SQL Server Management Studio

What's new in this version:

SQL Server Management Studio 22.4.1
New:
- Introduced a new setting, Automatically select the most recent connection, in Tools > Options > Connection Dialog that controls the default behavior of the modern Connection Dialog when opened.
- Introduced the Database DevOps workload (preview), that enables you to implement, manage, and collaborate on database changes using SQL database projects and source control. See Database DevOps (Preview) in SQL Server Management Studio and Add support for SQL database projects.
- GitHub Copilot in SSMS is now generally available.
- Added support for user-level custom instructions. See Copilot should support an Instructions file.
- Added the ability to group database objects by schema to the Object Explorer. To toggle the setting on and off, select the icon for Group by schema (between the Refresh and Show Policy Health icons). Default behavior can be set under Tools > Options > SQL Server Object Explorer > General. See Group objects by schema in Object Explorer.
- Introduced a new channel for SQL Management Objects (SMO) events in View > Output
- The Query Hint Recommendation Tool is now generally available
- Added Excel, JSON, Markdown, and XML as supported file formats when saving results from the Results Grid. See Quick Export Options in SSMS Query Results.
- Added support for creating a vector index in the New Index dialog
- Updated to Visual Studio 18.4.1 [11612.150]

Fixed:
- Fixed an error where Always Encrypted Key Vault authentication failed for federated identity providers because Always Encrypted used a deprecated embedded browser. See When creating a Column Encryption Key, SSMS uses the built-in browser to authenticate the Azure Account.
- Fixed error Unable to cast object of type 'System.DBNull' to type 'System.String' (Microsoft.SqlServer.ConnectionInfo) when trying to connect to Dataverse. See Error when trying to connect to Dataverse using SSMS 22.3.
- Updated icon in the Extended Event Session Properties dialog. See Extend Events Session Properties dialog shows PRE icon.
- Addressed an issue where use of GitHub Copilot required setting the DOTNET_ENVIRONMENT configured as Development in order to use GitHub Copilot in SSMS. See GitHub Copilot chats fail with JSON-RPC error, and SSMS 22 GitHub Copilot Chat not producing any results.
- Fixed an issue where Code completions tried to connect to a database that doesn't exist with a USE statement. See GitHub Copilot Completions may be interpreting "Use" in "User" as the USE command - accessing invalid databases.
- Fixed a bug that displayed the incorrect date when using Copilot Free. See SSMS 22.1 GitHub Copilot Chat monthly limit message contradiction.
- Addressed the error Incorrect syntax near 'WITHOUT_ARRAY_WRAPPER' when using GitHub Copilot with SQL Server 2014 and earlier. See SQL Management Studio 22 - Copilot error - not working at all, SSMS Copilot chat stuck at gathering references forever, and Copilot in SSMS 22 unusable.
- Improved handling of failed query executions and executions that returned no results.
- Addressed an issue where the database dropdown list for the query editor didn't display all available databases. See SSMS 22 Preview 3.0 does not show all databases.
- Resolved an error in the Profiler Execution Plans that caused the execution plan to render incorrectly. See SSMS 22 Profiler - Execution Plan.
- Added a setting in Tools > Options > Query Results > Results to Grid that sets how JSON is displayed in text columns. See ver 22.3: Unable to recognize JSON format of type nvarchar; shortcut links cannot be opened.
- Improved handling of JSON data to preserve HTML-sensitive characters. See JSON Viewer When Clicking Item In Grid Shows Character Replacements for Angle Brackets.
- Addressed an issue when scrolling multiple results sets where cursor focus was being incorrectly applied. See SSMS 22 Results Grid View Scrolling.
- Fixed a bug that occurred when trying to run SSMS as a different user with multifactor authentication. See Running SSMS as different user doesn't work with MFA.
- Resolved error Unable to acquire authorization token when trying to connect to Azure SQL running SSMS as a different user. See Running SSMS21 as a different user than the one logged into Windows, and SSMS 22 - Cant connect to PaaS databases after starting SSMS 22 "as a different user".
- Improved startup time of SSMS.
- Resolved an issue that caused unexpected behavior when discarding field ordering changes in Table Designer. See Table designer caches discarded field ordering changes (Unexpected behaviour).
- Addressed an issue where an invalid script was generated when updating a user account with no default schema. See Updating a user account with no default schema generates invalid script code.


SQL Server Management Studio 22.3.3
- Updated to Visual Studio 18.3.3 [11527.330]


SQL Server Management Studio 22.3.2
Feature:
GitHub Copilot in SSMS (Preview):
- Added connection information at the beginning of a response to clearly display the server and database for which the response is generated


SQL Server Management Studio 22.3.0
Added:
- Added template support for external models
- Added support for Profiler and Database Tuning Advisor (DTA) on Arm64 devices. See SQL Server Profiler 22 does not open on ARM. Both Profiler and DTA run as 32-bit applications
- Added ability to create maintenance plans in SQL Server 2025 with Strict Encryption enforced for the instance

Fixed:
- Fixed error Object reference not set to an instance of an object when trying to browse a multi-dimensional cube
- Fixed an issue where errors could occur when signing into an account or selecting placeholder values in dialogs using Azure authentication
- Fixed an issue where the editor would show an error notification when no error exists. See 1 Error, Click to navigate to the error list
- Fixed an issue where query text is truncated in the execution plan for a query. See In the SSMS 22 query store, the query display is cut off
- Fixed issue where large JSON text was split across multiple rows in the results grid. See SSMS 22 Preview - Large JSON Output Split Across Multiple Rows and The viewer's results table using "JSON PATH" sometimes does not show a row with valid JSON; instead, it shows several rows with truncated data

Improved:
- Improved startup performance of the modern connection dialog
- Introduced support for database instructions. See Use database instructions with GitHub Copilot in SQL Server Management Studio (Preview)
- Updated Microsoft.Data.SqlClient to 6.1.3
- Updated MSODBCSQL to 18.6.1.1
- Updated to Visual Studio 18.3 [11506.43]
- Addressed error Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Data.Framework, Version=18.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. when trying to change the connection string for an Analysis Services database. See Can't change "Connection String" for Analysis Services Database
- Updated the modern connection dialog to ensure advanced properties are carried to subsequent connections, for example, when opening a query editor from an existing connection in Object Explorer
- Resolved issue where expanding the list of columns for a table was blank for a Dynamics Dataverse database. See When connected to Dynamics dataverse in SSMS 22, expanding the list of columns in a table shows nothing
- Reduced frequency of schema cache updates to optimize performance for code completions
- Updated the behavior of the Query Editor to not prompt to save a file when closing if the contents were changed and then reverted. See "Query Execution -> SQL Server -> General -> Prompt to save unsaved T-SQL query windows on close" Edge Case
- Addressed a scenario where Query Store data appeared under the incorrect time range. See Query Store viewer in SSMS 21 is reporting data with incorrect time offset when using local time
- Clarified the Interval option for the Publication Properties dialog. See SSMS 21.3.7 - Replication Publication Properties - incorrect and misleading labels
- Restored ability to use Ctrl+R to hide or restore the results pane when viewing an execution plan. See SSMS 22: CTRL+R Shortcut Doesn't Work From Execution Plan Tab
- Resolved error One of the identified items was an invalid format when viewing spatial results. See Spatial results tab returns invalid format error when viewing features that pass .isValidDetailed() test


SQL Server Management Studio 22.2.1
GitHub Copilot in SSMS (Preview):
- Introduced support for code completions and next edit suggestions (NES) in the query editor

Libraries:
Updated Server Management Objects (SMO) to version 17.100.91

Fixed:
Activity Monitor:
- Fixed an issue where query text wasn't available in Activity Monitor. See Session details missing query information in Activity monitor, SSMS 22.0.0 Preview 3.0.

Database Diagrams:
- Addressed a crash in the database designer that occurs when a relationship is selected

Database Diagrams:
- Resolved inability to edit database diagrams that were created in an earlier version of SSMS. See Database Diagram cannot be modified.

Migration Assistant:
- Addressed an issue where selecting Previous from the Summary window navigates to the incorrect page when both Compatibility issues and SQL Server feature parity are selected. See SQL Server 2022 UI Issue while doing sql assessment from 2008 to 2025.

Object Explorer:
- Fixed error generated when scripting a CREATE OR ALTER for a view in SQL On Demand provided via Synapse Analytics. See Generate Scripttext for CREATE OR ALTER view produces error.

Object Explorer Details:
- Fixed error "Arithmetic operation resulted in an overflow" when navigating within Object Explorer Details with a specific three monitor configuration. See Error editing table in object explorer details.

Toolbar:
- Addressed behavior where customizing the width of the Available Database dropdown list wasn't respected. See SSMS.22.Preview: Toolbar->SQLEditor->AvailableDatabase customization.


SQL Server Management Studio 22.1.0
- Introduced the GitHub Copilot Walkthrough, available from the Copilot badge
- Added right-click menu support for Document, Explain, Fix, and Optimize code assistance
- Improved response time after submitting the first prompt for a thread
- Introduced Bring your own model (BYOM)
- Updated the default model to be Claude 4.5 for paid subscriptions

Fixed:
- Fixed an issue in Profiler to restore keyboard focus to the proper element when Profiler window is reactivated
- Fixed a bug on the New Column Master Key page of the Always Encrypted Wizard that displayed the wrong name in the key vault dropdown. See New Column Master Key Dialog doesn't show AKV names.
- Resolved a crash that occurred when editing data for a table with a hierarchyid data type.See Crash when data-editing Table with a hierarchyid column containing brackets ( ) in the name.
- Reintroduced the /optimize code assistance command
- Fixed the issue where Copilot displayed Run ValidateGeneratedTQL repeatedly and didn't answer, or answered incorrectly. See SSMS v22 Copilot taking minutes to respond, generating inaccurate results.
- Fixed the error An exception was encountered while constructing the content of this frame. See Copilot Chat not working. Exception thrown..
- Updated the query to identify blocking to account for sleeping sessions
- Removed CTP from the SQL Server 2025 entry in the Trace provider type
- Addressed an issue that inserted a query hint after an existing semicolon instead of before it


SQL Server Management Studio 22.0.0
- Added support for sovereign cloud solutions Bleu and Delos
- Added initial Windows Arm64 support for core SSMS 22 scenarios, including connecting and querying. See Known Issues for a list of scenarios that are still unsupported
- Added Fabric browsing to the Browse tab
- The modern dialog is the default connection dialog
- Added a Reset button to clear the fields in the Connection Properties section
- Improved DTA functionality including better tuning coverage to queries with temp tables, table variables, triggers, improved index tuning quality, and general scalability and concurrency
- Added support for Vector data type to Edit Data
- Added the ability to open an execution plan in a new tab. When viewing an Execution Plan, right-click to bring up the menu and select Show Execution Plan in New Tab. See SSMS Right Click To Open Execution Plans In A New Tab
- Added GitHub Copilot in SQL Server Management Studio (Preview), available from the AI Assistance workload in the Visual Studio Installer
- Added support for model selection within chat
- Improved responses for SQL Server 2025 (17.x) features
- Introduced support for the SSMS responder when using Ask Copilot within Feature Search
- Added options to create Vector and JSON indexes. Right-click Indexes > New Index > JSON Index... or Vector Index..
- Added support for CURRENT_TIMEZONE_ID syntax, see SSMS 21 does not recognize CURRENT_TIMEZONE_ID function
- Added support for ANSI concatenation using the ||= operator
- Added support for AI_GENERATE_EMBEDDINGS syntax
- Added support for regular expression functions REGEXP_MATCHES and REGEXP_SPLIT_TO_TABLE
- Added IntelliSense support for VECTOR_SEARCH, CREATE VECTOR INDEX, AUTOSEEDING_SYSTEM_DATABASES, REUSE_SYSTEM_DATABASES, AND CREATE JSON INDEX
- Added the ability to view JSON data from the results grid. See JSON column view like in Azure Data Studio
- Updated Server Management Objects (SMO) to version 17.100.73
- Updated DacFx to version 170.0.97
- Introduced a streamlined creation wizard for linked servers, including new encryption model options
- Updated the authentication control to align with the one used elsewhere in SSMS
- Introduced display information for dimension and base type parameters for vector data types in Object Explorer
- Added information section to the Rename Tabs dialog to provide information about said functionality
- Added the Query Hint Recommendation tool (Preview) component under Individual Components > Code Tools in the Visual Studio Installer
- Added support for JSON and Vector index operations
- Improved Find Query and Run Query buttons in the Tracked Queries report
- Introduced Zoom support for grid results, see Zoom the results area independently
- Added scripting support for tables with Vector columns
- Added numerous new snippet files, including snippets for creating various index types, creating and altering external models for AI embeddings, and managing security and schema objects
- Reinstated SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) capabilities, including SSISDB catalog management, automated execution of SSIS packages, and the Import Export Wizard
- Removed -G and -E options (replaced by -A)
- Added support for Vector data type to Table Designer
- Introduced new themes and removed the Blue (SSMS) theme
- Expanded dark theme support to include the Connect to Azure Storage dialog, and the Registered Servers Export, Import, and Move Registered Server dialogs
- Updated to Visual Studio 18.0.0 Insiders [11201.2]

Fixed:
- Resolved various context menu issues for Recent Expensive Queries and Active Expensive Queries. See Activity Monitor Failed to retrieve Execution Plan data
- Resolved error Object reference not set to an instance of an object. (Microsoft.VisualStudio.Design) when browsing OLAP cubes. See SSMS 21 Error browsing OLAP cubes.
- Resolved error Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Data.ConnectionUI.Dialog, Version=17.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. See Browse MDM models generates an error.
- Introduced a new menu option in Help > Clear Entra ID Token Cache to fix an issue that prevented users were recently added to an Entra ID group from being able to login. See Unable to login when recently been added to an EntraID group
- Resolved an issue that generated the error Parse error at line: 1, column: 5: Incorrect syntax near 'NOEXEC'. when switching between a SQL database and a Data Warehouse on the same server. See Issue switching between DW and SQL database in SSMS21
- Fixed an issue where the Application Name field in Advanced Properties wasn't being inherited. See New Query from Object Explorer Does Not Inherit App Name from Highlighted Database
- Fixed an issue that blocked the ability to change compatibility level for users with ALTER permissions. See Database compatibility level drop down disabled but query works
- Fixed validation for MAXDOP and LEDGER_DIGEST_STORAGE_ENDPOINT in Database Scoped Configurations tab
- Restored ability to use Ctrl+C in the Find/Replace dialog after opening a saved .sql file. See Copy (Ctrl+C) does not work in Find/Replace dialog
- Resolved behavior for selected dialogs that would appear behind the main windows when opened
- Fixed issue that generated the error Unsaved documents cannot be cut or copied to the clipboard from the Miscellaneous Files project. You must save the unsaved document(s) before cutting or copying them. when using Ctrl+C in the Quick Find dialog (Ctrl+F)
- Resolved an Object reference not set to an instance of an object error thrown when trying to select options on the Set Scripting Option menu. See Advance option on generate script button click throwing error in SSMS 2022 Preview 3
- Updated Copilot Badge Learn More menus to reference SSMS documentation
- Fixed unexpected hang in chat window or SSMS. See SSMS 22 Preview hangs at Modern Connection Dialog after installing GitHub Copilot
- Addressed bug where Copilot could generate broken queries where whitespace was incorrectly ignored
- Updated the unsaved query editor name to match what's displayed on the editor tab
- Fixed invalid file name error when selecting Add to new file for a query in the chat window
- Fixed an issue with an empty chat window that hangs. See SSMS 22 Preview hangs at Modern Connection Dialog after installing GitHub Copilot
- Improved task execution reliability
- Resolved an error that was generated when dragging table objects from the Object Explorer to the Query Editor
- Resolved an issue that prevented direct scroll bar navigation from working properly. See Direct scroll bar navigation via Shift-click does not work for Object Explorer and Results Grid
- Fixed a bug that generated an error when attempting to start PowerShell from the Object Explorer context menu
- Resolved an issue where the "Include column headers" option wasn't properly applied in new query windows. See Copying query results does not include headers, even when the "Include column headers" option is enabled
- Resolved a behavior that prevented scrolling of the query editor pane when the results pane was in focus. See Query window pane does not mouse wheel scroll up if results window pane is selected
- Addressed incorrect sizing with Configure Regressed Queries dialog. See "Configure regressed queries" dialog goes off the screen vertically on 1920x1080 monitor
- Addressed a bug that caused an arithmetic overflow error in the Object Execution Statistics and Batch Execution Statistics reports when execution_count exceeded the int data type limit
- Resolved an issue that prevented direct scroll bar navigation from working properly. See Direct scroll bar navigation via Shift-click does not work for Object Explorer and Results Grid
- Resolved an error that was generated when opening a folder that was closed but had files that were open. See SSMS 21 Preview - error while opening a folder in Windows 11
- Fixed an issue that caused color contrast issues when certain colors were selected. See Query Summary Row, Text Illegible, Accessibility Issue
- Reinstated line and column numbers in the status bar. See In SSMS21 I can't find column number after clicking cell in grid results
- Fixed a bug that caused some T-SQL language settings to persist between SSMS sessions