Installing MS SQL Server along with Azure Data Studio on Arch Linux requires a combination of Microsoft packages and some extra tweaks since SQL Server isn’t natively available for Arch and Azure Data Studio is mainly targeted for Debian/Red Hat based distros.

Step 1: Install Azure Data Studio

Azure Data Studio is available via AUR.

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yay -S azuredatastudio-bin

This installs the latest prebuilt version from Microsoft.

Option 2: Manual (optional)

If you want to manually install:

  1. Download .tar.gz from Azure Data Studio official packages
  2. Extract it:
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tar -xvzf azuredatastudio-linux-x64.tar.gz
cd azuredatastudio-linux-x64
./azuredatastudio

Step 2: Install Microsoft SQL Server (Docker Method – Recommended)

Microsoft SQL Server is not supported natively on Arch, but the Docker container is fully functional and easiest to manage.

  1. Install Docker if you haven’t:
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sudo pacman -S docker
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
  1. Pull SQL Server Image:
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docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest
  1. Run the Container:
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docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "SA_PASSWORD=YourStrong!Passw0rd" \
   -p 1433:1433 --name sql_server \
   -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

Note: Make sure to use a strong password (uppercase, lowercase, number, symbol, and >8 characters).

Step 3: Connect SQL Server to Azure Data Studio

  1. Launch Azure Data Studio.
  2. Click on New Connection.
  3. Fill out the fields:
  • Server: localhost
  • Authentication: SQL Login
  • User: sa
  • Password: YourStrong!Passw0rd
  1. Hit Connect

Step 4: (Optional) Autostart Docker with Hyprland

If you want SQL Server to start with your system:

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sudo systemctl enable docker

Or add a Hyprland hook to start the container at login:

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docker start sql_server

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional SQL Server instance running on Arch Linux via Docker, and you can manage it using Azure Data Studio. This setup allows you to leverage the power of SQL Server without needing to run a full Windows environment.