First steps
NovaSql is a client for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL. Your first query runs within five minutes.
1. Create a connection
On first launch the sidebar on the left is empty. Manage connections opens the connection list, where New connection creates one: a name, the server and the kind of sign-in are enough. Test checks whether the server is reachable. Every field is explained in Setting up connections.
2. Open the connection
At the top of the sidebar is Open connection…. Pick the connection you just created. NovaSql then shows every database on the server, not just one. Clicking a database expands its objects: tables, views, procedures, functions.
3. Write a query
Right-click the database → New query opens an empty tab that is already connected to that database. Alternatively: right-click a table → SELECT TOP 100.
In the editor, IntelliSense suggests the database's tables and columns. F5 (or Ctrl+Enter) runs the query. If text is selected, only the selection runs.
4. Look at the result
The result appears as a grid below the editor. With several result sets there is one tab per result, plus Messages (output from SQL Server) and Statistics (pages read and times per statement). More in Results.
5. Carry on
NovaSql remembers open tabs and connections. Next time you start it, everything is back, including unsaved queries.
Useful next steps:
- read execution plans and get suggestions for missing indexes
- set up AI to have queries improved
- switch the color theme: the sun/moon icon at the top right toggles between light and dark