Updates to database development tools for SQL database in Fabric
With SQL database in Fabric, the source control integration in Fabric enables you to keep your active work synced to git while following a branching strategy that best matches your team’s environments and deployment requirements. With the complexity of enterprise deployment scenarios, code-first deployment is also available for Fabric objects through tools like the Fabric-CICD Python library, the MSSQL Extension for VS Code, and the SqlPackage .NET tool. In this article we recap new functionality that enhances the development of SQL database in Fabric.
Microsoft.Build.Sql projects
The human-readable database definition format for SQL database in Fabric is backed by the .NET project SDK Microsoft.Build.Sql. In March 2025, v1 of Microsoft.Build.Sql (Generally Available) and development continues with the v2-previews. As a developer working with SQL projects, you’re creating the T-SQL scripts that define the objects in the database. Microsoft.Build.Sql projects compile a folder of SQL scripts into a database artifact (.dacpac) for manual or continuous deployments.
Following a popular branching strategy for Fabric, feature development is synced with git (Azure DevOps, GitHub) from feature workspaces using the source control integration connecting the workspace to a feature branch. A database in that workspace is represented by a SQL project in source control, enabling code-first validation and modification of the database definition.
The deployment of a SQL project can be executed from a workstation or an automation pipeline with two steps from the command line:
dotnet build AdventureWorks.sqlproj
sqlpackage /Action:Publish /SourceFile:bin/Debug/AdventureWorks.dacpac /TargetConnectionString:"<yourconnectionstring>"SqlPakcage is a .NET tool, installable with a single command in any environment with the .NET SDK:
dotnet tool install -g microsoft.sqlpackageDevelop in VS Code
Whether you’re developing with SQL projects or directly connecting to the database, the MSSQL and SQL database projects extensions for VS Code integrate database development with the familiar VS Code environment. Visually comparing the differences between databases is now available in preview in VS Code through schema compare for MSSQL in VS Code. The schema compare functionality integrates with both active database connections and SQL projects.
Schema comparison enables you to compare two database definitions, selectively filter the objects that are included in the comparison and calculate the T-SQL required to update the target. Learn more and see a walk-through of schema compare in VS Code in the MSSQL Extension for VS Code: Introducing Schema Compare (Preview) blog post.
On the roadmap
We’re continuing to improve the Fabric integrations for source control and deployment pipelines, with investments planned to enrich the update from source control capabilities and providing REST API access to the database object definition. Additionally, integration with the Fabric-CICD Python module for SQL database is on the roadmap.
