4/6/2019 Install SQL Server on a Mac

Install SQL
Server on a Mac
Install SQL Server directly to
your Mac — no virtual machine
required!

Microso has made SQL Server 2017

available for macOS and Linux systems.
This is made possible by running SQL
Server from a Docker container.
Therefore, there's no need to install a
virtual machine with Windows (which
was the only way to run SQL Server on a
Mac prior to SQL Server 2017).

Install and
Con gure Docker
This is a prerequisite for installing SQL
Server on your Mac. Because the Mac
runs SQL Server inside a Docker
container, the first thing we need to do is
download and install Docker (unless it's
already installed). Once installed, we'll
increase its memory allocation to a more
suitable level for running SQL Server.

1. Download Docker from the

download page, extract it, and drag
it into your Application folder.
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2. Launch Docker, and go to

Preferences > Advanced and
increase its memory allocation to
4GB

If I've confused you, don't worry. I've

written a tutorial with screenshots: Install
Docker on a Mac and Configure for SQL
Server.

OK, we're now ready to install SQL Server

on your Mac.

Now the Actual

SQL Server
Installation
Now that we've installed Docker and
increased its memory allocation, we can
go ahead and install SQL Server. The Mac
uses the Linux image (the SQL Server for
Linux Docker image).

1
Pull the SQL Server
Image

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Open a Terminal window and run the

following command.

docker pull microsoft/mssql-

server-linux

This pulls the latest SQL Server for Linux

Docker image to your computer.

2
Launch the SQL Server
Image
Run the following command to launch
an instance of the Docker image you just
downloaded:

docker run -d --name Homer -e

'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e
'SA_PASSWORD=myPassw0rd' -p
1433:1433 microsoft/mssql-
server-linux

You can replace the container name and

password with your own if you like. Just
be sure to make a strong password, or
you may get an error (see below).
Here's an explanation of the above
parameters:
-d
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This is an optional parameter that

launches the Docker container in
daemon mode. This means that it
runs in the background and doesn't
need its own Terminal window
open. You can omit this parameter
to have the container run in its own
Terminal window.

--name Homer

This optional parameter provides a

name for the container. This can be
handy when stopping and starting
the container from the Terminal.

-e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y'
The Y shows that you agree with
the EULA (End User Licence
Agreement). This is required in
order to install SQL Server.

-e 'SA_PASSWORD=myPassw0rd'
Required parameter that sets the
sa database password.

-p 1433:1433

This maps the local port 1433 to

port 1433 on the container. This is
the default TCP port that SQL
Server uses to listen for
connections.

microsoft/mssql-server-linux

This tells Docker which image to

use.

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Password Strength
 If you get the following error at
this step, try again, but with a
stronger password.

Microsoft(R) SQL
Server(R) setup failed
with error code 1.
Please check the setup
log in
/var/opt/mssql/log for
more information.

3
Check the Docker
container (optional)
Type the following command to check
that the Docker container is running.

docker ps

If it's up and running, it should return

something like this:

CONTAINER ID IMAGE
740fcb5193c6 microsoft/mss

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Show All Containers

 The above command only shows
those containers that are currently
running. To show all containers
(whether they're running or not),
append the -a flag to the
command (you can also use -
all ):

docker ps -a

OR

docker ps -all

Check your
Installation &
Manage SQL
Server
Now that you've installed SQL Server on
your Mac, you'll probably want to check
that you can access it and query it, etc.
Then you'll probably want to start
creating databases and doing other DB-
related tasks. You'll need some sort of
management tool for this.

Here are three options:

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sql-cli
sql-cli is a cross platform
command line tool for SQL
Server. This means you can
create databases and query
them right from your Mac's
Terminal window.
Installation is as easy as running
a single command (assuming
you already have NodeJs
installed).

How to Install sql-cli on a Mac

Azure Data Studio

Azure Data Studio (formerly called SQL
Operations Studio) is a free GUI tool from
Microso . It's a bit more user friendly for
those who aren't comfortable with the
command line interface.
Installation is as easy as downloading it and
dragging it to your Applications folder.

How to Install Azure Data Studio on a Mac

DBeaver
Another GUI option is DBeaver.
DBeaver is a free open source
database tool that works with
many di erent database
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management systems (MySQL,

PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite,
Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, Sybase,
MS Access, Teradata, Firebird,
Derby, etc).
You have a few options for
installing DBeaver. The easiest way
is to download the "installer
option", and then run the
installation wizard.

How to Install DBeaver on a Mac

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