Azure Data Studio retired on February 6, 2025, with support ending February 28, 2026 — the recommended replacement is VS Code with the MSSQL extension.
What to install
Three things to get started:
- MSSQL extension — search “SQL Server (mssql)” in the VS Code Marketplace
- SQL Database Projects extension — schema-as-code, build validation, guided publish
- .NET 8 SDK — required by the build system; missing SDK is the most common first-run issue
Migrating your ADS connections and settings
The MSSQL extension ships an ADS Migration Toolkit that handles the one-time migration in a guided flow: saved connections, connection groups, settings, and key bindings are all imported automatically.
Restoring F5 muscle memory
ADS users rely on F5 to run queries. Install the MSSQL Database Management Keymap extension to get ADS-style key bindings back, including F5.
SQL Database Projects: schema as code
Right-click a project → Publish → configure target → review the generated T-SQL script → deploy. The script preview before deployment is the key safety feature. Item templates generate stubs for tables, stored procedures, and views — the same workflow as SSDT.
Common gotcha: a target platform mismatch in the .sqlproj file will cause build errors if the project was created against a different SQL Server version.
Schema Compare and Schema Designer
The extension also includes Schema Compare (diff your project against the deployed database) and Schema Designer (visual schema editing without writing DDL by hand).
Microsoft Fabric developers
The setup is identical, but start from the Fabric portal and connect the database to Git first before opening it in VS Code. Microsoft has a dedicated guide: Azure Data Studio to VS Code — What it means for SQL database in Fabric developers.
Wrapping up
The migration is a one-time guided flow, not a manual rebuild. Install the three tools, run the ADS Migration Toolkit, restore your key bindings, and you’re back to normal in under 10 minutes.
See the full article for step-by-step screenshots and the Fabric-specific walkthrough.
