Microsoft retired Azure Data Studio on February 28, 2026, and it no longer gets updates or security fixes. Its replacement is Visual Studio Code with the MSSQL extension, plus SQL Server Management Studio, Windows-only, for administration. Choose the MSSQL extension if SQL Server is your main database: it's free and covers what Azure Data Studio did and more. Choose TableStudio if you want a native Mac app for SQL Server and Azure SQL alongside PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and others, with a safe way in for coding agents.
A safer way to let agents near SQL Server
Coding agents are now part of how people work with SQL Server too. TableStudio gives Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode a way in to SQL Server and Azure SQL with rules it enforces itself:
- No way out of the database.
xp_cmdshell,OPENROWSETand the other routes to the server's shell and files are refused. - Every agent read checked before it runs.
- Writes rehearsed in a transaction that's always rolled back, so you see the rows they'd change.
- Production changes staged for your review and applied with Touch ID.
- Undo for each agent change, and a record of every call in the Agent Center.
At a glance
| TableStudio | VS Code + MSSQL extension | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Native Mac database client | Extension for a code editor |
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 15+) | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Price | $49 once | Free |
| SQL Server, Azure SQL | Yes | Yes, plus Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL database in Fabric |
| PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, ClickHouse and others | Yes, in the same app | Separate extensions, where they exist |
| Browse and edit data, T-SQL autocomplete | Yes | Yes |
| Query plan | Not yet for SQL Server | Estimated and actual plans |
| Schema compare | Yes, with a script for the target's engine | Yes, including DACPACs |
| Backups and restore | Not yet for SQL Server | Yes |
| Local SQL Server | Connects to one you run in a container | Creates and manages local containers |
| Notebooks, profiler | No | Yes |
| Coding agents | MCP server and plugin, with read-only reads, production changes staged for review, dry runs and undo | GitHub Copilot chat and agent mode |
Where the MSSQL extension is stronger
For SQL Server work it's the most complete free tool on a Mac. It covers estimated and actual plans, backups to disk or Azure Blob Storage, a profiler and notebooks, and it creates local SQL Server containers for you. It also connects to SQL database in Fabric and handles DACPAC and BACPAC files.
Where TableStudio is different
One native app for every database you run. SQL Server and Azure SQL sit next to PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, ClickHouse, CockroachDB and Cloudflare D1, with the same browsing, editing, schema compare and ⌘K palette across all of them. You can move a SQL Server database to Postgres or MySQL with a pre-flight report.
A safe way in for coding agents. The free plugin gives Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode your saved connections by name, with no password in a config file. Production changes are staged for your review and applied with Touch ID. Writes can be dry-run against the real rows, and the rows an agent changes are saved first so the change can be undone.
Running SQL Server on a Mac
There's no SQL Server for macOS. Run it in a container, with Docker or Apple's container tool, and connect TableStudio to it like any other server.
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