When was Azure Data Studio retired?

28 February 2026. Microsoft's documentation states it is retired as of that date and no longer receives updates or security fixes.

Does Azure Data Studio still work after retirement?

Yes, an installed copy still launches and connects. It receives no security patches, which is the reason to move: a database client holds credentials for your production systems, and unpatched software holding those is a risk you are choosing to carry.

What does Microsoft recommend instead of Azure Data Studio?

Visual Studio Code with the MSSQL extension. Your existing queries, scripts and SQL database projects open there without conversion. For SQL Server Agent and full administration, Microsoft points to SQL Server Management Studio.

Why was Azure Data Studio retired?

Microsoft's stated reason is consolidation: retiring it focuses investment on fewer, more capable tools, namely Visual Studio Code and SQL Server Management Studio.

What replaces the Azure Data Studio MySQL extension?

Nothing yet. Microsoft's own migration table lists the MySQL replacement as pending announcement and suggests watching Azure Marketplace for a forthcoming extension. If you used Azure Data Studio for MySQL, Microsoft's migration path does not currently cover you and you need a third-party client.

I used Azure Data Studio on a Mac. What are my options?

Visual Studio Code with the MSSQL extension runs on macOS and is the direct replacement. If you want a dedicated database application rather than an editor with a database extension, a native Mac client such as FluentDB covers SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite in one app. Note that Microsoft's fallback for administrative work, SSMS, is Windows only.

Do my SQL database projects need converting?

No. Microsoft states that SQL database projects, queries and scripts open in Visual Studio Code without conversion, using the SQL Database Projects extension.

← Alternatives

Azure Data Studio is retired: what to migrate to

By Kevin Piacentini, Software Engineer & Founder of FluentDB·Updated August 6, 2026

Azure Data Studio retired on 28 February 2026. It receives no further updates and no security fixes. Microsoft's reason is consolidation: fewer tools, more investment in each.

The official migration path is Visual Studio Code with the MSSQL extension, and for most SQL Server work on Windows that is sound advice you should take. This page covers what carries over, and the two places the official guidance leaves people without an answer.

What Microsoft says to do

Taking the recommendation seriously first, because it is the right one for a lot of people. The MSSQL extension for VS Code is not a thin wrapper. It includes:

text

Query execution and IntelliSense
Schema Compare          compare and sync schemas between databases,
                        DACPACs or SQL projects
Schema Designer         with GitHub Copilot integration
Database operations     create, back up, restore, rename, drop,
                        object search, flat-file import
Query Profiler          real-time activity via Extended Events
DACPAC / BACPAC         deploy, extract, import, export
SQL Notebooks           Jupyter-based notebooks for runbooks

Your existing work moves without conversion. Queries, scripts and SQL database projects open directly in VS Code, and VS Code runs on Windows, macOS and Linux exactly as Azure Data Studio did.

If you are a SQL Server developer on Windows who was happy in Azure Data Studio, install the extension and get on with your day. The rest of this page is for the two groups that answer does not serve.

Gap one: if you used it for MySQL, there is no replacement yet

Azure Data Studio was not only a SQL Server tool. Extensions gave it PostgreSQL, MySQL and Cosmos DB support, and plenty of people used it precisely because one window covered several engines.

Here is how those extensions map after retirement:

Where each Azure Data Studio extension moves after retirement
Azure Data Studio extension	Replacement
PostgreSQL	PostgreSQL extension for Visual Studio Code
Azure Cosmos DB	Azure Databases for Visual Studio Code
MySQL	Pending announcement

That last line is Microsoft's wording, not ours. The migration guidance tells MySQL users to watch Azure Marketplace for a forthcoming extension. Five months after retirement, there is no shipped Microsoft answer for the MySQL side of Azure Data Studio.

If MySQL was part of why you used it, the official path does not cover you and a third-party client is not a preference, it is the only option. This is the clearest case for looking outside Microsoft's recommendation, and it is a case Microsoft itself is making by omission.

Gap two: the administrative fallback is Windows only

For SQL Server Agent jobs and full administration, Microsoft's guidance is to use SQL Server Management Studio, which "remains the supported home for SQL Server Agent and general administration".

That is fine advice on Windows. On a Mac it is not advice at all, because SSMS has no macOS version. SSMS 22 supports 64-bit Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019 through 2025, and nothing else.

So a Mac user who did Agent work in Azure Data Studio is told to move to a tool they cannot install. The honest answer is a Windows VM for those specific tasks, and something native for everything else. Worth knowing before you discover it mid-migration.

The third group: people who wanted a database app

Beyond the two hard gaps there is a softer one, and it is the reason a lot of people liked Azure Data Studio in the first place. It was a dedicated database application: connections in a sidebar, objects you could click through, results in a grid that felt like the point rather than an output panel.

VS Code with an extension is a different shape. Excellent if you think of the database as part of your codebase, less so if you spend the day browsing schemas and editing rows. Neither is wrong, and Microsoft has simply decided which one it wants to maintain.

If the application-shaped experience is what you are missing, FluentDB is a native macOS client covering SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite in one window, with an AI co-pilot that writes SQL against your real schema. It is a paid app, one time from $54, where Azure Data Studio was free, and that is a fair thing to weigh.

Picking a path

Where to migrate from Azure Data Studio, by situation
Your situation	Move to
SQL Server developer on Windows	VS Code with the MSSQL extension
SQL Server developer on a Mac, an editor is fine	VS Code with the MSSQL extension
On a Mac, and you want an application	A native Mac client
Agent jobs, Maintenance Plans	SSMS, which is Windows only, so a VM on a Mac
You used the MySQL extension	A third-party client. There is no Microsoft answer yet.
You used the PostgreSQL extension	PostgreSQL extension for VS Code
You want several engines in one window	A third-party multi-engine client

Whatever you choose, choose something. An unpatched client with saved production credentials is the actual risk here, and it grows quietly the longer the retirement sits in the past.

A fuller feature-by-feature comparison with FluentDB, including where Azure Data Studio was better, is on the Azure Data Studio alternative page.