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Migrate from django-mssql-backend to mssql-django

This article explains how to migrate a Django project from the django-mssql-backend package (which used the sql_server.pyodbc engine) to the mssql-django package.

Overview

The mssql-django package is the successor to django-mssql-backend. It continues to provide a Django database backend for SQL Server using pyodbc, but with an updated package name, engine identifier, and support for newer Django versions.

Feature django-mssql-backend mssql-django
Package name django-mssql-backend mssql-django
ENGINE sql_server.pyodbc mssql
Django support 2.2, 3.0, 3.1 3.2, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 6.0
Maintained by Microsoft Microsoft
PyPI pip install django-mssql-backend pip install mssql-django

Step 1: Update the Python package

Uninstall the old package and install the new one:

pip uninstall django-mssql-backend
pip install mssql-django

If you use a requirements.txt file, replace the package reference:

# Before
django-mssql-backend>=2.8.1

# After
mssql-django>=1.7

Step 2: Update the DATABASE ENGINE

In your settings.py, change the ENGINE value from sql_server.pyodbc to mssql:

# Before
DATABASES = {
    "default": {
        "ENGINE": "sql_server.pyodbc",
        "NAME": "<your-database>",
        "USER": "<your-username>",
        "PASSWORD": "<your-password>",
        "HOST": "<your-server>",
        "PORT": "1433",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "driver": "ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server",
        },
    },
}

# After
DATABASES = {
    "default": {
        "ENGINE": "mssql",
        "NAME": "<your-database>",
        "USER": "<your-username>",
        "PASSWORD": "<your-password>",
        "HOST": "<your-server>",
        "PORT": "1433",
        "OPTIONS": {
            "driver": "ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server",
        },
    },
}

Note

mssql-django v1.7 defaults to ODBC Driver 18. You can continue to use Driver 17 by specifying it explicitly in the driver option.

Step 3: Update INSTALLED_APPS

If your INSTALLED_APPS references sql_server, update it:

# Before
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    "sql_server",
    # ...
]

# After - only needed if using inspectdb
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    "mssql",
    # ...
]

Step 4: Verify configuration

Run a quick verification to ensure the new backend connects successfully:

python manage.py check
python manage.py showmigrations

Step 5: Run your test suite

Run your project's test suite to verify everything works with the new backend:

python manage.py test

Breaking changes to watch for

Area Change
Default ODBC driver v1.7 defaults to ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server, which sets Encrypt=yes by default (Driver 17 defaulted to Encrypt=no). Connections to servers with self-signed or untrusted certificates fail unless you add TrustServerCertificate=yes to extra_params. Alternatively, specify Driver 17 or install a trusted certificate on the server.
return_rows_bulk_insert Defaults to False. Set to True to enable returning IDs after bulk_create. Must remain False for tables with triggers. See Bulk operations with mssql-django.

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