is a quick, no fuss option. HTH. – Shrove

There's the new SQL Operations Studio (learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-operations-studio/what-is) by Microsoft. Free and so far better than anything else I've tried – Colubrine

Best solution is Jetbrains DataGrip and support many feature of sql server and with most professional intellisense – Callow

I recommend Data Studio Azure learn.microsoft.com/es-es/sql/azure-data-studio/… (Thanks to Sofia) – Tribe

Answer 1

Let's work together on a canonical answer.

Native Apps

• SQLPro for MSSQL
• Navicat
• Valentina Studio
• TablePlus

Java-Based

• Oracle SQL Developer (free)
• SQuirrel SQL (free, open source)
• Razor SQL
• DB Visualizer
• DBeaver (free, open source)
• SQL Workbench/J (free, open source)
• JetBrains DataGrip
• Metabase (free, open source)
• Netbeans (free, open source, full development environment)

Electron-Based

• Visual Studio Code with mssql extension
• Azure Data Studio
• SQLectron

(TODO: Add others mentioned below)

Correggio

SQuirreL SQL and all other Java-based clients I've tried so far for connecting to ODBC DBs simply don't work on OS X. They all complain about the JDBC/ODBC driver missing. Maybe it's just my computer…? – Segal

Not just your computer. I can't get any of the Java ones to work either. – Madonna

I can install but I can't get it to connect either. – Lifelike

+1 for SQuirreL. With Oracle SQL Developer I can connect to DB and get names of all tables, but can't connect to any of them. SQuirreL works great for me. (I have downloaded the jtds driver from jtds.sourceforge.net and my connection string is like 'jdbc:jtds:sqlserver://sqlServer.myDomain.com:1433;DatabaseName=MY_DATABASE;domain=windowsDomainName') – Cumulostratus

@Garrett: MS also offers an MSSQL JDBC driver. Install sqljdbc4.jar (sqljdbc.jar for JRE 5.0) somewhere you keep Java packages (such as ~/Library/Java or /Library/Java/Extensions). Whichever driver you pick, make sure you add it to the "Extra Class Path" list for the MSSQL driver, then pick the class name for the driver at the bottom of the same dialog. – Ascidian

Squirrel is great except for the inevitable messing around trying to find the right JDBC driver, putting it in the right place, telling Squirrel about it, then trying to set up a JDBC connection with. If you're using it regularly, it's fine. If you use Squirrel infrequently, and usually on a new machine, it's a hassle. – Planoconcave

I use Squirrel regularly as my organization works on an older database and we are moving to open source platform. RazorSQL looks amazing and is a breadth of fresh air compared to Squirrel.. too bad it's not free. – Fessler

Do NOT install Squirrel with Homebrew Cask. It's not what you're looking for...You've been warned. – Declass

I use Squirrel and it works, but today I realize that it uses a lot of CPU. Take a look: grab.by/CFVQ It's been 6 hours since I started the process and right now i'm not using it, but it's using a lot of CPU time :/ I'm looking for an alternative now. – Advowson

For what its worth, I use RazorSQL daily on my Mac for enterprise web application development, and it works great. I'm sure the others work well too, but I can only vouch for RazorSQL. – Brevity

Of the native clients, Valentina Studio is the only one that I could see had a free tier. I've just installed and basic SQL Server query access seems pretty good. – Lakenyalaker

I ended up using DBeaver, which can work very well with almost every type of databases, including MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SAP Hana, Redis... just to name a few. The DB connector driver can be added in a very easy to understand way. I've also tried Oracle SQL Developer, DB Visualizer but they do not work well with Azure Cloud's SQL Database. – Ulceration

Totally forgot that I already have SQLPro Studio as part of Setapp, thanks for the reminder! I've only used it for Oracle db's before, it's a great tool. setapp.com/apps/sqlpro-studio – Stigmasterol

Electron Based: SQLectron (free, open source) supports SQL Server. A bit lighter weight than a lot of the Java guys, but newer and buggier. Still, I like it. – Margalo

SQLPro is Java not native – Arborization

@Arborization you are incorrect. SQLPro is not Java. Its written in Objective-C and uses zero Java. – Eagre

Sequal Ace (sequel-ace.com) is a fork of Sequel Pro (sequelpro.com) – Maurilia

DbSchema is a database management GUI, with diagrams, schema design in team, schema documentation, data generator and many other features. – Willman

Answer 2

The Java-based Oracle SQL Developer has a plugin module that supports SQL Server. I use it regularly on my Mac. It's free, too.

Here's how to install the SQL Server plugin:

• Run SQL Developer
• go to this menu item: Oracle SQL Developer/Preferences/Database/Third-party JDBC Drivers
• Click help.
• It will have pointers to the JAR files for MySQL, SQL Server, etc.
• The SQL Server JAR file is available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/jtds/files/

Soso

Just a wee addendum - the menu is slightly different for the latest version. You can't click help anymore. Basically, download the server jar file, put it somewhere memorable and then point at it from Tools/Preferences/Database/Third Party JDBC Drivers. Casp – Britneybritni

Note, it doesn't support Transact-SQL scripts. SQuirreL does, though. – Shamanism

I can't seem to add a new table to my db. Is this functionality disabled in the newest version. I used to be able to. – Lifelike

I'd also like to add to make sure that the .jar file is in a directory that your user account has the proper rights to. I tried to add the jar inside the sql developer package and it wouldn't work. I moved it to my Users folder under a lib directory and it worked like a charm. – Godmother

cannot connect to MSSQL Express 2008. The following error prompted: An error was encountered performing the requested operation: Could not find a Java charset equivalent to collation 040CD01000. Vendor code 0 – Maze

I had a problem even getting the new server connection dialog to open. Seems to be a software bug. – Heighho

I just wasted time trying the current JAR file version (jtds-1.3.0-dist.zip) and it does not work with Oracle SQL Developer. Finally I tried v1.2 (jtds-1.2.7-dist.zip) and that works. – Cariecaries

On MacOS 10.75, SQL Dev. 3.2.2.20.09 I cannot use jets-1.3.0 ("new connection" dialog does not appear), I had to use jtds-1.2.8.jar instead. – Vernavernacular

jtds-1.2.8.jar can be found here sourceforge.net/projects/jtds/files/jtds/1.2.8 – Raggedy

I am getting this error: SQLDeveloper.app can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer – Margotmargrave

@AdilMalik it sounds like you just upgraded to Mavericks - you need to turn "All Source" back on in your System Preferences/Privacy & Security. Apple turns that to its safer setting on default. Just re-enable and you're good to go again. – Gentlemanfarmer

There's a new current version (jtds-1.3.1.jar.zip) which does work with Oracle SQL developer. Just unzip it and in your settings Tools/Preferences/Database/Third Party JDBC Drivers point to the unzipped .jar file/folder. – Gentlemanfarmer

Note that Oracle SQL Developer is not "free". You are required to register an Oracle account in order to optain it. – Antoninus

@Basti, it's a free account. – Soso

@Mark Harrison, the account is not free. You have to provide a large variaty of personal information like your real name, email and post address, occupation, etc. – Antoninus

I tried installing Oracle SQL Developer using Chrome, Safari, and firefox. All cases oracle says I need to have cookies and js enable to work, and wouldn't let me download. No go for me. – Integumentary

One more thing to note is to unzip the jtds-1.2.7-dist.zip and add the jtds-1.2.7.jar file to the third party entry list – Traumatize

@Antoninus You're free to lie on the registration form, or use bugmenot.com – Tincher

@Dustin Rasener I'm pretty sure that providing false account information is a breach of the license you have to accept in order to download the software. I agree that this is an option because Oracle will probably not do anything about it, but it's still illegal. – Antoninus

Just to clarify and correct, it is not illegal, it is breach of contract. i.e. They could theoretically sue you in civil court (if they can find you) but there are no criminal penalties. (unless you also violate some actual law, like copyright) No company can summarily implement their own laws. – Marchesa

Oracle SQL Developer is brilliant, and was the most attractive/full featured of the free ones I researched. However I couldn't use it in the end as it doesn't allow for some MSSQL specific keywords such as BEGIN, END, GO, etc. It also can’t handle multiple resultsets returned from a stored procedure etc. It really depends on your environment and what existing sql scripts you're working with. But if your scripts/environment contain the above mentioned, it won't work for you. – Nose

apparently SQLDeveloper only supports up to MS SQL Server 12. see here: #27932391. I'm using Microsoft SQL Server 12.00.2000 (which is oddly version 14. see: sqlserverbuilds.blogspot.ca) and it doesn't work with SQLDeveloper at the moment – Cardcarrying

Azure Data Studio looks fine as standalone app. – Bealle

Answer 3

This will be the second question in a row I've answered with this, so I think it's worth pointing out that I have no affiliation with this product, but I use it and love it and think it's the right answer to this question too: DbVisualizer.

Breve

Just installed this. It's waaaay better than the Sql Server Management Studio which tends to switch databases on me at random. – Plant

Agreed, DbVisualizer was the winner for me on OSX, though the free version has some limitations (no table dumps for example) – Livraison

I love DbVisualizer too, I just miss that the Free edition doesn't allow "selection executes" and the Personal edition is too expensive for me (because of exchange rates). – Checkerwork

Not allowed to browse binary/BLOB or CLOB in DbVisualizer Free. For example: TEXT fields. :( – Silvio

I'm unable to execute MERGE statements in DbVisualizer that co-workers can execute on other SQL clients... – Puree

The MS SQL JDBC drivers are always painful to work with. 1. Download sqljdbc4.jar from Microsoft. 2. Add a new new Driver inside SQuirreL, where you will need to cherry pick the downloaded JAR from your file system under the Extra Classpath section. You will also need to specify the driver class which is com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver. 3. ... 4. Profit. – Amalee

Answer 4

When this question was asked there were very few tools out there were worth much. I also ended up using Fusion and a Windows client. I have tried just about everything for MAC and Linux and never found anything worthwhile. That included dbvisualizer, squirrel (particularly bad, even though the windows haters in my office swear by it), the oracle SQL developer and a bunch of others. Nothing compared to DBArtizan on Windows as far as I was concerned and I was prepared to use it with Fusion or VirtualBox. I don't use the MS product because it is only limited to MS SQL.

Bottom line is nothing free is worthwhile, nor were most commercial non windows products

However, now (March 2010) I believe there are two serious contenders and worthwhile versions for the MAC and Linux which have a low cost associated with them. The first one is Aqua Data Studio which costs about $450 per user, which is a barely acceptable, but cheap compared to DBArtizan and others with similar functionality (but MS only). The other is RazorSQL which only costs $69 per user. Aqua data studio is good, but a resource hog and basically pretty sluggish and has non essential features such as the ER diagram tool, which is pretty bad at that. The Razor is lightning fast and is only a 16meg download and has everything an SQL developer needs including a TSQL editor.

So the big winner is RazorSQL and for $69, well worth it and feature ridden. Believe me, after several years of waiting to find a cheap non windows substitute for DBartizan, I have finally found one and I have been very picky.

Howbeit

nothing free is worthwhile? So Python, Ruby, Java, friendship, love and sunny afternoons are worthless? – Vanadinite

Python, Ruby, and Java are definitely worthless. Love is not free - but is the best thing in the world. Sunny afternoons don't last. – Gleiwitz

Answer 5

My employer produces a simple, proof-of-concept HTML5-based SQL client which can be used against any ODBC data source on the web-browser host machine, through the HTML5 WebDB-to-ODBC Bridge we also produce. These components are free, for Mac, Windows, and more.

Applicable to many of the other answers here -- the Type 1 JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge that most are referring to is the one Sun built in to and bundled with the JVM. JVM/JRE/JDK documentation has always advised against using this built-in except in experimental scenarios, or when no other option exists, because this component was built as a proof-of-concept, and was never intended for production use.

My employer makes an enterprise-grade JDBC-to-ODBC Bridge, available as either a Single-Tier (installs entirely on the client application host) or a Multi-Tier (splits components over the client application host and the ODBC data source host, enabling JDBC client applications in any JVM to use ODBC data sources on Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.). This solution isn't free.

All of the above can be used with the ODBC Drivers for Sybase & Microsoft SQL Server (or other databases) we also produce ...

Imprecation

Answer 6

I vote for RazorSQL also. It's very powerful in many respects and practically supports most databases out there. I mostly use it for SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Meninges

it's commercial – Ruvolo

Answer 7

Squirrel SQL is a Java based SQL client, that I've had good experience with on Windows and Linux. Since it's Java, it should do the trick.

It's open source. You can run multiple sessions with multiple databases concurrently.

Rossen

I've used it extensively, and find it very mature. It also has lots of nice extras (script generation, SQL formatting and highlighting, metadata displays, cross-DB table copying). It even has plugins to give access to DB-specific functionality, if you need it. And it's free software. – Ventricle

can't connect to MSSQL Express 2008 in Mac OS X 10.7 – Maze

Answer 8

DbVisualizer supports many different databases. There is a free edition that I have used previously. Download from here

Lipps

I probably should have been a little bit more detailed. I have been using DbVisualizer but it seems to chew up a lot of memory on Mac os x. It doesn't do to bad on windows and I don't seem to have a problem with it there. – Wrathful

Answer 9

I thought Sequel Pro for MySQL looked pretty interesting. It's hard to find one tool that works with all those databases (especially SQL Server 2005 . . . most people use SQL Server Management Studio and that's Windows only of course).

Countermine

Sequel Pro doesn't work with Microsoft SQL Server-- only MySQL (and variants like MariaDB.) – Overtask

Answer 10

I have had good success over the last two years or so using Navicat for MySQL. The UI could use a little updating, but all of the tools and options they provide make the cost justifiable for me.

Coprophagous

Navicat has always worked well for me. It's a little pricey but it works well. – Divinadivination

It works really well, but is very laggy on my machine (Running the latest MBP as of Oct 2012). Although not a dealbreaker, it's a very annoying feeling to watch every character you type trail behind you by half a second. – Clamatorial

Answer 11

I've been using Oracle SQL Developer since the Microsoft software for SQL Server is not currently available on Mac OS X. It works wonders. I would also recommend RazorSQL or SQLGrinder.

Monsignor

Answer 12

I've used (DB Solo) and I like it a lot. It's only $99 and comparable to many more expensive tools. It supports Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, MySQL, PostgreSQL and others.

Lightweight

Answer 13

I like SQLGrinder.

It's built using Cocoa, so it looks a lot better and feels more like an Mac OS X application than all the Java-based application mentioned here.

It uses JDBC drivers to connect to Microsoft SQL Server 2005, FrontBase, MySQL, OpenBase, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and Sybase.

Free trial or $59.

Illumine

SQLGrinder no longer works with OS X 10.6 and later and is EOL. – Cervantes

Answer 14

I use the Navicat clients for MySQL and PostgreSQL and am happy with them. "good" is obviously subjective... how do you judge your DB clients?

Congratulate

Navicat is fairly good, except is has some quirks like getting listings of every table and field in every database on the server...basically killing MySQL while it's doing that. I don't Navicat myself, but one of the guys I work with does and something he does causes this. – Cyaneous

read the question please! MySQL != MS SQL – Jampan

Navicat supports SQL Server. – Bartolome

Answer 15

I use AquaFold at work on Windows, but it's based on Java and supports Mac OS X.

Mongolism

Answer 16

Not sure about open-source, but I've heard good things about http://www.advenio.com/sqlgrinder/ (not tried it, I prefer to write Python scripts to try things out rather than use GUIs;-).

Philtre

Answer 17

When this question was asked, Microsoft's Remote Desktop for OS X had been unsupported for years. It wasn't a Universal Binary, and I found it to be somewhat buggy (I recall that the application will just quit after a failed connection instead of allowing you to alter the connection info and try again).

At the time I recommended the Open Source CoRD, a good RDP client for Mac.

Since then Microsoft Remote Desktop Client for Mac 2 was released.

Satiate

I do realize that this answer is old, but deserves to be updated. Remote Desktop for OS X is supported, and a new version has been released within the last year. It's a Universal Binary, it's lightning fast, and has just about every feature of its Windows counterpart. – Pagination

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. – Keble

@WarrenBurton actually, this answer doesn't answer the question, which was about an OSX SQL Server client, not RDP. – Luehrmann

Answer 18

It may not be the best solution if you don't already have it, but FileMaker 11 with the Actual SQL Server ODBC driver (http://www.actualtech.com/product_sqlserver.php) worked nicely for a client of mine today. The ODBC driver is only $29, but FileMaker is $299, which is why you might only consider it if you already have it.

Seeing

Answer 19

I use Eclipse's Database development plugins - like all Java based SQL editors, it works cross platform with any type 4 (ie pure Java) JDBC driver. It's ok for basic stuff (the main failing is it struggles to give transaction control -- auto-commit=true is always set it seems).

Microsoft have a decent JDBC type 4 driver: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6D483869-816A-44CB-9787-A866235EFC7C&displaylang=en this can be used with all Java clients / programs on Win/Mac/Lin/etc.

Those people struggling with Java/JDBC on a Mac are presumably trying to use native drivers instead of JDBC ones -- I haven't used (or practically heard of) the ODBC driver bridge in almost 10 years.

Involve

Answer 20

I've used Eclipse with the Quantum-DB plugins for that purpose since I was already using Eclipse anyway.

Inoculum

Answer 21

This doesn't specifically answer your question, because I'm not sure in any clients exist in Mac OS X, but I generally just Remote Desktop into the server and work through that. Another option is VMware Fusion (which is much better than Parallels in my opinion) + Windows XP + SQL Server Management Studio.

Coprophagous

There clearly are mac clients seeing as how there is a plethora of other answers listing them. – Finbar

Answer 22

Ed: phpMyAdmin is for MySQL, but the asker needs something for Microsoft SQL Server.

Most solutions that I found involve using an ODBC Driver and then whatever client application you use. For example, Gorilla SQL claims to be able to do that, even though the project seems abandoned.

Most good solutions are either using Remote Desktop or VMware/Parallels.

Dewees

The download link for Gorilla SQL seems to be broken. VersionTracker is using the same link, so that one's broken as well. Hacking the URL seems to show the whole site is down… Know of any working download locations? – Segal

Answer 23

Try CoRD and modify what you want directly from the server.

It's open source.

http://cord.sourceforge.net/

Winther

Remote Desktop is not OP wants. – Maze

Answer 24

For MySQL, there is Querious and Sequel Pro. The former costs US$25, and the latter is free. You can find a comparison of them here, and a list of some other Mac OS X MySQL clients here.

Steve

Lillith

User is asking about MSSQL Server. – Illconditioned

Answer 25

Since there currently isn't a MS SQL client for Mac OS X, I would, as Modesty has suggested, use Remote Desktop for the Mac.

Mudra

While Remote Desktop is a workaround, there do exist applications which can connect to MSSQL (as you can tell from the other responses). – Ethnogeny