SQL Server Developer Edition is the full-featured, free-for-development SKU of Microsoft SQL Server, letting engineers build and test production-grade databases without licensing costs.
SQL Server Developer Edition is a no-cost license that offers every enterprise feature of Microsoft SQL Server for use in non-production environments such as development, testing, and proof-of-concept work.
Any individual or organization may install the Developer Edition for dev and test workloads. Production use is prohibited, but learning, sandboxing, and CI/CD pipelines are fully allowed under Microsoft’s licensing terms.
Unlike SQL Server Express, Developer Edition has no database-size limits, supports advanced features like partitioning, SQL Agent, Always On Availability Groups, and in-memory OLTP, making it ideal for feature-parity testing.
Using the full feature set locally prevents “it works on my machine” surprises. Engineers can experiment with encryption, columnstore indexes, and query-store exactly as they run in production Enterprise Edition.
Common scenarios include CI test databases spun up in containers, training classes that need Enterprise features, and data-model prototyping before purchasing production licenses.
Download the installer from the Microsoft Download Center, select “Developer” during setup, enable required features, and finish with SQL Server Management Studio or Galaxy as your SQL editor.
Galaxy’s desktop SQL editor auto-detects local SQL Server instances. Its AI copilot writes T-SQL, optimizes plans, and stores endorsed queries in shared Collections, accelerating team collaboration on Developer Edition databases.
Developer Edition grants the same role hierarchy as Enterprise. Use built-in roles like sysadmin, db_owner, and Galaxy’s role-based access controls to mirror production security.
Yes. Pair Docker images of Developer Edition with Galaxy’s parameterized query templates to run automated integration tests and performance baselines in your pipeline.
Backup the Developer Edition database, restore to a licensed Standard or Enterprise server, and run ALTER DATABASE commands to adjust edition-specific settings if needed.
The only restriction is non-production usage. There are no CPU, memory, or feature caps, allowing full stress testing without unexpected throttling.
Keep edition parity with production, script deployments via version control, use Query Store to capture regressions, and rely on Galaxy Collections to document and share proven queries.
Running production workloads on Developer Edition violates the EULA. Always verify edition in sys.dm_server_services before going live.
Accidentally enabling features not licensed in production—like Transparent Data Encryption—can cause outages after migration. Maintain an approved feature list.
Developer Edition receives cumulative updates. Skipping them leads to divergent behavior from patched production servers; automate patching in the same maintenance window.
Using the full Enterprise feature set during development prevents late-stage surprises. Developer Edition saves budget while ensuring feature parity, letting teams validate performance, security, and schema changes in an environment identical to production.
Yes. Microsoft provides it at no cost for development, testing, and learning purposes.
No. Production use requires a licensed Standard or Enterprise Edition.
Galaxy’s AI copilot writes and refactors T-SQL, while Collections let teams endorse and share queries, streamlining collaboration on Developer Edition instances.
Yes. It includes Always On Availability Groups, letting you test high-availability setups before buying Enterprise licenses.
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