macSQL

Developer preview

macSQL

Powerful SQL. Built for macOS.

A SQL Server-compatible database engine written in Rust, and the native Mac client that administers it over TDS. Two products, two release trains, one wire protocol.

macSQL Server macSQL Studio
The macSQL Studio application icon: a query window and result grid over a steel database disc.
Engine Build 133: permission and error-handling fixes on Build 132
Version Engine 0.133.0
Studio Ships in the combined bootstrap · own feed live
Product stage Local/LAN developer preview

Two products, separately released

One of them is a database. The other one talks to it.

They were one application until Build 76 took the engine out of the bundle. The engine runs headless as a system daemon and installs nothing into /Applications; the client is its own product, with its own repository, signing key, and updates.

macSQL Server

The database engine

SQL execution, persistence, WAL recovery, schema management, security metadata, and TDS compatibility, written in Rust and installed as a boot-time LaunchDaemon on Apple Silicon. It listens on port 1433 and answers the same clients SQL Server does.

  • Administered as T-SQL over TDS — no loopback tool, no token.
  • Thirteen qualified client stacks over encrypted connections.
  • Signed package, protected update feed, account-gated downloads.
Open the Server page Build 133 · Engine 0.133.0
macSQL Studio

The Mac client

A native Mac client for macSQL and Microsoft SQL Server. It ships no engine and links no engine library; it connects over TDS to a server that is already running, wherever that is.

  • Object Explorer over the standard sys catalog views.
  • Results keep their declared types, so NULL is not the text 'NULL'.
  • Updates itself from a public, signature-verified feed.
Open the Studio page Apple Silicon · macOS 14 or newer
01 One wire protocol

Both sides speak TDS. Any client that can reach SQL Server can reach macSQL, and Studio drives either server.

02 Two release trains

The engine publishes through the account-gated update store; Studio updates itself from its own public, signature-verified Sparkle feed.

03 Independent installs

The server runs headless on a machine you administer; the client runs on your Mac. Neither needs the other installed alongside it.

macSQL accounts

Preview access backed by macSQL itself.

The account portal stores user profiles, password hashes, approval state, and revocable session hashes in macSQL. Plaintext passwords are never stored or shown. New accounts stay pending until an administrator approves them.

An account gates the engine's protected downloads and release notes. Studio's update feed is public by design: a Sparkle feed behind a login is one no installed copy could read.

Account security

  • PHP password_hash and password_verify.
  • Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite session cookies.
  • CSRF checks, generic login failures, and rate limiting.
  • First-admin invite and administrator approval workflow.
Open account portal