| title | Overview of SQL Server on Linux | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| description | This article describes how SQL Server runs on Linux and provides information on how to learn more. | ||
| author | rwestMSFT | ||
| ms.author | randolphwest | ||
| ms.reviewer | amitkh, atsingh | ||
| ms.date | 02/24/2026 | ||
| ms.service | sql | ||
| ms.subservice | linux | ||
| ms.topic | concept-article | ||
| ms.custom |
|
[!INCLUDE SQL Server - Linux]
[!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] runs on Linux, starting with [!INCLUDE sssql17-md]. It's the same [!INCLUDE ssdenoversion-md] with many similar features and services across supported operating systems.
If you're familiar with [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] and unfamiliar with Linux, see New to Linux resources for SQL users.
If you're familiar with Linux and unfamiliar with [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md], see New to SQL Server: Learning resources.
The following sections help you install [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] on Linux in your preferred environment.
- Install SQL Server directly on a Linux machine or VM
- Run SQL Server in a Linux container
- Install SQL Server on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) (for development only)
The following quickstart articles describe how to install SQL Server on Linux on physical hardware or a virtual machine (VM) and create a database:
| Platform | SQL Server version supported |
|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) | 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2025 |
| Ubuntu | 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2025 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 1 | 2017, 2019, and 2022 only |
| SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines | 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2025 |
1 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) isn't supported on [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] and later versions.
Containers are useful in local testing, continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), and ephemeral workloads in your development environment. They're also commonly used as part of container orchestration in production environments, including Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS), Red Hat OpenShift, and DH2i DxOperator.
For instructions on how to install SQL Server in a Linux container, see Quickstart: Run SQL Server Linux container images with Docker.
The [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container images are published and available on the Microsoft Container Registry (MCR). They're also cataloged at the following locations, based on the operating system image that was used when creating the container image:
- For both RHEL and Ubuntu based [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container images, see SQL Server on the Microsoft Artifact Registry.
- For RHEL-based [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container images, see SQL Server Red Hat containers.
Note
Containers are only published to MCR for the most recent Linux distributions. If you create your own custom [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container image for an older supported distribution, it's still supported. For more information, see Upcoming updates to SQL Server container images on Microsoft Artifact Registry (MCR).
SQL Server on WSL 2 is intended for development purposes only, and is not supported for production workloads. Run SQL Server in WSL environments on one of the supported platforms for the version of SQL Server you intend to run.
For instructions on how to install SQL Server on WSL 2, see Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2).
After installation, connect to the [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance on your Linux machine. You can connect locally or remotely and with various tools and drivers. The quickstarts demonstrate how to use the sqlcmd command-line tool. Other tools include:
[!INCLUDE sssql17-md] and later versions have the same underlying [!INCLUDE ssde-md] on all supported platforms, including Linux and containers. Therefore, many existing features and capabilities operate the same way. This area of the documentation highlights some of these features from a Linux perspective and calls out areas that have unique requirements on Linux.
If you're already familiar with [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] on Linux, review the release notes for general guidelines and known issues for each release.
| SQL Server version | Release notes (Linux) | What's new (Linux) | What's new (Windows) |
|---|---|---|---|
| [!INCLUDE sssql25-md] | Release notes | SQL Server on Linux | SQL Server on Windows |
| [!INCLUDE sssql22-md] | Release notes | SQL Server on Linux | SQL Server on Windows |
| [!INCLUDE sssql19-md] | Release notes | SQL Server on Linux | SQL Server on Windows |
| [!INCLUDE sssql17-md] | Release notes | SQL Server on Linux | SQL Server on Windows |
Tip
For answers to frequently asked questions, see the SQL Server on Linux FAQ.
[!INCLUDE Get Help Options]