ODBC Driver Installation

Note: The Rust CLI uses Tiberius, which connects to SQL Server directly via the TDS protocol — no ODBC driver is required to run the CLI. This guide is only needed if you want diagnostic tools like sqlcmd and bcp.

Important: Use ODBC Driver 17 (not 18). Driver 18 dropped support for SQL Server 2008 R2.

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install unixodbc
brew tap microsoft/mssql-release https://github.com/Microsoft/homebrew-mssql-release
brew update
HOMEBREW_ACCEPT_EULA=Y brew install msodbcsql17

# (Optional) Install command-line tools
HOMEBREW_ACCEPT_EULA=Y brew install mssql-tools

Windows

Download and install from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server

Or use winget:

winget install --id=Microsoft.msodbcsql.17 -e

# (Optional) Install command-line tools
winget install --id=Microsoft.Sqlcmd -e

Ubuntu/Debian

Option 1: Automated Install

sudo ./scripts/install-odbc-ubuntu.sh

Option 2: Manual Install

# 1. Install unixODBC
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y unixodbc unixodbc-dev curl gnupg

# 2. Add Microsoft repository
curl -fsSL https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-prod.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-prod.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/$(lsb_release -rs)/prod.list main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

# 3. Install ODBC Driver 17
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install -y msodbcsql17

# 4. (Optional) Install command-line tools
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install -y mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc

Other Linux Distributions

See official Microsoft documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/installing-the-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server

Verify Installation

# Check ODBC configuration
odbcinst -j

# List installed ODBC drivers
odbcinst -q -d

You should see:

[ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server]

Troubleshooting

Issue: Repository not found (Ubuntu)

Solution: Adjust the Ubuntu version in the repository URL (e.g., 20.04, 22.04, 24.04)

Issue: GPG key error (Ubuntu)

Solution: Re-import the Microsoft GPG key:

curl -fsSL https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-prod.gpg

Issue: Connection timeout

Solution: Check firewall settings and network connectivity:

# Test SQL Server port
nc -zv your-server.database.windows.net 1433