Install the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server (Linux)

  • 11 minutes to read

This article explains how to install the Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server on Linux. It also includes instructions for the optional command-line tools for SQL Server (bcp and sqlcmd) and the unixODBC development headers.

This article provides commands for installing the ODBC driver from the bash shell. If you want to download the packages directly, see Download ODBC Driver for SQL Server.

Microsoft ODBC 17

The following sections explain how to install the Microsoft ODBC driver 17 from the bash shell for different Linux distributions.

Important

If you installed the v17 msodbcsql package that was briefly available, you should remove it before installing the msodbcsql17 package. This will avoid conflicts. The msodbcsql17 package can be installed side by side with the msodbcsql v13 package.

Alpine Linux

#Download the desired package(s)
curl -O https://download.microsoft.com/download/e/4/e/e4e67866-dffd-428c-aac7-8d28ddafb39b/msodbcsql17_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.apk
curl -O https://download.microsoft.com/download/e/4/e/e4e67866-dffd-428c-aac7-8d28ddafb39b/mssql-tools_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.apk


#(Optional) Verify signature, if 'gpg' is missing install it using 'apk add gnupg':
curl -O https://download.microsoft.com/download/e/4/e/e4e67866-dffd-428c-aac7-8d28ddafb39b/msodbcsql17_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.sig
curl -O https://download.microsoft.com/download/e/4/e/e4e67866-dffd-428c-aac7-8d28ddafb39b/mssql-tools_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.sig

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc  | gpg --import -
gpg --verify msodbcsql17_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.sig msodbcsql17_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.apk
gpg --verify mssql-tools_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.sig mssql-tools_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.apk


#Install the package(s)
sudo apk add --allow-untrusted msodbcsql17_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.apk
sudo apk add --allow-untrusted mssql-tools_17.6.1.1-1_amd64.apk

Note

Driver version 17.5 or higher is required for Alpine support.

Debian

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -

#Download appropriate package for the OS version
#Choose only ONE of the following, corresponding to your OS version

#Debian 8
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/8/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

#Debian 9
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/9/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

#Debian 10
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/10/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql17
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev
# optional: kerberos library for debian-slim distributions
sudo apt-get install libgssapi-krb5-2

Note

You can substitute setting the environment variable 'ACCEPT_EULA' with setting the debconf variable 'msodbcsql/ACCEPT_EULA' instead: echo msodbcsql17 msodbcsql/ACCEPT_EULA boolean true | sudo debconf-set-selections

Red Hat Enterprise Server and Oracle Linux

sudo su

#Download appropriate package for the OS version
#Choose only ONE of the following, corresponding to your OS version

#RedHat Enterprise Server 6
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/6/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo

#RedHat Enterprise Server 7
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo

#RedHat Enterprise Server 8 and Oracle Linux 8
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/8/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo

exit
sudo yum remove unixODBC-utf16 unixODBC-utf16-devel #to avoid conflicts
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install msodbcsql17
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo yum install unixODBC-devel

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

sudo su
curl -O https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
rpm --import microsoft.asc

#Download appropriate package for the OS version
#Choose only ONE of the following, corresponding to your OS version

#SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4
#Ensure SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Security Module has been installed 
zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/11/prod.repo

#SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/12/prod.repo

#SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/15/prod.repo
#(Only for driver 17.3 and below)
SUSEConnect -p sle-module-legacy/15/x86_64

exit
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install msodbcsql17
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo zypper install unixODBC-devel

Ubuntu

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -

#Download appropriate package for the OS version
#Choose only ONE of the following, corresponding to your OS version

#Ubuntu 16.04
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.04/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

#Ubuntu 18.04
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/18.04/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

#Ubuntu 20.04
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/20.04/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list

exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql17
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev

Note

  • Driver version 17.2 or higher is required for Ubuntu 18.04 support.
  • Driver version 17.3 or higher is required for Ubuntu 18.10 support.

Note

You can substitute setting the environment variable 'ACCEPT_EULA' with setting the debconf variable 'msodbcsql/ACCEPT_EULA' instead: echo msodbcsql17 msodbcsql/ACCEPT_EULA boolean true | sudo debconf-set-selections

Previous versions

The following sections provide instructions for installing previous versions of the Microsoft ODBC driver on Linux. The following driver versions are covered:

ODBC 13.1

The following sections explain how to install the Microsoft ODBC driver 13.1 from the bash shell for different Linux distributions.

Debian 8

sudo su 
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/8/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev

RedHat Enterprise Server 6

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/6/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo
exit
sudo yum remove unixODBC-utf16 unixODBC-utf16-devel #to avoid conflicts
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo yum install unixODBC-devel

RedHat Enterprise Server 7

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo
exit
sudo yum remove unixODBC-utf16 unixODBC-utf16-devel #to avoid conflicts
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo yum install unixODBC-devel

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11

sudo su
zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/11/prod.repo
exit
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo zypper install unixODBC-devel

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

sudo su
zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/12/prod.repo
exit
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo zypper install unixODBC-devel

Ubuntu 15.10

sudo su 
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/15.10/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev

Ubuntu 16.04

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.04/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev

Ubuntu 16.10

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.10/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql
# optional: for bcp and sqlcmd
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install mssql-tools
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
# optional: for unixODBC development headers
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev

ODBC 13

The following sections explain how to install the Microsoft ODBC driver 13 from the bash shell for different Linux distributions.

RedHat Enterprise Server 6

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/6/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo
exit
sudo yum update
sudo yum remove unixODBC #to avoid conflicts
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install msodbcsql-13.0.1.0-1 mssql-tools-14.0.2.0-1
sudo yum install unixODBC-utf16-devel #this step is optional but recommended*
#Create symlinks for tools
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/sqlcmd-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/sqlcmd 
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/bcp-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/bcp

RedHat Enterprise Server 7

sudo su
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/prod.repo > /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo
exit
sudo yum update
sudo yum remove unixODBC #to avoid conflicts
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y yum install msodbcsql-13.0.1.0-1 mssql-tools-14.0.2.0-1
sudo yum install unixODBC-utf16-devel #this step is optional but recommended*
#Create symlinks for tools
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/sqlcmd-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/sqlcmd 
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/bcp-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/bcp

Ubuntu 15.10

sudo su 
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/15.10/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql=13.0.1.0-1 mssql-tools=14.0.2.0-1
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev-utf16 #this step is optional but recommended*
#Create symlinks for tools
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/sqlcmd-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/sqlcmd 
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/bcp-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/bcp

Ubuntu 16.04

sudo su 
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.04/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
exit
sudo apt-get update
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install msodbcsql=13.0.1.0-1 mssql-tools=14.0.2.0-1
sudo apt-get install unixodbc-dev-utf16 #this step is optional but recommended*
#Create symlinks for tools
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/sqlcmd-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/sqlcmd 
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/bcp-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/bcp

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

sudo su 
zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/12/prod.repo 
zypper update 
sudo ACCEPT_EULA=Y zypper install msodbcsql-13.0.1.0-1 mssql-tools-14.0.2.0-1
zypper install unixODBC-utf16-devel
#Create symlinks for tools
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/sqlcmd-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/sqlcmd 
ln -sfn /opt/mssql-tools/bin/bcp-13.0.1.0 /usr/bin/bcp

Offline installation

If you prefer/require the Microsoft ODBC Driver 13 to be installed on a computer with no internet connection, you will need to resolve package dependencies manually. The Microsoft ODBC Driver 13 has the following direct dependencies:

  • Ubuntu: libc6 (>= 2.21), libstdc++6 (>= 4.9), libkrb5-3, libcurl3, openssl, debconf (>= 0.5), unixodbc (>= 2.3.1-1)
  • Red Hat: glibc, e2fsprogs, krb5-libs, openssl, unixODBC
  • SUSE: glibc, libuuid1, krb5, openssl, unixODBC

Each of these packages in turn has their own dependencies, which may or may not be present on the system. For a general solution to this issue, refer to your distribution's package manager documentation: Redhat, Ubuntu, and SUSE

It is also common to manually download all the dependent packages and place them together on the installation computer, then manually install each package in turn, finishing with the Microsoft ODBC Driver 13 package.

Redhat Linux Enterprise Server 7

yum install glibc e2fsprogs krb5-libs openssl unixODBC unixODBC-devel #install dependencies
sudo rpm -i  msodbcsql-13.1.X.X-X.x86_64.rpm #install the Driver

Ubuntu 16.04

sudo apt-get install libc6 libstdc++6 libkrb5-3 libcurl3 openssl debconf unixodbc unixodbc-dev #install dependencies
sudo dpkg -i msodbcsql_13.1.X.X-X_amd64.deb #install the Driver

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

zypper install glibc, libuuid1, krb5, openssl, unixODBC unixODBC-devel #install dependencies
sudo rpm -i  msodbcsql-13.1.X.X-X.x86_64.rpm #install the Driver

After you have completed the package installation, you can verify that the Microsoft ODBC Driver 13 can find all its dependencies by running ldd and inspecting its output for missing libraries:

ldd /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql/lib64/libmsodbcsql-*

ODBC 11

The following sections explain how to install the Microsoft ODBC driver 11 on Linux. Before you can use the driver, install the unixODBC driver manager. For more information, see Installing the Driver Manager.

Installation Steps

Important

These instructions refer to msodbcsql-11.0.2270.0.tar.gz, which is installation file for Red Hat Linux. If you are installing the Preview for SUSE Linux, the file name is msodbcsql-11.0.2260.0.tar.gz.

To install the driver:

  1. Make sure that you have root permission.

  2. Change to the directory where the download placed the file msodbcsql-11.0.2270.0.tar.gz. Make sure that you have the *.tar.gz file that matches your version of Linux. To extract the files, execute the following command, tar xvzf msodbcsql-11.0.2270.0.tar.gz.

  3. Change to the msodbcsql-11.0.2270.0 directory and there you should see a file called install.sh.

  4. To see a list of the available installation options, execute the following command: ./install.sh.

  5. Make a backup of odbcinst.ini. The driver installation updates odbcinst.ini. odbcinst.ini contains the list of drivers that are registered with the unixODBC Driver Manager. To discover the location of odbcinst.ini on your computer, execute the following command: odbc_config --odbcinstini.

  6. Before you install the driver, execute the following command: ./install.sh verify. The output of ./install.sh verify reports if your computer has the required software to support the ODBC driver on Linux.

  7. When you are ready to install the ODBC driver on Linux, execute the command: ./install.sh install. If you need to specify an install command (bin-dir or lib-dir), specify the command after the install option.

  8. After reviewing the license agreement, type YES to continue with the installation.

Installation puts the driver in /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql/11.0.2270.0. The driver and its support files must be in /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql/11.0.2270.0.

To verify that the Microsoft ODBC driver on Linux was registered successfully, execute the following command: odbcinst -q -d -n "ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server".

Uninstall

You can uninstall the ODBC driver 11 on Linux by executing the following commands:

  1. rm -f /usr/bin/sqlcmd

  2. rm -f /usr/bin/bcp

  3. rm -rf /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql

  4. odbcinst -u -d -n "ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server"

Driver files

The ODBC driver on Linux consists of the following components:

Component Description
libmsodbcsql-17.X.so.X.X or libmsodbcsql-13.X.so.X.X The shared object (so) dynamic library file that contains all of the driver's functionality. This file is installed in /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql17/lib64/ for the Driver 17 and in /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql/lib64/ for Driver 13.
msodbcsqlr17.rll or msodbcsqlr13.rll The accompanying resource file for the driver library. This file is installed in [driver .so directory]../share/resources/en_US/
msodbcsql.h The header file that contains all of the new definitions needed to use the driver.

Note: You cannot reference msodbcsql.h and odbcss.h in the same program.

msodbcsql.h is installed in /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql17/include/ for Driver 17 and in /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql/include/ for Driver 13.
LICENSE.txt The text file that contains the terms of the End-User License Agreement. This file is placed in /usr/share/doc/msodbcsql17/ for Driver 17 and in /usr/share/doc/msodbcsql/ for Driver 13.
RELEASE_NOTES The text file that contains release notes. This file is placed in /usr/share/doc/msodbcsql17/ for Driver 17 and in /usr/share/doc/msodbcsql/ for Driver 13.

Resource file loading

The driver needs to load the resource file in order to function. This file is called msodbcsqlr17.rll or msodbcsqlr13.rll depending on the driver version. The location of the .rll file is relative to the location of the driver itself (so or dylib), as noted in the table above. As of version 17.1 the driver will also attempt to load the .rll from the default directory if loading from the relative path fails. The default resource file path on Linux is /opt/microsoft/msodbcsql17/share/resources/en_US/.

Troubleshooting

If you are unable to make a connection to SQL Server using the ODBC driver, see the known issues article on troubleshooting connection problems.

Next steps

After installing the driver, you can try the C++ ODBC example application. For more information about developing ODBC applications, see Developing Applications.

For more information, see the ODBC driver release notes and system requirements.