Ssms On Mac _hot_ May 2026

| Tool | Notes | |------|-------| | (Microsoft) | Free, lightweight, cross-platform. Built on VS Code. Supports most admin tasks, notebooks, IntelliSense. Best official alternative. | | DBeaver (Free/Pro) | Universal database tool. Works with SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc. | | TablePlus (Freemium) | Native macOS app, clean UI, supports SQL Server via ODBC. | | DataGrip (Paid, JetBrains) | Powerful IDE for SQL, cross-platform. | | VS Code + SQL Server (mssql) extension | Free, lightweight, great for query editing and execution. | | HeidiSQL (via Wine) – unstable | Not recommended for daily work. | Azure Data Studio is Microsoft’s intended modern replacement for SSMS on macOS and Linux. What About SQL Server Itself on Mac? You can run SQL Server 2017+ for Linux in a Docker container on macOS. Example:

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=YourStrong!Password" \ -p 1433:1433 --name sqlserver -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest Then connect via Azure Data Studio, DBeaver, etc. Works fine on Intel and Apple Silicon (with Rosetta or ARM images). | Need | Recommendation | |------|----------------| | Must run SSMS exactly | Use a Windows VM on Mac or Remote Desktop | | Just need to manage SQL Server from Mac | Use Azure Data Studio or DBeaver | | Light query editing | VS Code + mssql extension | | Run SQL Server locally | Docker container | ssms on mac

Don’t waste time trying to run SSMS on Mac natively. Azure Data Studio is the official, modern, cross-platform way forward. | Tool | Notes | |------|-------| | (Microsoft)