Skip to content
VNEN

Connect SQL Server

Detailed guide for connecting SQL Server to Data Explorer, including SSL configuration, Docker setup, and common troubleshooting.

🏢Engine

SQL Server

Default Port

1433

Protocol

mssql://

Strategy

Pooled Adapter

How to Connect

To connect to SQL Server, you have two options: use a Connection URI or fill in the structured connection form.

Method 1: Connection URI

The fastest way is to paste the connection URI directly. Data Explorer will automatically parse the host, port, username, password, and database name from the URI.
URI Format

# General format

Server=localhost,1433;Database=mydb;User Id=sa;Password=password;Encrypt=true;TrustServerCertificate=true;

Method 2: Connection Form

Open the Connection Explorer sidebar (left panel), click the plus (+) icon, select SQL Server. Fill in the following fields:
HostlocalhostIP address or hostname of the database server
Port1433Default port: 1433
UsernamesaLogin user with database access
Password••••••Password (AES-256 encrypted before storage)
DatabasemydbDatabase name you want to explore
Connection Guardrails
Each connection can be enhanced with a set of protection policies (Guardrails) to mitigate risks of accidental data modification.
Read Only
Allows only SELECT. Blocks all data modifications.
Block Schema
Prevents ALTER, DROP, or RENAME table commands.
Safe Guard
Enables backend-grade deep SQL Guard filtering.
Restricted IO
Disallows raw data Import/Export operations.
SSH Tunneling (Secure)
If your database is behind a firewall, you can use an SSH Tunnel. Data Explorer now integrates SSRF Guard to block dangerous internal IP connections through the tunnel.
  • Supports authentication via password or Private Key (OpenSSH format).
  • Automatic destination IP validation (SSRF Protection).
  • Periodic tunnel health checks to maintain connectivity.

Supported Features

Here is the complete list of introspection features Data Explorer supports for SQL Server:
  • sys.tables and sys.columns introspection
  • Foreign key constraint mapping
  • Execution plan analysis
  • Stored procedure support
  • View and synonym listing
  • Schema-separated object browsing
  • Windows and SQL Authentication

Internal Introspection Query

When you successfully connect, Data Explorer automatically runs introspection queries to analyze the database structure. Here's the basic query the system runs behind the scenes for SQL Server:
SQL Server Introspection

# Table structure analysis query

SELECT t.name AS table_name, c.name AS column_name,

ty.name AS data_type, c.is_nullable

FROM sys.tables t

JOIN sys.columns c ON t.object_id = c.object_id

JOIN sys.types ty ON c.system_type_id = ty.system_type_id

ORDER BY t.name, c.column_id;

Docker Quick Start

If you don't have SQL Server on your machine yet, the fastest way is to use Docker to create a test instance:
Terminal

# Start SQL Server container

docker run -d \

--name data-explorer-mssql \

-e ACCEPT_EULA=Y \

-e SA_PASSWORD=YourStrong@Passw0rd \

-e MSSQL_PID=Developer \

-p 1433:1433 \

mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

Advanced Tuning

Connection Pooling

By default, the system maintains a connection pool to optimize response speed. For databases with limited sessions (like Supabase Free Tier), consider reducing the timeout to free up connections faster.

SSL/TLS Handshake

The system supports SSL Modes "prefer" and "require". For connections requiring custom CA certificates, you need to mount the certificate file into the /certs directory of the backend server.

Security Note

For Azure SQL Database, encryption is required. Add Encrypt=true;TrustServerCertificate=false to your connection string.

PreviousCockroachDBNext MongoDB & Atlas

Ready to explore data?

Join the community on GitHub to contribute to the smartest local database IDE.

Launch App