Best FREE SQL Server Tools for Database Developers and Administrators!

This article comprehensively lists the best SQL Server FREE tools for database developers and administrators! You can download the following tools and use them in your commercial projects!

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dbForge Studio for SQL Server

dbForge Studio for SQL Server Express Edition is a powerful IDE for SQL Server management, administration, development, data reporting, and analysis. The tool will help you to manage databases, version-control database changes, speed up routine tasks, as well, as to make complex database changes.

dbForge SQL Decryptor

If you have encrypted an object definition in your database by specifying WITH ENCRYPTION option, and for some reason, you cannot restore its original T-SQL body, the dbForge SQL Decryptor will easily do it for you absolutely free. Save your time and funds on restoring lost definitions and stay happy with our products.

dbForge Event Profiler for SQL Server

dbForge Event Profiler for SQL Server is a FREE tool that allows you to capture and analyze SQL Server events. The events and data columns are stored in a physical trace file for later examination. You can use this information to identify and troubleshoot many SQL Server-related problems.

SQL Formatter

Online service that allows you to format your T-SQL code! You can type the code directly in on the website or upload a file with the code to format it.

ApexSQL Refactor

The tool provides you with advanced T-SQL formatting features! Format and refactor SQL Server code and objects for free in SSMS and Visual Studio! The tool provides a lot of options. For more detailed information refer to the Formatting option mockups and examples

 SQL Scripts Manager

Powerful and reliable scripts written by SQL Server experts! Contains 28 scripts written by expert DBAs, SQL Server MVPs, and Redgate’s SQL developers. Streamline repeated administration and scripting tasks with quick and easy access to scripts. Easily build custom user interfaces around any T-SQL or IronPython script.

SQLCheck

Check out what happens in batches, compilations, recompilations, and transactions throughout the SQL Server environment so you don’t experience any surprises and know where to direct your attention to prevent potential issues. Monitor some of the most important metrics in SQL Server including wait stats, reads, writes, session details, and cache hits.

SQL Server Maintenance Solution

The SQL Server Maintenance Solution comprises scripts for running backups, integrity checks, and index and statistics maintenance on all editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2012, and SQL Server 2014. The solution is based on stored procedures, the sqlcmd utility, and SQL Server Agent jobs. I designed the solution for the most mission-critical environments, and it is used in many organizations around the world. The SQL Server Maintenance Solution has been voted Best Free Tool in the 2013,2012, 2011, and 2010 SQL Server Magazine Awards and a top session at PASS Summit 2014. The SQL Server Maintenance Solution is free.

Free SQL Server Download Pack

sp_Blitz – Free SQL Server Health Check Script

You’ve got a Microsoft SQL Server that somebody else built, or that other people have made changes to over the years, and you’re not exactly sure what kind of shape it’s in. Are there dangerous configuration settings that are causing slow performance or unreliability?
You want a fast, easy, free health check that flags common issues in seconds, and for each warning, gives you a link to a web page with more in-depth advice.

sp_BlitzCach: Free SQL Server Plan Cache Analysis Script

As it’s executing queries, SQL Server tracks which queries get to run most often, and which ones use the most server resources. It’s like capturing a trace of your server, but even better because SQL Server is already doing this for you. You can query the dynamic management views to pull the data out, but ain’t nobody got time for that.

EXEC sp_BlitzCache @top = 10, @sort_order = ‘duration’

This will give you the top 10 queries that have run the longest in total. For example, if a query runs for 10 seconds, and it’s been called 1,000 times, then it’ll have 10,000 total seconds of duration, so it will rank higher than a query that was only run once and ran for 500 seconds.

This is the opposite of the leaderboard – this is the Suckerboard.

sp_BlitzIndex – SQL Server’s Index Sanity Test

As it runs your beautifully crafted queries, SQL Server is constantly gathering index diagnostics. It keeps track of what indexes would have been the most helpful, how many times they would have been used, and how to create those indexes. You can query those diagnostic tables yourself, but frankly, it’s painful. That’s where the free sp_BlitzIndex comes in.

Take Command of Your SQL Server Reporting Services Instance with sp_BlitzRS

Your SQL Server Reporting Services instances can be hard to manage. Built-in tools like Report Manager will give you some general information, but not enough to feel like you are in complete control. BlitzRS is designed to take the guesswork out of running Reporting Services. It will help answer questions like:

• If a staff member quits, what subscriptions they were getting (so I can send them to their replacement)?
• Is my server under pressure because queries are slow, or because the reports are too big?
• Are there reports that would be good candidates for caching or snapshots?
• Do I have reports that are using dangerous settings or patterns?

The sp_BlitzRS® stored procedure quickly evaluates your SSRS server’s operations and reports back to you.

sp_BlitzTrace

Ever wanted to quickly and easily record how much CPU a query is using, how many logical reads it uses, what temporary objects are created, and whether it causes a recompile? sp_BlitzTrace is a free stored procedure that helps you quickly and easily use Extended Events in SQL Server 2012 and higher to observe what’s happening in one SQL Server session in close detail.

SqlBak

Online web service that allows you to Backup SQL Server databases installed on an unlimited number of remote servers. The FREE edition is limited to one server. The tool allows you also Restore SQL Server backups, Monitor SQL Server health, and Send email alert notifications on backup success/failure or SQL server outage.

SQLFuse

SQLFuse is a user-mode file system based on FUSE, which displays the SQL Server objects in the file system: diagrams, tables, views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, speakers, etc. In addition, displaying SQLFuse objects partially supports the creation, editing, and deleting.

tSQLt

tSQLt allows you to implement unit tests in T-SQL. This is important as you do not have to switch between various tools to create your code and your unit tests. tSQLt also provides the following features to make it easier to create and manage unit tests:

• Tests are automatically run within transactions – this keeps tests independent and reduces any cleanup work you need
• Tests can be grouped together within a schema – allowing you to organize your tests and use common setup methods
• Output can be generated in plain text or XML – making it easier to integrate with a continuous integration tool
• Provides the ability to fake tables and views, and to create stored procedure spies – allowing you to isolate the code which you are testing

BIDS Helper

A Visual Studio add-in that enhances development functionality in Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDTBI).

SQL Server Partition Management

The Sliding Window technique is commonly used with partitioned tables to manage large data volumes. It allows efficient loading of new data and archival or removal of old data. The challenge in a sliding window scenario is to create the staging table(s) correctly for efficient partition SWITCH operations — matching all columns, indexes, constraints, storage locations, and potentially indexed views with those of the partitioned table’s partition of interest. This utility provides a command line interface to:

1. Remove all the data from one partition by switching it out to a staging table. It creates the required staging table.
2. Create a staging table for loading data into a partition. The staging table can be created with or without indexes — if created without indexes this utility provides a separate command to create appropriate indexes on the staging table, before SWITCHing it into the partitioned table.

The commands can be invoked from other scripts for end-to-end sliding window scenarios. Using the utility allows you to avoid maintaining partition maintenance scripts that must remain synchronized with index or column changes in the permanent table since necessary staging objects can be created on demand.

SSMS Plugins

The following part of the article lists FREE SSMS add-ins, that you may find useful!

dbForge SQL Complete Express

dbForge SQL Complete provides a wide range of code completion features that relieve users from remembering long and complex object names, column names, SQL operators, etc., but instead allows concentrating on writing high-quality SQL code with proper formatting that is easy to understand and interpret.

ApexSQL Complete

The tool replaces native IntelliSense and provides you with a ton of SQL Server productivity features for SSMS and Visual Studio!

dbForge Search for SQL Server

The tool allows you to search SQL objects and data in your databases.
It can be very difficult to find a required table or to remember the names of your stored routines when a database contains lots of objects. With dbForge Search for SQL Server, you no longer need to look through the entire SSMS Object Explorer to find a required object.

SQL Search

The tool allows you to find fragments of SQL in tables, views, stored procedures, functions, views, and jobs. Quickly navigate to objects wherever they happen to be on a server. Search across multiple object types and multiple databases. Find all references to an object. Search with booleans and wildcards.

Apex SQL Search

Search SQL Server data and objects for free in SSMS and Visual Studio.

SSMSBoost

SSMSBoost add-in adds missing features and improves your productivity when working with Microsoft SQL Server in SQL Server Management Studio. The main goal of the project is to speed up the daily tasks of SQL DBA and T-SQL developers and to help you avoid destructive DML executions in production environments.
You will realize, that plug-in will save you hundreds of mouse clicks and keystrokes every day!

SQL Code Guard

SQL Code Guard is a free solution for SQL Server that provides fast and comprehensive static analysis for T-SQL code and shows code complexity, and objects dependencies.

ExpressProfiler

ExpressProfiler (aka SqlExpress Profiler) is a simple and fast replacement for SQL Server Profiler with basic GUI and integration with Red Gate Ecosystem project.
Can be used with both Express and non-Express editions of SQL Server 2005/2008/2008r2/2012/2014 (including LocalDB) Distribution package contains both a standalone version of ExpressProfiler (can be used without installation) and an installation package.

dbForge Event Profiler

dbForge Event Profiler for SQL Server is a FREE tool that allows you to capture and analyze SQL Server events. The events and data columns are stored in a physical trace file for later examination. You can use this information to identify and troubleshoot many SQL Server-related problems.

Plan Explorer

Plan Explorer builds upon the graphical plan view in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to make query plan optimization more efficient. It is a lightweight standalone app that contains many of the plan analysis features introduced in SQL Sentry v6 and does not require a collector service or database.

SQL Hunting Dog

SQL Hunting Dog is a free SQL Server tool. It works as an Add-in and gives you quick search and smooth navigation. Do not use it very often, otherwise, you will become addicted. Quickly find tables, stored procedures, functions, and views
Completely removes the pain of clunky Object Explorer. Switch between different servers and databases. Perform common operations (select data, modify the table, design table, etc.) with ease.

Supratimas

Pure HTML5, a browser-based analysis tool for Microsoft SQL Server® query execution plans. No installation is required, and no query plan data is transmitted to our servers. All processing is done in your browser’s sandbox. Also, there is an SSMS plugin! After the installation, you’ll be able to use the Supratimas execution plan viewer in parallel with the built-in one. Also, you’ll be able to compare execution plans in Workspace Window.

Ssmstoolspack

Keeps your query or window history safe in local files or databases. Keep your favorite statements accessible with a shortcut of your choice. Color the query windows based on the server/database name or a regex. And much more!

Afterwords

As you can see, it is a very long list of top SQL Server free tools for database developers and admins! Feel free to tweet the link to share it with your colleagues and friends!