Quickstart: Use Python to query a database in Azure SQL Database or Azure SQL Managed Instance

2025-09-26

Applies to: Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics

In this quickstart, you use Python to connect to Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or Synapse SQL database and use T-SQL statements to query data.

mssql-python documentation | mssql-python source code | Package (PyPi)

Prerequisites

To complete this quickstart, you need:

An Azure account with an active subscription. Create a Trial Subscription.

A database

You can use one of these quickstarts to create and then configure a database:

Action	SQL Database	SQL Managed Instance	SQL Server on Azure VM	Azure Synapse Analytics
Create	Portal	Portal	Portal	Portal
	CLI			CLI
	PowerShell	PowerShell	PowerShell	PowerShell
	Deployment template	Deployment template		Deployment template
Configure	Server-level IP firewall rule	Connectivity from a VM		Connectivity settings
		Connectivity from on-premises	Connect to a SQL Server instance
Get connection information	Azure SQL	Azure SQL	SQL VM	Synapse SQL

Python 3
- If you don't already have Python, install the Python runtime and Python Package Index (PyPI) package manager from python.org.
- Prefer to not use your own environment? Open as a devcontainer using GitHub Codespaces.
A database on SQL Server, or Azure SQL Database with the AdventureWorks2022 sample schema and a valid connection string.

Setting up

Follow these steps to configure your development environment to develop an application using the mssql-python Python driver.

Note

This driver uses the Tabular Data Stream (TDS) protocol, which is enabled by default in SQL Serve, and Azure SQL Database. No extra configuration is required.

Install the mssql-python package

Get the mssql-python package from PyPI.

Open a command prompt in an empty directory.

Install the mssql-python package.

pip install mssql-python

sudo apt-get -y install libltdl7
pip install mssql-python

brew install openssl
pip install mssql-python

Install python-dotenv package

Get the python-dotenv from PyPI.

In the same directory, install the python-dotenv package.
```
pip install python-dotenv
```

Check installed packages

You can use the PyPI command-line tool to verify that your intended packages are installed.

Check the list of installed packages with pip list.
```
pip list
```

Create new files

In the current directory, create a new file named .env.
Within the .env file, add an entry for your connection string named SQL_CONNECTION_STRING. Replace the example here with your actual connection string value.
```
SQL_CONNECTION_STRING="Server=<server_name>;Database={<database_name>};Encrypt=yes;TrustServerCertificate=no;Authentication=ActiveDirectoryInteractive"
```
Tip

The connection string used here largely depends on the type of SQL database you're connecting to. If you're connecting to an Azure SQL Database, use the ODBC connection string from the connection strings tab. You might need to adjust the authentication type depending on your scenario. For more information on connection strings and their syntax, see DSN and Connection String Keywords and Attributes.
In a text editor, create a new file named sqltest.py.

Add the following code.

from os import getenv
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from mssql_python import connect

load_dotenv()

with connect(getenv("SQL_CONNECTION_STRING")) as conn:
    with conn.cursor() as cursor:
        cursor.execute("SELECT TOP 3 name, collation_name FROM sys.databases")
        rows = cursor.fetchall()
        for row in rows:
            print(row.name, row.collation_name)

Run the code

At a command prompt, run the following command:
```
python sqltest.py
```
Verify that the databases and their collations are returned, and then close the command window.

If you receive an error:
- Verify that the server name, database name, username, and password you're using are correct.
- If you're running the code from a local environment, verify that the firewall of the Azure resource you're trying to access is configured to allow access from your environment's IP address.