How to run Sql Server 2025 in Docker

sql server 2025 in Docker

To be honest, since I have started using docker I have never installed any database in my machine. I use multiple databases and keeping each database up and running takes a toll on resources of your machine. And… you can not install some database like “sql server” on “mac”, then docker is only option for you. Any way, I think it is enough introduction. Let’s get started.

Pre-Requisites

  • Windows: Docker desktop
  • Linux: Docker desktop or just docker daemon without any ui client.
  • Mac: Docker desktop. I am not sure whether there is a docker with just cli available for mac or not

Anyway, docker desktop works on all of them.

Pull the docker image of sql server

docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest

This step pulls the docker image from docker hub to you machine.

Note that, mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server is the name of image and 2025-latest is a tag of image. If you want to select the latest or specific version of sql server, then you need to visit docker hub and search for sql server.

Run the container

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=p@55w0rd" \
   -p 1433:1433 --name mssql-dev --hostname sql1 \
   -v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql \
   -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest

📢 Note: For windows powershell, replace \ with ` (backtick) in above command.

  • --name it is a name of the container
  • -e specifies the environments. We are defining password here
  • -p specifies the ports. Left one is host port. Which is a port of your machine. Right one is the port of docker.
  • -v volume defines volume named sqlvolume at location /var/opt/mssql. You must define volume if you want to persist data. Volume persist data even you have destroyed the container. If you remove the container, all the database and data will be lost, unless you have defined a volume.
  • -d name of the image with tag.

With this docker ps -a command, you can check all the containers.

Sql server credentials

  • Server Name: localhost,1433
  • Username : sa
  • Password : p@55w0rd

With these credentials you can log in to sql server management studio, dbeaver, vs code mssql extension (These are the tools I have personally used)or any sql client.

sql server management studio [sql server management studio]

sql  docker 

See also

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