SQL Server setup guide

Prerequisites

• SQL Server 2016 or later, or Azure SQL Database
• A login with sysadmin or equivalent rights to create users and grant permissions
• SQL Server Authentication enabled (not Windows-only mode)

Enable SQL Server Authentication

If your server uses Windows Authentication only, you must enable mixed-mode authentication:

1. In SSMS, right-click the server → Properties → Security
2. Under Server authentication, select SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode
3. Restart the SQL Server service

Create a read-only login

Run these commands in SSMS or any SQL query tool connected as an admin:

CREATE LOGIN querify WITH PASSWORD = 'your_strong_password';

Replace your_strong_password with a strong random password (16+ characters recommended).

Create a database user

For each database you want Querify to access:

USE your_database;
GO
CREATE USER querify FOR LOGIN querify;
GO

Grant SELECT access

USE your_database;
GO
GRANT SELECT ON SCHEMA::dbo TO querify;
GO

If your data spans multiple schemas, repeat the GRANT SELECT ON SCHEMA command for each schema:

GRANT SELECT ON SCHEMA::sales TO querify;
GRANT SELECT ON SCHEMA::reporting TO querify;
GO

Verify the permissions

USE your_database;
GO
SELECT * FROM fn_my_permissions(NULL, 'DATABASE')
WHERE permission_name = 'SELECT';
GO

Azure SQL Database notes

For Azure SQL, the hostname format is:

your-server.database.windows.net

Firewall: add the Querify egress IP to your Azure SQL firewall rules under Settings → Networking → Firewall rules.

Connection uses port 1433 by default with SSL always enforced — no additional SSL configuration needed.

Named instances

If your SQL Server uses a named instance (e.g. SQLEXPRESS), enter the instance name in the Instance name field in the Querify connection form. Leave it blank for the default instance.

ODBC Driver requirement

Querify's backend connects to SQL Server using ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server. This is pre-installed on Querify's hosted service.

If you are self-hosting Querify, install the driver on your server:

Ubuntu / Debian:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo apt-key add -
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/22.04/prod.list | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list
sudo apt-get update
ACCEPT_EULA=Y sudo apt-get install -y msodbcsql18 unixodbc-dev

macOS (Homebrew):

brew tap microsoft/mssql-release https://github.com/microsoft/homebrew-mssql-release
brew install msodbcsql18

Docker / Railway:

Add to your Dockerfile before the app install step:

RUN curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | apt-key add - \
  && curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/12/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list \
  && apt-get update \
  && ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install -y msodbcsql18 unixodbc-dev

Use in Querify

In the Querify connection form:

• Host: your server hostname (e.g. your-server.database.windows.net)
• Port: 1433
• Database: your database name
• Username: querify
• Password: the password you set in CREATE LOGIN
• Instance name: leave blank for default, or enter SQLEXPRESS for named instances
• SSL mode: Required (always enforced for SQL Server)

Run Test connection before saving.

For help, email support@querify.ai.