What can I use instead of SSMS on a Mac?

SQL Server Management Studio is Windows-only, and Azure Data Studio was retired on February 28, 2026. Microsoft points to Visual Studio Code with its MSSQL extension. TableStudio is a native Mac app instead, with SQL Server and Azure SQL next to your Postgres, MySQL and other databases. For SQL Server Agent jobs and server administration you'll still want SSMS.

How do I run SQL Server on my Mac for development?

There's no SQL Server for macOS, so run Microsoft's Linux image in a container, with Docker or Apple's container tool, and connect TableStudio to localhost and the port you published.

Can my coding agent run xp_cmdshell?

No. TableStudio refuses xp_cmdshell, OPENROWSET and the other procedures and functions that reach outside the database, whatever the agent's permissions. Agent reads are checked by their SQL before they run, and changes to production are staged for your review.

What doesn't it do on SQL Server yet?

TableStudio's SQL Server support is new. The visual query plan, health checks, backups, restore points, sandboxes and dashboard widget packs aren't available for SQL Server yet. Browsing, editing, T-SQL, schema tools, Query Insights, moving data and the agent tools are.

SQL Server Client for Mac (SSMS and Azure Data Studio Alternative)

TableStudio is a native Mac client for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL. SQL Server Management Studio has never run on a Mac, and Azure Data Studio was retired on February 28, 2026. TableStudio gives Mac developers a fast, native place to work with SQL Server, next to the Postgres, MySQL and SQLite databases they already use.

SQL Server and the rest of your stack, in one Mac app

Browse SQL Server the way it's organized, server, database, schema, with its stored procedures, functions and triggers. Edit rows inline and write T-SQL with autocomplete. Compare two databases to get the script that closes the gap.

It sits next to your PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite databases, with the same ⌘K palette across all of them. And if you're moving off SQL Server, Migrate Database copies a database to Postgres or MySQL with a pre-flight report of what won't translate.

What TableStudio does for SQL Server

Native on the Mac, for SQL Server and Azure SQL.

Agents on Azure SQL and SQL Server

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode reach Azure SQL by name, with no connection string in a config file.
xp_cmdshell, OPENROWSET and other ways out of the database are refused.
An agent's UPDATE or DELETE can be tried inside a transaction that's always rolled back.
Nothing an agent writes reaches production until you approve it with Touch ID, and each change can be rolled back on its own.
Set a database to Structure only and an agent can write queries against it without ever seeing a row.

Connect

SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, directly or over an SSH tunnel.
A SQL Server in a Docker or Apple container on your Mac, on the port you published.
Paste a connection string into Host and every field fills itself.

Schemas and objects

Databases and schemas, the way SQL Server nests them.
Stored procedures, functions, triggers and views, with their definitions.
A column editor that leads with nvarchar, datetime2 and uniqueidentifier, and knows xml, rowversion and hierarchyid.
Create tables, columns, indexes and keys without writing DDL.

T-SQL

Completion that follows dbo and your other schemas down to each column.
AI that writes T-SQL, TOP and OFFSET … FETCH included, and fixes failing queries.
Snippets, formatting, tabs and query history.

Data

Edit rows inline and apply them in one transaction.
See the parent row behind a foreign key without leaving the grid.
Bring in CSV or TSV files, and get results out as JSON, SQL inserts, Markdown or Excel.
Fake rows for testing, with foreign keys pointing at real parents.

Move your data

Copy a SQL Server database to Postgres or MySQL with a pre-flight report.
Sync rows into a SQL Server table, IDENTITY columns handled.
Compare two databases and get the migration script.

Insights and checks

Query Insights over the T-SQL run from TableStudio, by you or your agents.
Schema checks with each fix and its rollback SQL.
ER diagrams across schemas.

What's not there yet

TableStudio's SQL Server support is new, and some of what it does on other engines isn't here yet. There's no visual query plan, no health checks, no backups or restore points, and no sandboxes for SQL Server. SQL Server Agent jobs and server administration belong in SSMS. If SQL Server is your only database, Microsoft's free MSSQL extension for VS Code covers those. If it's one of several, TableStudio puts them all in one native app.

Last updated October 29, 2026

A Native SQL Server Client for Mac