OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for LocalDB

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW)

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Beginning in SQL Server 2012 (11.x), a lightweight version of SQL Server, called LocalDB, will be available. This article discusses how to connect to a database in a LocalDB instance.

Remarks

For more information about LocalDB, including how to install LocalDB and configure your LocalDB instance, see:

• SQL Server Express LocalDB Reference
• SQL Server 2016 Express LocalDB

LocalDB allows you to:

• Use sqllocaldb.exe i to discover the name of the default instance.

• Use the AttachDBFilename connection string keyword to specify which database file the server should attach. When using AttachDBFilename, if you don't specify the name of the database with the Database connection string keyword, the database will be removed from the LocalDB instance when the application closes.

• Specify a LocalDB instance in your connection string:

SERVER=(localdb)\v11.0

If necessary, you can create a LocalDB instance with sqllocaldb.exe. You can also use sqlcmd.exe to add and modify databases in a LocalDB instance. For example, sqlcmd -S (localdb)\v11.0.

See Also

OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Features