mssql‑python is now Generally Available (GA) as Microsoft’s official Python driver for SQL Server, Azure SQL, and SQL databases in Fabric. This release delivers a production‑ready, high‑performance, and developer‑friendly experience.
Most Python SQL Server drivers, including pyodbc, route calls through the Driver Manager, which has slightly different implementations across Windows, macOS, and Linux. This results in inconsistent behavior and capabilities across platforms. Additionally, the Driver Manager must be installed separately, creating friction for both new developers and when deploying applications to servers.
At the heart of the mssql-python driver is DDBC (Direct Database Connectivity) — a lightweight, high-performance C++ layer that replaces the platform’s Driver Manager.
Key Advantages:
- Provides a consistent, cross-platform backend that handles connections, statements, and memory directly.
- Interfaces directly with the native SQL Server drivers.
- Integrates with the same TDS core library that powers the ODBC driver.
By simplifying the architecture, DDBC delivers:
- Consistency across platforms
- Lower function call overhead
- Zero external dependencies on Windows (
pip install mssql-pythonis all you need) - Full control over connections, memory, and statement handling
To expose the DDBC engine to Python, mssql-python uses PyBind11 – a modern C++ binding library.
PyBind11 provides:
- Native-speed execution with automatic type conversions
- Memory-safe bindings
- Clean and Pythonic API, while performance-critical logic remains in robust, maintainable C++.
- Connection String Sanitization - Connection string sanitization has been migrated from regex-based to parser-based logic, making it more robust and consistent with connection string parsing rules.
- GIL Release During ODBC Connect/Disconnect - The driver now releases the GIL during blocking ODBC connect and disconnect calls, improving concurrency for multi-threaded applications.
- setinputsizes() SQL_DECIMAL Crash Fix - Fixed a crash in
cursor.setinputsizes()when specifyingSQL_DECIMALtype hints. - ODBC Catalog fetchone() Fix - Fixed an issue where
fetchone()on ODBC catalog method results returned incorrect data. - cursor.execute() Invalid Cursor State Fix - Fixed
cursor.execute()raising an Invalid cursor state error when called withreset_cursor=False. - executemany Type Annotation Fix - Corrected the type annotation for
executemanyseq_of_parametersparameter to acceptMappingtypes. - setup_logging Path Traversal Guard - Added path canonicalization and traversal guard to
setup_logging'slog_file_pathparameter to prevent path traversal issues.
For more information, please visit the project link on Github: https://github.com/microsoft/mssql-python
If you have any feedback, questions or need support please mail us at mssql-python@microsoft.com.
As we continue to refine the driver and add new features, you can expect regular updates, optimizations, and bug fixes. We encourage you to contribute, provide feedback and report any issues you encounter, as this will help us improve the driver.