Azure SQL Dev Corner
Voices from the Azure SQL PM Team, focusing on development and developers
Latest posts
DiskANN Vector Index and Vector Search Are Now Generally Available in Azure SQL
Today, we are announcing the general availability of DiskANN Vector Index & Search across Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance with the always-up-to-date update policy, and SQL database in Microsoft Fabric. DiskANN brings scalable approximate nearest-neighbor search directly to the SQL engine. Developers can store vectors alongside relational data and combine vector similarity with the filters, joins, security policies, and transactional data their applications already rely on. Why Vector indexes matter Applications use embeddings to represent the semantic meaning of text, images, products, doc...
What’s new across Microsoft SQL at SQLCon/FabCon Europe 2026
Live From Barcelona Woo! I’m posting this live from the first ever European SQLCon (joint conference with FabCon EU), and the second ever SQLCon. The energy here is great, as the community comes together in Barcelona and as we prepare to go on the keynote stage and share what’s new! A heartfelt nod to the internal team, our customers, and the community who all contributed to what we are releasing today – the feedback to build to feedback loop is getting tighter, and each is critical for Microsoft SQL to build a better platform. If you're here in Barcelona, the full schedule from the Microsoft SQL product team...
How to build an app on Azure SQL with an AI coding agent
Developers have trusted SQL for decades, since long before AI existed. Now coding agents help choose the database, and they favor the one they can get running in the first few minutes. So today we're shipping two things for that moment. Microsoft SQL Agent Skills teach your coding agent how Azure SQL actually works, so it stops guessing. The Azure SQL Developer Hub hands you a prompt and a free database, and your agent builds a working app from there. Both are open source. Both are live now. Together, they make Azure SQL a database your coding agent can build on, starting with one prompt. In short: Install the...
MSSQL Extension for VS Code: New Getting Started Page, Agent skills, SQL Formatter, and more
Get started faster with common SQL workflows and resources in one place. The MSSQL extension for VS Code v1.46 introduces a new Getting Started page experience in Public Preview with quick actions, guided walkthroughs, dev container templates, and one-click installation of the latest Microsoft SQL agent skills for GitHub Copilot. Available to all customers starting with this release, the skills can be installed by anyone. This release also brings the SQL Formatter to General Availability with more control over T-SQL style, along with reusable Object Explorer filters and expanded Data API builder capabilities....
SQLAlchemy 2.1 brings built-in support for mssql-python
We're pleased to share that SQLAlchemy 2.1.0 is now generally available, with built-in support for mssql-python, Microsoft's Python driver for SQL Server. You can now use it with SQLAlchemy's ORM and Core APIs through the first-party dialect. If SQLAlchemy is already part of how you build, we want this to feel like a natural next step - not another thing to learn. The goal is simple: help you connect to SQL Server and Azure SQL with less setup, while keeping the tools and patterns you know. This integration is now part of the production release, and SQLAlchemy 2.1 is the version installed by default when y...
Announcing the Public Preview of Local Time Zone Support in Azure SQL Database
We are thrilled to announce the public preview of local time zone support in Azure SQL Database. Starting today, you can configure the time zone directly at the database or session level — all from T-SQL, without changing any infrastructure settings. This feature addresses one of the most consistently requested capabilities from the Azure SQL community, and it brings Azure SQL Database into alignment with ANSI SQL standard and competitors such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Oracle. Background SQL Server on Windows and Linux inherits the time zone from the host operating system, giving customers full contro...
PostgreSQL to SQL Field Notes: Date & Time
Moving from PostgreSQL to SQL Server? Learn the key differences between timestamp, timestamptz, datetime2, and datetimeoffset, including precision, time zones, offsets, and storage.
Coding agents are picking Azure SQL Database
I went looking for Azure SQL Database in a recent coding agent benchmark, honestly unsure whether Microsoft SQL would show up. Armature ran a study where real coding agent CLIs (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) were dropped into six synthetic-but-realistic repositories and asked to pick a database, then actually build with it. 356 runs were completed across three personas: vibe coder, junior developer, senior engineer. Every session is published, so you can replay the prompts, the searches, the commands, and the code. Azure SQL Database came in second! Not second behind AWS. Second behind Neon, and ahead of Amazon...
SQL Decomposition in a Nutshell
Good software design principles apply inside the database too. See how decomposition, encapsulation, statelessness, and clear contracts can make complex T-SQL easier to read, test, reuse, and maintain.
