SQL Server

PHP projects that use SQL Server need three things on Windows: Microsoft's PHP drivers, the Microsoft ODBC Driver they talk through, and a server. Rezure installs all three from inside the app, the server being SQL Server 2022 Express LocalDB, a lightweight SQL Server that runs on demand.

You can use any part on its own: just the drivers to reach an office SQL Server, or the whole set for a local database.

PHP drivers

On PHP Extensions, in the Database group, install:

• pdo_sqlsrv ("PDO SQL Server"): what Laravel uses.
• sqlsrv ("SQL Server"): the non-PDO functions.

Click Install {version} on each. Rezure picks the right Microsoft release for the PHP version (5.13.3 for PHP 8.3–8.5, 5.12.0 for 8.1–8.2, 5.10.0 for 7.4–8.0) and switches it on. Restart PHP afterwards. Install them separately for each PHP version you use with SQL Server.

ODBC Driver

The PHP drivers connect through Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server. PHP loads them without it, but every connection fails. Install it from any of:

• the banner on PHP Extensions (shown when a SQL Server extension is on and the driver is missing),
• Install ODBC Driver in the Add connection form on the Databases page,
• the project's Requirements Check.

An ODBC Driver 17 or 18 you already have counts. The very old built-in "SQL Server" driver that comes with Windows doesn't.

What installing a Microsoft package looks like

The ODBC Driver (18.7.1.1) and LocalDB (16.0.1000.6) are real Windows installs, so they work a little differently from everything else in Rezure:

1. A dialog titled Install {name} explains what will happen and links to Read Microsoft's license terms.
2. Tick I accept the Microsoft license terms for {name}.: Install stays disabled until you do. Rezure never accepts the license on your behalf.
3. Rezure downloads Microsoft's installer and checks both its checksum and Microsoft's signature.
4. Windows asks for administrator permission once. Click Yes.
5. The package appears in Settings → Apps like any other program. Uninstalling Rezure doesn't remove it.

The installer file and its log are kept in C:\rezure\data\installers\.

Install LocalDB

Install SQL Server LocalDB from Switch → Install version → SQL Server LocalDB, the Install button on its Services row, or a project's Requirements Check. The license and administrator steps are the same as above.

Rezure then creates a LocalDB instance named Rezure. You reach it as:

(localdb)\Rezure

LocalDB starts itself the moment something connects to it, so you don't strictly need to start it from the Services page. Its row there shows (localdb)\Rezure · :14330; Stop shuts it down cleanly and Force stop kills it.

Database files for databases Rezure creates are kept in C:\rezure\data\mssql\.

Connect Laravel to LocalDB

You need pdo_sqlsrv and the ODBC Driver from above. Then in .env:

DB_CONNECTION=sqlsrv
DB_HOST=(localdb)\Rezure
DB_PORT=
DB_DATABASE=myapp
DB_USERNAME=
DB_PASSWORD=

• DB_PORT= must be present and empty. LocalDB is reached through a named pipe, not a TCP port; with a port set, Laravel appends ,1433 and the connection fails.
• An empty username means Windows authentication: you sign in as your own Windows user, with no password.
• With ODBC Driver 18, encryption is on by default. If you get a certificate error, uncomment 'trust_server_certificate' in config/database.php and add DB_TRUST_SERVER_CERTIFICATE=true to .env.

The Requirements Check verifies all of this for a sqlsrv project.

The TCP bridge for GUI clients

Many GUI clients can't reach a named pipe. For them, Rezure relays 127.0.0.1:14330 to LocalDB, with a SQL login rezure that has no password. Connect TablePlus, DBeaver, or another client with:

Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: 14330
User: rezure
Password: (empty)
Encryption: off

The bridge only works with encryption off.

On the Databases page

Once LocalDB is installed, a connection called SQL Server LocalDB (tagged "SQL Server · this PC") appears in the Connections section of the target switcher. It uses Windows authentication and can't be removed.

Action	LocalDB	Another SQL Server
List	Your databases, with table count and size (system databases hidden)	Same
New database	With a collation: the server's default first, then common Latin1 and UTF-8 options	Same
Export	A .bak backup (copy-only) into C:\rezure\dumps	Not available: BACKUP writes onto the server's own disk
Import .sql / .bak	A .sql script, or Restore .bak	.sql scripts only

About imports:

• .sql scripts are split on GO lines (GO 5 repeats the batch five times), and UTF-16 files saved by SSMS work. Errors name the batch: "batch 3: …".
• Restoring a .bak replaces a database with the same name entirely.

There's no drop button; use DROP DATABASE myapp; in a client.

Connect to another SQL Server

Rezure can work with any SQL Server you can reach: SQL Server Express on this PC, a server on your office network, or one behind SSH. On the Databases page, open the target switcher, click + Add connection, and choose SQL Server.

Rezure scans this PC first and lists what it finds under Found on this computer: installed editions such as "SQL Server 2022 (SQLEXPRESS)" (host localhost\SQLEXPRESS), and other LocalDB instances such as (localdb)\MSSQLLocalDB. Clicking one fills in the form, with Windows account sign-in and, for installed editions, Trust server certificate ticked. You still Test connection and Save.

Field-by-field details, SSH tunnels, and troubleshooting are on Remote Databases.

Open in a SQL client

Client	Opens
SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)	Always: the database, with Windows or SQL sign-in; SSMS asks for a password itself
TablePlus, DBeaver	Only for a SQL login on a known port, which includes LocalDB, through the rezure login on the bridge

If none are installed: "No SQL Server client found. Install SQL Server Management Studio to open databases from here."

Limitations

• Rezure's driver downloads are for non-thread-safe x64 PHP, the builds Rezure installs. A thread-safe PHP you added by hand can't use them.
• A remote SQL Server can't be exported or restored from .bak through Rezure.
• LocalDB is meant for development and has no SQL Server Agent. If a project relies on features LocalDB doesn't have, install SQL Server Express or Developer edition and connect to it as another SQL Server.

Troubleshooting

Every connection fails, even though pdo_sqlsrv is installed

The ODBC Driver is missing. Install it from PHP Extensions.

"could not find driver"

pdo_sqlsrv isn't installed or isn't on for the PHP version the project uses. Install it on PHP Extensions for that version, then restart PHP.

Connection fails with ,1433 in the error

DB_PORT has a value. Set it to empty: DB_PORT=.

Certificate or SSL errors

ODBC Driver 18 encrypts by default and doesn't trust self-signed certificates. For Laravel, uncomment 'trust_server_certificate' in config/database.php and set DB_TRUST_SERVER_CERTIFICATE=true. For a saved connection, re-add it with Trust server certificate ticked.

The Microsoft installer fails

Rezure translates the common Windows Installer errors:

• cancelled: the license or administrator prompt was declined; try again and click Yes.
• another installation is already running: wait for Windows Update or another installer to finish.
• another version is installed: remove the other version from Settings → Apps first.
• no administrator rights: your account can't install software; ask whoever manages the PC.

Anything else points to the log file in C:\rezure\data\installers\.

Related

• Laravel .env Cheatsheet: values for every engine
• Remote Databases: SQL Server on another machine
• PHP Extensions: the driver toggles