mssql-python 1.12.0

A Python library for interacting with Microsoft SQL Server

General Availability Release

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.

What makes mssql-python different?

Powered by DDBC – Direct Database Connectivity

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.

Why is this architecture important?

By simplifying the architecture, DDBC delivers:

• Consistency across platforms
• Lower function call overhead
• Zero external dependencies on Windows (pip install mssql-python is all you need)
• Full control over connections, memory, and statement handling

Built with PyBind11 + Modern C++ for Performance and Safety

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++.

What's new in v1.12.0

Enhancements

• Standalone mssql-python-odbc Package - The bundled ODBC driver binaries are now also published as a separate, pure-data package mssql-python-odbc (import name mssql_python_odbc, version 18.6.2). mssql-python now depends on mssql-python-odbc==18.6.2 and prefers the external package at import time, falling back to the still-bundled libs/ tree so existing installs keep working (#663, #687).

Bug Fixes

• Bulk Copy Connection Timeout - cursor.bulkcopy() now forwards the cursor's connection timeout (from connect(timeout=X)) into the underlying mssql_py_core connection, instead of always using the hardcoded 15s default (#650).
• Bulk Copy of Custom CLR UDT Columns - Fixed a Protocol Error: Unsupported TDS type for bulk copy: 0xF0 that prevented cursor.bulkcopy() from loading rows into custom (non-spatial) CLR UDT columns; UDT columns are now mapped to varbinary(max) on the wire and the supplied bytes are streamed as the UDT's serialized form (#688, via mssql_py_core 0.1.7).

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 [e-mail].

What's Next

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.