The Azure SQL team has released version 1.34.0 of the MSSQL extension for Visual Studio Code, a cross‑platform tool for developing against SQL Server, Azure SQL Database and SQL Database in Fabric. Carlos Robles, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, explains that the update continues the extension’s goal of making SQL development conversational, visual and local by improving Copilot Agent mode, adding colour-coded connections, streamlining local container workflows and polishing the Schema Designer.
The previous release introduced GitHub Copilot Agent mode, a chat‑based assistant that can perform database tasks. Version 1.34.0 deepens this integration. The agent can now change databases, list schemas, tables, views and functions, show connection details, list all databases on a server and run queries directly from the chat assistant. In this version, Copilot goes beyond code suggestions to execute secure database actions using natural language or built‑in tools. Each action (e.g., connect, disconnect, change database, list servers or run query) is surfaced through the Agent Tools panel and requires user confirmation. This secure confirmation workflow ensures that Copilot never runs database tasks without explicit approval.
The update introduces colour-coded connections to help developers navigate multiple environments. Users can assign a custom colour to any saved connection profile and see it reflected in the VS Code status bar. Group‑based colouring allows teams to align on conventions, and the length of the colored indicator is configurable. This feature was contributed by a community member @bathetrade.
Local SQL Server containers, introduced in v1.33, let developers spin up SQL Server 2025 containers without running Docker commands. Version 1.34 builds on this by allowing containers to be assigned to connection groups and providing more flexible profile management. A streamlined wizard helps developers create containers faster, and containers can be started, stopped, or deleted from the connection panel. The previous release’s highlights included automatic port conflict detection and support for specifying container names, hostnames and versions. Those capabilities remain in this version.
Lastly, for the database schema designer, still in public preview, an update now displays foreign‑key icons correctly and refines filter behaviour so that table relationships are easier to understand.
Developer reactions to the update are mixed. In the comment section of Microsoft’s blog, Matthew Arp expressed frustration that Microsoft had killed Azure Data Studio
and argued that colour-coded connections are not a compelling replacement for the richer features of that desktop tool. On the Visual Studio Marketplace, several reviewers similarly criticised the extension’s feature gap with Azure Data Studio and reported issues. One user wrote that the gap is astonishing
and said the extension is nearly non‑functional
for his workflow. Some reviewers offered praise: Alberto Peralta Ramos noted that he prefers the VS Code SQL integration over SQL Server Management Studio
and Mark Douglas said the extension does the job fine
, even though he dislikes the new results UI and keeps using version 1.24.
As with previous releases, the extension is open source under the MIT License and accepts contributions via GitHub. The extension has accumulated over 8 million installs and around 1.7k GitHub stars, indicating significant community interest.
