SQL Source Control

Part of the SQL Toolbelt

Connect your database to your version control system

Version control schemas and reference data, roll back changes, and maintain the referential integrity of your database. Solve other database challenges like deploying without losing data.

And because it works with the tools you already use, it's an easy setup.

  • Plugs into SQL Server Management Studio
  • Version control your schemas and static data
  • See who made what changes, when, and why
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An intro to SQL Source Control with SQL Server MVP Steve Jones

What's new in SQL Source Control

new

Improved Migration scripts: rename tables with no data loss

new

Full support for SQL Server Management Studio 2016

Improved Migration scripts

Find out what else is new in the SQL Source Control 5 release blog post

$495 per user

Download free trial
Part of the SQL Toolbelt

SQL Source Control works with

or any version control system with a command line

Key features of SQL Source Control

Version control at your fingertips inside SQL Server Management Studio

It's easy to record and share your code changes, because SQL Source Control runs inside SQL Server Management Studio.

You don't have to stop what you're doing or pass round handwritten change scripts.

Version control your schemas and reference data

Store and share any SQL Server object and static data. Committing and updating takes two clicks in the Object Explorer.

To see what’s new, you can check changes down to the individual lines of SQL, with highlighted differences.

View a full history of changes

Look through the full revision history of a database or database object.

You can see who made the changes, when they made them, and why.

Handles referential integrity for you

When you commit or update, SQL Source Control maintains the referential integrity of your database for you.

It works out the right order for your changes and even deals with keys and constraints.

It uses the same engine as SQL Compare, the world’s most trusted tool for syncing database changes.

Push and pull Git repos

Synchronize your local and remote Git repositories inside Management Studio.

Pull down changes from your remote repository, commit your changes locally, and push straight them to your remote repository to share with the rest of your team.

Watch the video.

Roll back any changes you don't want

It's simple to roll back and resolve conflicts from the Object Explorer.

This also gives you a risk-free sandbox. If you want to experiment on your database, go ahead. You can undo any changes you don't want to keep.

Lock objects you're working on

You can lock the object you're working on in SQL Server Management Studio with just one click, so your changes are safe from being overwritten.

Your team can see what's locked, as well as information on who locked it.

Read more about locking in this blog post or watch the video.

Work on a central database or your own local copy

You and your team can work on a shared database or each use a local, dedicated copy.

SQL Source Control supports both models for database development.

Either way, it helps you share code, avoid conflicts, and see who’s doing what, so you can work without treading on each other’s toes.

Exclude objects with filters

If you don't want to share certain objects, such as users or permissions, you can exclude them with filters.

You can exclude objects by type, name, and owner, or specify more complex conditions.

It's simple to share only what you want with your team.

See what's changed, with icons

Icons in the Object Explorer show you when a change has been made to a database by you or your team.

You'll never forget to commit to version control.

Deploy your changes without data loss

Avoid losing data during complex deployments with migration scripts.

You can add these custom SQL scripts to deployment scripts generated by SQL Compare. They specify how to make the change and ensure your data stays safe.

Read a walkthrough in this blog post or watch the video.

How SQL Source Control helps with development and business processes

Deploy your database straight from version control

Avoid errors and stop those 4am deployments

Deploying database changes is nerve-wracking. You have to make certain that nothing breaks and you have to minimize downtime. When something does go wrong, you’re responsible and it can be hard to fix.

So for a lot of us, deployment means queuing up changes, coming in early (or staying late), and crossing our fingers that nothing goes wrong.

SQL Source Control gives you an alternative: deploy from a canonical version of your database in version control. You’re working with a stable version, which cuts the risk of deploying incomplete or incorrect changes.

Deploy from version control using SQL Compare Pro

Deploy straight from your repository

You can make deployments from your repository with SQL Compare Pro, or automate the process with DLM Automation.

SQL Compare writes deployment scripts in minutes, making your release safe and efficient. You can deploy from SQL Compare or copy the script to review and run later. You can use SQL Compare to generate rollback scripts too.

With DLM Automation, you can set up an automated deployment process for your database, using your existing release tool, such as Octopus Deploy.

“I'm anxious to get SQL Source Control up and running as I know the only way to deliver high quality SQL code is by having it under a SCM tool, vigorously testing, (thank you for SQL Test) and being able to confidently and consistently build/deploy the code.

There is so much that Redgate is doing to make Agile Database Development a reality. I'll finally be able to tell my AppDev friends to stow it when they say that database development can't be agile.”

Paul Hunter, NightOwl Development

Track progress and pass any audit with a full change history

View a full change history

Keep an eye on database changes and track development progress

Without version control, it’s almost impossible to keep track of development.

What work has your team completed? How did your database reach its current state? Who just broke the build – and how are you going to fix it?

To help you answer these questions, SQL Source Control gives you a full change history for your database and for every object in it.

It shows you who made changes, when they made them, and why. You stay up to date with progress and you get complete oversight of the changes that go into production.

Pass any audit and prove regulatory compliance

A well-documented change management process is also essential to win the trust of auditors or investors.

With a complete record of development changes in SQL Source Control, you can pass audits and prove you comply with standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley or HIPAA.

“If we can prove we can track the entire history of our data’s lifecycle, we’ll pass any audit. If not, we face massive fines, legal charges, suspension from trading, and possible termination of the company. Faced with that, how could I afford not to source control my database? How could anyone?”

Lynton Mack, DBA, Cameco Corporation

Download our whitepaper

For more on how SQL Source Control helps you meet your compliance requirements, read our 4-page whitepaper Compliance: what it means for databases (PDF).

Take the first steps in continuous integration for databases

What if you want to do some really clever stuff with your database, like continuous integration?

With your database in version control, you have the basics in place.

A full continuous integration process should build and test everything your project relies on, so SQL Source Control works with DLM Automation in our SQL Toolbelt to help you test your application and database code side by side.

You can set up a CI process that updates a test database with your changes (or creates a fresh database from your source files). This keeps application and database development in step and makes sure your project still works when you bring everything together.

Testing your changes up-front means you spot and fix errors early on. Bugs don't have a chance to leave development, let alone make it to production. Your code is shared as soon as it passes the test, so there are no painful merges. Instead, you can build on each other's work as soon as possible.

DLM Automation plugs into the build and release tools you use for your application development, so you can set up continuous delivery for your database.

Download our whitepaper

For a close look at database continuous integration, read our 17-page whitepaper Continuous integration for databases using Redgate tools: An overview (PDF).

It explains:

  • What continuous integration is and why it helps
  • How to solve some specific problems for database CI, such as keeping your data safe
  • How to set up the full process step by step

How SQL Source Control versions your database objects

Database version control is hard because there isn’t any source code. Instead, your queries change the state of the database.

SQL Source Control solves that problem by scripting each database object into a file in your version control system.

It’s possible to do this with an elaborate manual workaround, but SQL Source Control makes it easy for you in three ways:

  1. You don’t need to leave SQL Server Management Studio – you can do it all with a few clicks in the Object Explorer.
  2. You don’t need to remember to script out your files or instil that habit in new team members. SQL Source Control highlights your changes in the Object Explorer, so you see what’s sitting outside version control at a glance.
  3. You don’t have to worry about referential integrity or data persistence. SQL Source Control sorts out the order of your changes and deals with keys and constraints for you. With migration scripts, you can specify how to deal with complex changes that affect your data, such as table splits.

When you’ve made your changes, you check them in with a couple of clicks, just like you would for your application code. SQL Source Control scripts out files that represent the new state of each object and saves them in your version control system.

Not only is it simple to share your work – you also have a history of every change to every object in your database, along with details of who made each change, when, and why.

“Before using SQL Source Control, we'd tried a whole bunch of things. Sometimes we passed around manual backups, or SQL CREATE scripts, but that meant only one developer could work on the database before we had to issue updates again. We tried Database projects in Visual Studio, but they were clunky, and rather fragile when we made substantial changes.

One of our developers eventually cooked-up his own sync tool. It was a time consuming project. We had to teach new developers how to use it, enforce certain conventions, and it only really worked when source and target could be accessed at once, which wasn't often.

SQL Source Control did everything that sync tool could do, without wasting time or causing frustration...Integration with SSMS and TFS saved us a lot of hassle, but the major benefit has been the time it’s saved us making and pushing database changes. I'm not sure I could give that up again.”

Phil Gale, Red Jungle
Read more

“After using SQL Source Control for several months, I wondered how I got by before.

The ability to instantly keep database structure in synchronization across development, test, and production environments instantly reduced the amount of work and potential for error.

Highly recommended, it has paid for itself several times over.”

Ben Ashley, Fast Floor

“For the price you pay, you'll save the equivalent time on your next version release.”

Peter Vogel, Visual Studio Magazine

“Yesterday a vendor made a change to our database which broke some customer extracts.

With SQL Source Control, I was able to find exactly what the problem was and fix it in minutes.”

Scott Kowalczyk, Georgia Central Credit Union

“Using SQL Source Control has saved Snapper a considerable amount of time (and therefore money) and also led to a higher standard of work.”

Corrin Lakeland, Snapper Payment Systems

“If you assume that each developer saves 15 minutes per day of productivity (that is a conservative estimate), then 1/32 (15 minutes / 8 hours) of their salary is recovered.

If the average developer salary is $80,000, then this by itself translates to a benefit of $2500 per year.

This is just the benefit of not having to maintain and deploy scripts.”

Ernest Hwang, Senior Software Developer, Practice Fusion

“Liking SQL Source Control is an understatement for something I needed about 12 years ago.”

Stefan Kamphuis, 40 Fingers

Part of our Database DevOps solution

Redgate’s Database DevOps solution lets you extend your DevOps practices to SQL Server databases so that you can optimize productivity, agility and performance across the full database lifecycle and become a truly high performing IT organization.

From safely making a change in development through to monitoring its impact in production, Redgate is with you every step of the way. We give you the tools and insight you need to optimize your development processes, so you can keep your team moving, keep adding value and keep your data safe.

Learn more about the benefits