I'm excited to announce that the T-SQL Analyzer is now available for Visual Studio Code! You can now catch T-SQL mistakes as you type, directly in the VS Code editor — no build step required.

Background

I maintain a collection of over 140 open source static code analysis rules based on the DacFX API, covering T-SQL best practices for design, naming, and performance.

I previously blogged about the launch of the T-SQL Analyzer extension for Visual Studio, and more recently about the significant update that brought live analysis to SSMS and Visual Studio.

This post covers the newest addition to the family: a dedicated Visual Studio Code extension, so you get the same real-time feedback on your SQL scripts no matter which editor you prefer.

What's new

Live analysis in VS Code

The extension analyzes your .sql files in real time and highlights design, naming, and performance issues right in the editor. Problems appear as squiggles while you edit, just like compiler errors.

diagnostics screenshot

Key features:

  • Live squiggles — problems appear while you edit, just like compiler errors
  • 140+ built-in rules — covering design best practices, naming conventions, and performance pitfalls
  • Hover for details — hover over any squiggle to see the rule id, a plain English description, and a link to the full documentation
  • Zero configuration — works out of the box with sensible defaults
  • Customizable — disable individual rules, promote warnings to errors, or target a specific SQL Server version
  • Status bar indicator — shows when analysis is running

Any SQL script analyzed

Just like the SSMS and Visual Studio extensions, the VS Code extension analyzes any SQL script you have open — whether it is a stored procedure, a query, a migration script, a one-off data fix, or anything else. If you're writing SQL, you get feedback.

Customizing rules

All rules are enabled by default. You can fine-tune them in Settings using a rules expression:

What you want Expression
Disable a single rule -SqlServer.Rules.SRD0004
Disable all naming rules -SqlServer.Rules.SRN*
Promote a rule to an error +!SqlServer.Rules.SRN0005
Combine several -SqlServer.Rules.SRD0004;+!SqlServer.Rules.SRN0005

Browse the full rule catalogue at github.com/ErikEJ/SqlServer.Rules/docs.

Settings

Setting Default Description
tsqlAnalyzer.enable true Turn live analysis on or off.
tsqlAnalyzer.rules (all enabled) Rules expression (see above).
tsqlAnalyzer.sqlVersion Sql170 Target SQL Server version (Sql160, Sql170, SqlAzure, SqlDwUnified, …).
tsqlAnalyzer.debounceMs 400 Milliseconds to wait after the last keystroke before analyzing.
tsqlAnalyzer.additionalAnalyzers Extra analyzer .dll paths to load (advanced).
tsqlAnalyzer.serverPath Path to a local analyzer build (advanced — leave empty to use the published package).

Commands

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type T-SQL Analyzer:

  • T-SQL Analyzer: Analyze Active File — run analysis on demand.
  • T-SQL Analyzer: Restart Analysis Server — restart the background analyzer process (useful after updating settings).

Getting started

  1. Install the .NET 10 SDK (or later).
  2. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
  3. Open any .sql file — analysis starts automatically.

That's it. The analyzer tooling is downloaded automatically on first use; there is nothing else to install.

Summary

Editor Live analysis
Visual Studio ✓
SQL Server Management Studio 22 ✓
Visual Studio Code ✓ (new!)

Feedback and contributions

Should you encounter bugs or have feature requests, head over to the GitHub repository to open an issue if one doesn't already exist.

If you enjoy using the extension, please give it a ★★★★★ rating on the VS Code Marketplace.

Another way to help out is to sponsor me on GitHub.