node-mssql

Microsoft SQL Server client for Node.js

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Supported TDS drivers:

Installation

npm install mssql

Short Example: Use Connect String

const sql = require('mssql')

async () => {
    try {
        // make sure that any items are correctly URL encoded in the connection string
        await sql.connect('Server=localhost,1433;Database=database;User Id=username;Password=password;Encrypt=true')
        const result = await sql.query`select * from mytable where id = ${value}`
        console.dir(result)
    } catch (err) {
        // ... error checks
    }
}

If you’re on Windows Azure, add ?encrypt=true to your connection string. See docs to learn more.

Parts of the connection URI should be correctly URL encoded so that the URI can be parsed correctly.

Longer Example: Connect via Config Object

Assuming you have set the appropriate environment variables, you can construct a config object as follows:

const sql = require('mssql')
const sqlConfig = {
  user: process.env.DB_USER,
  password: process.env.DB_PWD,
  database: process.env.DB_NAME,
  server: 'localhost',
  pool: {
    max: 10,
    min: 0,
    idleTimeoutMillis: 30000
  },
  options: {
    encrypt: true, // for azure
    trustServerCertificate: false // change to true for local dev / self-signed certs
  }
}

async () => {
 try {
  // make sure that any items are correctly URL encoded in the connection string
  await sql.connect(sqlConfig)
  const result = await sql.query`select * from mytable where id = ${value}`
  console.dir(result)
 } catch (err) {
  // ... error checks
 }
}

Documentation

Examples

Configuration

Drivers

Connections

Requests

Transactions

Prepared Statements

Other

Examples

Config

const config = {
    user: '...',
    password: '...',
    server: 'localhost', // You can use 'localhost\\instance' to connect to named instance
    database: '...',
}

Async/Await

const sql = require('mssql')

(async function () {
    try {
        let pool = await sql.connect(config)
        let result1 = await pool.request()
            .input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)
            .query('select * from mytable where id = @input_parameter')
            
        console.dir(result1)
    
        // Stored procedure
        
        let result2 = await pool.request()
            .input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)
            .output('output_parameter', sql.VarChar(50))
            .execute('procedure_name')
        
        console.dir(result2)
    } catch (err) {
        // ... error checks
    }
})()

sql.on('error', err => {
    // ... error handler
})

Promises

Queries

const sql = require('mssql')

sql.on('error', err => {
    // ... error handler
})

sql.connect(config).then(pool => {
    // Query
    
    return pool.request()
        .input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)
        .query('select * from mytable where id = @input_parameter')
}).then(result => {
    console.dir(result)
}).catch(err => {
  // ... error checks
});

Stored procedures

const sql = require('mssql')

sql.on('error', err => {
    // ... error handler
})

sql.connect(config).then(pool => {
    
    // Stored procedure
    
    return pool.request()
        .input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)
        .output('output_parameter', sql.VarChar(50))
        .execute('procedure_name')
}).then(result => {
    console.dir(result)
}).catch(err => {
    // ... error checks
})

Native Promise is used by default. You can easily change this with sql.Promise = require('myownpromisepackage').

ES6 Tagged template literals

const sql = require('mssql')

sql.connect(config).then(() => {
    return sql.query`select * from mytable where id = ${value}`
}).then(result => {
    console.dir(result)
}).catch(err => {
    // ... error checks
})

sql.on('error', err => {
    // ... error handler
})

All values are automatically sanitized against sql injection. This is because it is rendered as prepared statement, and thus all limitations imposed in MS SQL on parameters apply. e.g. Column names cannot be passed/set in statements using variables.

Callbacks

const sql = require('mssql')

sql.connect(config, err => {
    // ... error checks

    // Query

    new sql.Request().query('select 1 as number', (err, result) => {
        // ... error checks

        console.dir(result)
    })

    // Stored Procedure

    new sql.Request()
    .input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)
    .output('output_parameter', sql.VarChar(50))
    .execute('procedure_name', (err, result) => {
        // ... error checks

        console.dir(result)
    })

    // Using template literal

    const request = new sql.Request()
    request.query(request.template`select * from mytable where id = ${value}`, (err, result) => {
        // ... error checks
        console.dir(result)
    })
})

sql.on('error', err => {
    // ... error handler
})

Streaming

If you plan to work with large amount of rows, you should always use streaming. Once you enable this, you must listen for events to receive data.

const sql = require('mssql')

sql.connect(config, err => {
    // ... error checks

    const request = new sql.Request()
    request.stream = true // You can set streaming differently for each request
    request.query('select * from verylargetable') // or request.execute(procedure)

    request.on('recordset', columns => {
        // Emitted once for each recordset in a query
    })

    request.on('row', row => {
        // Emitted for each row in a recordset
    })

    request.on('rowsaffected', rowCount => {
        // Emitted for each `INSERT`, `UPDATE` or `DELETE` statement
        // Requires NOCOUNT to be OFF (default)
    })

    request.on('error', err => {
        // May be emitted multiple times
    })

    request.on('done', result => {
        // Always emitted as the last one
    })
})

sql.on('error', err => {
    // ... error handler
})

When streaming large sets of data you want to back-off or chunk the amount of data you’re processing to prevent memory exhaustion issues; you can use the Request.pause() function to do this. Here is an example of managing rows in batches of 15:

let rowsToProcess = [];
request.on('row', row => {
  rowsToProcess.push(row);
  if (rowsToProcess.length >= 15) {
    request.pause();
    processRows();
  }
});
request.on('done', () => {
    processRows();
});

function processRows() {
  // process rows
  rowsToProcess = [];
  request.resume();
}

Connection Pools

An important concept to understand when using this library is Connection Pooling as this library uses connection pooling extensively. As one Node JS process is able to handle multiple requests at once, we can take advantage of this long running process to create a pool of database connections for reuse; this saves overhead of connecting to the database for each request (as would be the case in something like PHP, where one process handles one request).

With the advantages of pooling comes some added complexities, but these are mostly just conceptual and once you understand how the pooling is working, it is simple to make use of it efficiently and effectively.

The Global Connection Pool

To assist with pool management in your application there is the sql.connect() function that is used to connect to the global connection pool. You can make repeated calls to this function, and if the global pool is already connected, it will resolve to the connected pool. The following example obtains the global connection pool by running sql.connect(), and then runs the query against the pool.

NB: It’s important to note that there can only be one global connection pool connected at a time. Providing a different connection config to the connect() function will not create a new connection if it is already connected.

const sql = require('mssql')
const config = { ... }

// run a query against the global connection pool
function runQuery(query) {
  // sql.connect() will return the existing global pool if it exists or create a new one if it doesn't
  return sql.connect(config).then((pool) => {
    return pool.query(query)
  })
}

Awaiting or .then-ing the pool creation is a safe way to ensure that the pool is always ready, without knowing where it is needed first. In practice, once the pool is created then there will be no delay for the next connect() call.

Also notice that we do not close the global pool by calling sql.close() after the query is executed, because other queries may need to be run against this pool and closing it will add additional overhead to running subsequent queries. You should only ever close the global pool if you’re certain the application is finished. Or for example, if you are running some kind of CLI tool or a CRON job you can close the pool at the end of the script.

Global Pool Single Instance

The ability to call connect() and close() repeatedly on the global pool is intended to make pool management easier, however it is better to maintain your own reference to the pool, where connect() is called once, and the resulting global pool’s connection promise is re-used throughout the entire application.

For example, in Express applications, the following approach uses a single global pool instance added to the app.locals so the application has access to it when needed. The server start is then chained inside the connect() promise.

const express = require('express')
const sql = require('mssql')
const config  = {/*...*/}
//instantiate a connection pool
const appPool = new sql.ConnectionPool(config)
//require route handlers and use the same connection pool everywhere
const route1 = require('./routes/route1')
const app = express()
app.get('/path', route1)

//connect the pool and start the web server when done
appPool.connect().then(function(pool) {
  app.locals.db = pool;
  const server = app.listen(3000, function () {
    const host = server.address().address
    const port = server.address().port
    console.log('Example app listening at http://%s:%s', host, port)
  })
}).catch(function(err) {
  console.error('Error creating connection pool', err)
});

Then the route uses the connection pool in the app.locals object:

// ./routes/route1.js
const sql = require('mssql');

module.exports = function(req, res) {
  req.app.locals.db.query('SELECT TOP 10 * FROM table_name', function(err, recordset) {
    if (err) {
      console.error(err)
      res.status(500).send('SERVER ERROR')
      return
    }
    res.status(200).json({ message: 'success' })
  })
}

Advanced Pool Management

For some use-cases you may want to implement your own connection pool management, rather than using the global connection pool. Reasons for doing this include:

The following code is an example of a custom connection pool implementation.

// pool-manager.js
const mssql = require('mssql')
const pools = new Map();

module.exports = {
 /**
  * Get or create a pool. If a pool doesn't exist the config must be provided.
  * If the pool does exist the config is ignored (even if it was different to the one provided
  * when creating the pool)
  *
  * @param {string} name
  * @param  [config]
  * @return {Promise.<mssql.ConnectionPool>}
  */
 get: (name, config) => {
  if (!pools.has(name)) {
   if (!config) {
    throw new Error('Pool does not exist');
   }
   const pool = new mssql.ConnectionPool(config);
   // automatically remove the pool from the cache if `pool.close()` is called
   const close = pool.close.bind(pool);
   pool.close = (...args) => {
    pools.delete(name);
    return close(...args);
   }
   pools.set(name, pool.connect());
  }
  return pools.get(name);
 },
 /**
  * Closes all the pools and removes them from the store
  *
  * @return {Promise<mssql.ConnectionPool[]>}
  */
 closeAll: () => Promise.all(Array.from(pools.values()).map((connect) => {
  return connect.then((pool) => pool.close());
 })),
};

This file can then be used in your application to create, fetch, and close pools.

const { get } = require('./pool-manager')

async function example() {
  const pool = await get('default')
  return pool.request().query('SELECT 1')
}

Similar to the global connection pool, you should aim to only close a pool when you know it will never be needed by the application again. Typically this will only be when your application is shutting down.

Result value manipulation

In some instances it is desirable to manipulate the record data as it is returned from the database, this may be to cast it as a particular object (eg: moment object instead of Date) or similar.

In v8.0.0+ it is possible to register per-datatype handlers:

const sql = require('mssql')

// in this example all integer values will return 1 more than their actual value in the database
sql.valueHandler.set(sql.TYPES.Int, (value) => value + 1)

sql.query('SELECT * FROM [example]').then((result) => {
  // all `int` columns will return a manipulated value as per the callback above
})

Configuration

The following is an example configuration object:

const config = {
    user: '...',
    password: '...',
    server: 'localhost',
    database: '...',
    pool: {
        max: 10,
        min: 0,
        idleTimeoutMillis: 30000
    }
}

General (same for all drivers)

Complete list of pool options can be found here.

Formats

In addition to configuration object there is an option to pass config as a connection string. Connection strings are supported.

Classic Connection String
Server=localhost,1433;Database=database;User Id=username;Password=password;Encrypt=true
Driver=msnodesqlv8;Server=(local)\INSTANCE;Database=database;UID=DOMAIN\username;PWD=password;Encrypt=true

Drivers

Tedious

Default driver, actively maintained and production ready. Platform independent, runs everywhere Node.js runs. Officially supported by Microsoft.

Extra options:

Authentication:

On top of the extra options, an authentication property can be added to the pool config option

More information about Tedious specific options: http://tediousjs.github.io/tedious/api-connection.html

Microsoft / Contributors Node V8 Driver for Node.js for SQL Server

Requires Node.js v10+ or newer. Windows 32-64 bits or Linux/macOS 64 bits only. This driver is not part of the default package and must be installed separately by npm install msnodesqlv8@^2. To use this driver, use this require syntax: const sql = require('mssql/msnodesqlv8').

Note: If you use import into your lib to prepare your request (const { VarChar } = require('mssql')) you also need to upgrade all your types import into your code (const { VarChar } = require('mssql/msnodesqlv8')) or a connection.on is not a function error will be thrown.

Extra options:

Default connection string when connecting to port:

Driver={SQL Server Native Client 11.0};Server={#{server},#{port}};Database={#{database}};Uid={#{user}};Pwd={#{password}};Trusted_Connection={#{trusted}};

Default connection string when connecting to named instance:

Driver={SQL Server Native Client 11.0};Server={#{server}\\#{instance}};Database={#{database}};Uid={#{user}};Pwd={#{password}};Trusted_Connection={#{trusted}};

Please note that the connection string with this driver is not the same than tedious and use yes/no instead of true/false. You can see more on the ODBC documentation.

Connections

Internally, each ConnectionPool instance is a separate pool of TDS connections. Once you create a new Request/Transaction/Prepared Statement, a new TDS connection is acquired from the pool and reserved for desired action. Once the action is complete, connection is released back to the pool. Connection health check is built-in so once the dead connection is discovered, it is immediately replaced with a new one.

IMPORTANT: Always attach an error listener to created connection. Whenever something goes wrong with the connection it will emit an error and if there is no listener it will crash your application with an uncaught error.

const pool = new sql.ConnectionPool({ /* config */ })

Events

connect ([callback])

Create a new connection pool. The initial probe connection is created to find out whether the configuration is valid.

Arguments

Example

const pool = new sql.ConnectionPool({
    user: '...',
    password: '...',
    server: 'localhost',
    database: '...'
})

pool.connect(err => {
    // ...
})

Errors

close()

Close all active connections in the pool.

Example

pool.close()

Request

const request = new sql.Request(/* [pool or transaction] */)

If you omit pool/transaction argument, global pool is used instead.

Events

execute (procedure, [callback])

Call a stored procedure.

Arguments

Example

const request = new sql.Request()
request.input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)
request.output('output_parameter', sql.Int)
request.execute('procedure_name', (err, result) => {
    // ... error checks

    console.log(result.recordsets.length) // count of recordsets returned by the procedure
    console.log(result.recordsets[0].length) // count of rows contained in first recordset
    console.log(result.recordset) // first recordset from result.recordsets
    console.log(result.returnValue) // procedure return value
    console.log(result.output) // key/value collection of output values
    console.log(result.rowsAffected) // array of numbers, each number represents the number of rows affected by executed statemens

    // ...
})

Errors

input (name, [type], value)

Add an input parameter to the request.

Arguments

Example

request.input('input_parameter', value)
request.input('input_parameter', sql.Int, value)

JS Data Type To SQL Data Type Map

Default data type for unknown object is sql.NVarChar.

You can define your own type map.

sql.map.register(MyClass, sql.Text)

You can also overwrite the default type map.

sql.map.register(Number, sql.BigInt)

Errors (synchronous)

NB: Do not use parameters @p{n} as these are used by the internal drivers and cause a conflict.

output (name, type, [value])

Add an output parameter to the request.

Arguments

Example

request.output('output_parameter', sql.Int)
request.output('output_parameter', sql.VarChar(50), 'abc')

Errors (synchronous)

toReadableStream

Convert request to a Node.js ReadableStream

Example

const { pipeline } = require('stream')
const request = new sql.Request()
const readableStream = request.toReadableStream()
pipeline(readableStream, transformStream, writableStream)
request.query('select * from mytable')

OR if you wanted to increase the highWaterMark of the read stream to buffer more rows in memory

const { pipeline } = require('stream')
const request = new sql.Request()
const readableStream = request.toReadableStream({ highWaterMark: 100 })
pipeline(readableStream, transformStream, writableStream)
request.query('select * from mytable')

pipe (stream)

Sets request to stream mode and pulls all rows from all recordsets to a given stream.

Arguments

Example

const request = new sql.Request()
request.pipe(stream)
request.query('select * from mytable')
stream.on('error', err => {
    // ...
})
stream.on('finish', () => {
    // ...
})

query (command, [callback])

Execute the SQL command. To execute commands like create procedure or if you plan to work with local temporary tables, use batch instead.

Arguments

Example

const request = new sql.Request()
request.query('select 1 as number', (err, result) => {
    // ... error checks

    console.log(result.recordset[0].number) // return 1

    // ...
})

Errors

const request = new sql.Request()
request.query('select 1 as number; select 2 as number', (err, result) => {
    // ... error checks

    console.log(result.recordset[0].number) // return 1
    console.log(result.recordsets[0][0].number) // return 1
    console.log(result.recordsets[1][0].number) // return 2
})

NOTE: To get number of rows affected by the statement(s), see section Affected Rows.

batch (batch, [callback])

Execute the SQL command. Unlike query, it doesn’t use sp_executesql, so is not likely that SQL Server will reuse the execution plan it generates for the SQL. Use this only in special cases, for example when you need to execute commands like create procedure which can’t be executed with query or if you’re executing statements longer than 4000 chars on SQL Server 2000. Also you should use this if you’re plan to work with local temporary tables (more information here).

NOTE: Table-Valued Parameter (TVP) is not supported in batch.

Arguments

Example

const request = new sql.Request()
request.batch('create procedure #temporary as select * from table', (err, result) => {
    // ... error checks
})

Errors

You can enable multiple recordsets in queries with the request.multiple = true command.

bulk (table, [options,] [callback])

Perform a bulk insert.

Arguments

Example

const table = new sql.Table('table_name') // or temporary table, e.g. #temptable
table.create = true
table.columns.add('a', sql.Int, {nullable: true, primary: true})
table.columns.add('b', sql.VarChar(50), {nullable: false})
table.rows.add(777, 'test')

const request = new sql.Request()
request.bulk(table, (err, result) => {
    // ... error checks
})

IMPORTANT: Always indicate whether the column is nullable or not!

TIP: If you set table.create to true, module will check if the table exists before it start sending data. If it doesn’t, it will automatically create it. You can specify primary key columns by setting primary: true to column’s options. Primary key constraint on multiple columns is supported.

TIP: You can also create Table variable from any recordset with recordset.toTable(). You can optionally specify table type name in the first argument.

Errors

cancel()

Cancel currently executing request. Return true if cancellation packet was send successfully.

Example

const request = new sql.Request()
request.query('waitfor delay \'00:00:05\'; select 1 as number', (err, result) => {
    console.log(err instanceof sql.RequestError)  // true
    console.log(err.message)                      // Cancelled.
    console.log(err.code)                         // ECANCEL

    // ...
})

request.cancel()

Transaction

IMPORTANT: always use Transaction class to create transactions - it ensures that all your requests are executed on one connection. Once you call begin, a single connection is acquired from the connection pool and all subsequent requests (initialized with the Transaction object) are executed exclusively on this connection. After you call commit or rollback, connection is then released back to the connection pool.

const transaction = new sql.Transaction(/* [pool] */)

If you omit connection argument, global connection is used instead.

Example

const transaction = new sql.Transaction(/* [pool] */)
transaction.begin(err => {
    // ... error checks

    const request = new sql.Request(transaction)
    request.query('insert into mytable (mycolumn) values (12345)', (err, result) => {
        // ... error checks

        transaction.commit(err => {
            // ... error checks

            console.log("Transaction committed.")
        })
    })
})

Transaction can also be created by const transaction = pool.transaction(). Requests can also be created by const request = transaction.request().

Aborted transactions

This example shows how you should correctly handle transaction errors when abortTransactionOnError (XACT_ABORT) is enabled. Added in 2.0.

const transaction = new sql.Transaction(/* [pool] */)
transaction.begin(err => {
    // ... error checks

    let rolledBack = false

    transaction.on('rollback', aborted => {
        // emited with aborted === true

        rolledBack = true
    })

    new sql.Request(transaction)
    .query('insert into mytable (bitcolumn) values (2)', (err, result) => {
        // insert should fail because of invalid value

        if (err) {
            if (!rolledBack) {
                transaction.rollback(err => {
                    // ... error checks
                })
            }
        } else {
            transaction.commit(err => {
                // ... error checks
            })
        }
    })
})

Events

begin ([isolationLevel], [callback])

Begin a transaction.

Arguments

Example

const transaction = new sql.Transaction()
transaction.begin(err => {
    // ... error checks
})

Errors

commit ([callback])

Commit a transaction.

Arguments

Example

const transaction = new sql.Transaction()
transaction.begin(err => {
    // ... error checks

    transaction.commit(err => {
        // ... error checks
    })
})

Errors

rollback ([callback])

Rollback a transaction. If the queue isn’t empty, all queued requests will be Cancelled and the transaction will be marked as aborted.

Arguments

Example

const transaction = new sql.Transaction()
transaction.begin(err => {
    // ... error checks

    transaction.rollback(err => {
        // ... error checks
    })
})

Errors

Prepared Statement

IMPORTANT: always use PreparedStatement class to create prepared statements - it ensures that all your executions of prepared statement are executed on one connection. Once you call prepare, a single connection is acquired from the connection pool and all subsequent executions are executed exclusively on this connection. After you call unprepare, the connection is then released back to the connection pool.

const ps = new sql.PreparedStatement(/* [pool] */)

If you omit the connection argument, the global connection is used instead.

Example

const ps = new sql.PreparedStatement(/* [pool] */)
ps.input('param', sql.Int)
ps.prepare('select @param as value', err => {
    // ... error checks

    ps.execute({param: 12345}, (err, result) => {
        // ... error checks

        // release the connection after queries are executed
        ps.unprepare(err => {
            // ... error checks

        })
    })
})

IMPORTANT: Remember that each prepared statement means one reserved connection from the pool. Don’t forget to unprepare a prepared statement when you’ve finished your queries!

You can execute multiple queries against the same prepared statement but you must unprepare the statement when you have finished using it otherwise you will cause the connection pool to run out of available connections.

TIP: You can also create prepared statements in transactions (new sql.PreparedStatement(transaction)), but keep in mind you can’t execute other requests in the transaction until you call unprepare.

input (name, type)

Add an input parameter to the prepared statement.

Arguments

Example

ps.input('input_parameter', sql.Int)
ps.input('input_parameter', sql.VarChar(50))

Errors (synchronous)

output (name, type)

Add an output parameter to the prepared statement.

Arguments

Example

ps.output('output_parameter', sql.Int)
ps.output('output_parameter', sql.VarChar(50))

Errors (synchronous)

prepare (statement, [callback])

Prepare a statement.

Arguments

Example

const ps = new sql.PreparedStatement()
ps.prepare('select @param as value', err => {
    // ... error checks
})

Errors

execute (values, [callback])

Execute a prepared statement.

Arguments

Example

const ps = new sql.PreparedStatement()
ps.input('param', sql.Int)
ps.prepare('select @param as value', err => {
    // ... error checks

    ps.execute({param: 12345}, (err, result) => {
        // ... error checks

        console.log(result.recordset[0].value) // return 12345
        console.log(result.rowsAffected) // Returns number of affected rows in case of INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE statement.
        
        ps.unprepare(err => {
            // ... error checks
        })
    })
})

You can also stream executed request.

const ps = new sql.PreparedStatement()
ps.input('param', sql.Int)
ps.prepare('select @param as value', err => {
    // ... error checks

    ps.stream = true
    const request = ps.execute({param: 12345})

    request.on('recordset', columns => {
        // Emitted once for each recordset in a query
    })

    request.on('row', row => {
        // Emitted for each row in a recordset
    })

    request.on('error', err => {
        // May be emitted multiple times
    })

    request.on('done', result => {
        // Always emitted as the last one
        
        console.log(result.rowsAffected) // Returns number of affected rows in case of INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE statement.
        
        ps.unprepare(err => {
            // ... error checks
        })
    })
})

TIP: To learn more about how number of affected rows works, see section Affected Rows.

Errors

unprepare ([callback])

Unprepare a prepared statement.

Arguments

Example

const ps = new sql.PreparedStatement()
ps.input('param', sql.Int)
ps.prepare('select @param as value', err => {
    // ... error checks

    ps.unprepare(err => {
        // ... error checks

    })
})

Errors

CLI

If you want to add the MSSQL CLI tool to your path, you must install it globally with npm install -g mssql.

Setup

Create a .mssql.json configuration file (anywhere). Structure of the file is the same as the standard configuration object.

{
    "user": "...",
    "password": "...",
    "server": "localhost",
    "database": "..."
}

Example

echo "select * from mytable" | mssql /path/to/config

Results in:

[[{"username":"patriksimek","password":"tooeasy"}]]

You can also query for multiple recordsets.

echo "select * from mytable; select * from myothertable" | mssql

Results in:

[[{"username":"patriksimek","password":"tooeasy"}],[{"id":15,"name":"Product name"}]]

If you omit config path argument, mssql will try to load it from current working directory.

Overriding config settings

You can override some config settings via CLI options (--user, --password, --server, --database, --port).

echo "select * from mytable" | mssql /path/to/config --database anotherdatabase

Results in:

[[{"username":"onotheruser","password":"quiteeasy"}]]

Geography and Geometry

node-mssql has built-in deserializer for Geography and Geometry CLR data types.

Geography

Geography types can be constructed several different ways. Refer carefully to documentation to verify the coordinate ordering; the ST methods tend to order parameters as longitude (x) then latitude (y), while custom CLR methods tend to prefer to order them as latitude (y) then longitude (x).

The query:

select geography::STGeomFromText(N'POLYGON((1 1, 3 1, 3 1, 1 1))',4326)

results in:

{
  srid: 4326,
  version: 2,
  points: [
    Point { lat: 1, lng: 1, z: null, m: null },
    Point { lat: 1, lng: 3, z: null, m: null },
    Point { lat: 1, lng: 3, z: null, m: null },
    Point { lat: 1, lng: 1, z: null, m: null }
  ],
  figures: [ { attribute: 1, pointOffset: 0 } ],
  shapes: [ { parentOffset: -1, figureOffset: 0, type: 3 } ],
  segments: []
}

NOTE: You will also see x and y coordinates in parsed Geography points, they are not recommended for use. They have thus been omitted from this example. For compatibility, they remain flipped (x, the horizontal offset, is instead used for latitude, the vertical), and thus risk misleading you. Prefer instead to use the lat and lng properties.

Geometry

Geometry types can also be constructed in several ways. Unlike Geographies, they are consistent in always placing x before y. node-mssql decodes the result of this query:

select geometry::STGeomFromText(N'POLYGON((1 1, 3 1, 3 7, 1 1))',4326)

into the JavaScript object:

{
  srid: 4326,
  version: 1,
  points: [
    Point { x: 1, y: 1, z: null, m: null },
    Point { x: 1, y: 3, z: null, m: null },
    Point { x: 7, y: 3, z: null, m: null },
    Point { x: 1, y: 1, z: null, m: null }
  ],
  figures: [ { attribute: 2, pointOffset: 0 } ],
  shapes: [ { parentOffset: -1, figureOffset: 0, type: 3 } ],
  segments: []
}

Table-Valued Parameter (TVP)

Supported on SQL Server 2008 and later. You can pass a data table as a parameter to stored procedure. First, we have to create custom type in our database.

CREATE TYPE TestType AS TABLE ( a VARCHAR(50), b INT );

Next we will need a stored procedure.

CREATE PROCEDURE MyCustomStoredProcedure (@tvp TestType readonly) AS SELECT * FROM @tvp

Now let’s go back to our Node.js app.

const tvp = new sql.Table() // You can optionally specify table type name in the first argument.

// Columns must correspond with type we have created in database.
tvp.columns.add('a', sql.VarChar(50))
tvp.columns.add('b', sql.Int)

// Add rows
tvp.rows.add('hello tvp', 777) // Values are in same order as columns.

You can send table as a parameter to stored procedure.

const request = new sql.Request()
request.input('tvp', tvp)
request.execute('MyCustomStoredProcedure', (err, result) => {
    // ... error checks

    console.dir(result.recordsets[0][0]) // {a: 'hello tvp', b: 777}
})

TIP: You can also create Table variable from any recordset with recordset.toTable(). You can optionally specify table type name in the first argument.

You can clear the table rows for easier batching by using table.rows.clear()

const tvp = new sql.Table() // You can optionally specify table type name in the first argument.

// Columns must correspond with type we have created in database.
tvp.columns.add('a', sql.VarChar(50))
tvp.columns.add('b', sql.Int)

// Add rows
tvp.rows.add('hello tvp', 777) // Values are in same order as columns.
tvp.rows.clear()

Response Schema

An object returned from a sucessful basic query would look like the following.

{
	recordsets: [
		[
			{
				COL1: "some content",
				COL2: "some more content"
			}
		]
	],
	recordset: [
		{
			COL1: "some content",
			COL2: "some more content"
		}
	],
	output: {},
	rowsAffected: [1]
}

Affected Rows

If you’re performing INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE in a query, you can read number of affected rows. The rowsAffected variable is an array of numbers. Each number represents number of affected rows by a single statement.

Example using Promises

const request = new sql.Request()
request.query('update myAwesomeTable set awesomness = 100').then(result => {
    console.log(result.rowsAffected)
})

Example using callbacks

const request = new sql.Request()
request.query('update myAwesomeTable set awesomness = 100', (err, result) => {
    console.log(result.rowsAffected)
})

Example using streaming

In addition to the rowsAffected attribute on the done event, each statement will emit the number of affected rows as it is completed.

const request = new sql.Request()
request.stream = true
request.query('update myAwesomeTable set awesomness = 100')
request.on('rowsaffected', rowCount => {
    console.log(rowCount)
})
request.on('done', result => {
    console.log(result.rowsAffected)
})

JSON support

SQL Server 2016 introduced built-in JSON serialization. By default, JSON is returned as a plain text in a special column named JSON_F52E2B61-18A1-11d1-B105-00805F49916B.

Example

SELECT
    1 AS 'a.b.c',
    2 AS 'a.b.d',
    3 AS 'a.x',
    4 AS 'a.y'
FOR JSON PATH

Results in:

recordset = [ { 'JSON_F52E2B61-18A1-11d1-B105-00805F49916B': '{"a":{"b":{"c":1,"d":2},"x":3,"y":4}}' } ]

You can enable built-in JSON parser with config.parseJSON = true. Once you enable this, recordset will contain rows of parsed JS objects. Given the same example, result will look like this:

recordset = [ { a: { b: { c: 1, d: 2 }, x: 3, y: 4 } } ]

IMPORTANT: In order for this to work, there must be exactly one column named JSON_F52E2B61-18A1-11d1-B105-00805F49916B in the recordset.

More information about JSON support can be found in official documentation.

Handling Duplicate Column Names

If your queries contain output columns with identical names, the default behaviour of mssql will only return column metadata for the last column with that name. You will also not always be able to re-assemble the order of output columns requested.

Default behaviour:

const request = new sql.Request()
request
    .query("select 'asdf' as name, 'qwerty' as other_name, 'jkl' as name")
    .then(result => {
        console.log(result)
    });

Results in:

{
  recordsets: [
    [ { name: [ 'asdf', 'jkl' ], other_name: 'qwerty' } ]
  ],
  recordset: [ { name: [ 'asdf', 'jkl' ], other_name: 'qwerty' } ],
  output: {},
  rowsAffected: [ 1 ]
}

You can use the arrayRowMode configuration parameter to return the row values as arrays and add a separate array of column values. arrayRowMode can be set globally during the initial connection, or per-request.

const request = new sql.Request()
request.arrayRowMode = true
request
    .query("select 'asdf' as name, 'qwerty' as other_name, 'jkl' as name")
    .then(result => {
        console.log(result)
    });

Results in:

{
  recordsets: [ [ [ 'asdf', 'qwerty', 'jkl' ] ] ],
  recordset: [ [ 'asdf', 'qwerty', 'jkl' ] ],
  output: {},
  rowsAffected: [ 1 ],
  columns: [
    [
      {
        index: 0,
        name: 'name',
        length: 4,
        type: [sql.VarChar],
        scale: undefined,
        precision: undefined,
        nullable: false,
        caseSensitive: false,
        identity: false,
        readOnly: true
      },
      {
        index: 1,
        name: 'other_name',
        length: 6,
        type: [sql.VarChar],
        scale: undefined,
        precision: undefined,
        nullable: false,
        caseSensitive: false,
        identity: false,
        readOnly: true
      },
      {
        index: 2,
        name: 'name',
        length: 3,
        type: [sql.VarChar],
        scale: undefined,
        precision: undefined,
        nullable: false,
        caseSensitive: false,
        identity: false,
        readOnly: true
      }
    ]
  ]
}

Streaming Duplicate Column Names

When using arrayRowMode with stream enabled, the output from the recordset event (as described in Streaming) is returned as an array of column metadata, instead of as a keyed object. The order of the column metadata provided by the recordset event will match the order of row values when arrayRowMode is enabled.

Default behaviour (without arrayRowMode):

const request = new sql.Request()
request.stream = true
request.query("select 'asdf' as name, 'qwerty' as other_name, 'jkl' as name")
request.on('recordset', recordset => console.log(recordset))

Results in:

{
  name: {
    index: 2,
    name: 'name',
    length: 3,
    type: [sql.VarChar],
    scale: undefined,
    precision: undefined,
    nullable: false,
    caseSensitive: false,
    identity: false,
    readOnly: true
  },
  other_name: {
    index: 1,
    name: 'other_name',
    length: 6,
    type: [sql.VarChar],
    scale: undefined,
    precision: undefined,
    nullable: false,
    caseSensitive: false,
    identity: false,
    readOnly: true
  }
}

With arrayRowMode:

const request = new sql.Request()
request.stream = true
request.arrayRowMode = true
request.query("select 'asdf' as name, 'qwerty' as other_name, 'jkl' as name")

request.on('recordset', recordset => console.log(recordset))

Results in:

[
  {
    index: 0,
    name: 'name',
    length: 4,
    type: [sql.VarChar],
    scale: undefined,
    precision: undefined,
    nullable: false,
    caseSensitive: false,
    identity: false,
    readOnly: true
  },
  {
    index: 1,
    name: 'other_name',
    length: 6,
    type: [sql.VarChar],
    scale: undefined,
    precision: undefined,
    nullable: false,
    caseSensitive: false,
    identity: false,
    readOnly: true
  },
  {
    index: 2,
    name: 'name',
    length: 3,
    type: [sql.VarChar],
    scale: undefined,
    precision: undefined,
    nullable: false,
    caseSensitive: false,
    identity: false,
    readOnly: true
  }
]

Errors

There are 4 types of errors you can handle:

Those errors are initialized in node-mssql module and its original stack may be cropped. You can always access original error with err.originalError.

SQL Server may generate more than one error for one request so you can access preceding errors with err.precedingErrors.

Error Codes

Each known error has name, code and message properties.

Name Code Message
ConnectionError ELOGIN Login failed.
ConnectionError ETIMEOUT Connection timeout.
ConnectionError EDRIVER Unknown driver.
ConnectionError EALREADYCONNECTED Database is already connected!
ConnectionError EALREADYCONNECTING Already connecting to database!
ConnectionError ENOTOPEN Connection not yet open.
ConnectionError EINSTLOOKUP Instance lookup failed.
ConnectionError ESOCKET Socket error.
ConnectionError ECONNCLOSED Connection is closed.
TransactionError ENOTBEGUN Transaction has not begun.
TransactionError EALREADYBEGUN Transaction has already begun.
TransactionError EREQINPROG Can’t commit/rollback transaction. There is a request in progress.
TransactionError EABORT Transaction has been aborted.
RequestError EREQUEST Message from SQL Server. Error object contains additional details.
RequestError ECANCEL Cancelled.
RequestError ETIMEOUT Request timeout.
RequestError EARGS Invalid number of arguments.
RequestError EINJECT SQL injection warning.
RequestError ENOCONN No connection is specified for that request.
PreparedStatementError EARGS Invalid number of arguments.
PreparedStatementError EINJECT SQL injection warning.
PreparedStatementError EALREADYPREPARED Statement is already prepared.
PreparedStatementError ENOTPREPARED Statement is not prepared.

Detailed SQL Errors

SQL errors (RequestError with err.code equal to EREQUEST) contains additional details.

Informational messages

To receive informational messages generated by PRINT or RAISERROR commands use:

const request = new sql.Request()
request.on('info', info => {
    console.dir(info)
})
request.query('print \'Hello world.\';', (err, result) => {
    // ...
})

Structure of informational message:

Metadata

Recordset metadata are accessible through the recordset.columns property.

const request = new sql.Request()
request.query('select convert(decimal(18, 4), 1) as first, \'asdf\' as second', (err, result) => {
    console.dir(result.recordset.columns)

    console.log(result.recordset.columns.first.type === sql.Decimal) // true
    console.log(result.recordset.columns.second.type === sql.VarChar) // true
})

Columns structure for example above:

{
    first: {
        index: 0,
        name: 'first',
        length: 17,
        type: [sql.Decimal],
        scale: 4,
        precision: 18,
        nullable: true,
        caseSensitive: false
        identity: false
        readOnly: true
    },
    second: {
        index: 1,
        name: 'second',
        length: 4,
        type: [sql.VarChar],
        nullable: false,
        caseSensitive: false
        identity: false
        readOnly: true
    }
}

Data Types

You can define data types with length/precision/scale:

request.input("name", sql.VarChar, "abc")               // varchar(3)
request.input("name", sql.VarChar(50), "abc")           // varchar(50)
request.input("name", sql.VarChar(sql.MAX), "abc")      // varchar(MAX)
request.output("name", sql.VarChar)                     // varchar(8000)
request.output("name", sql.VarChar, "abc")              // varchar(3)

request.input("name", sql.Decimal, 155.33)              // decimal(18, 0)
request.input("name", sql.Decimal(10), 155.33)          // decimal(10, 0)
request.input("name", sql.Decimal(10, 2), 155.33)       // decimal(10, 2)

request.input("name", sql.DateTime2, new Date())        // datetime2(7)
request.input("name", sql.DateTime2(5), new Date())     // datetime2(5)

List of supported data types:

sql.Bit
sql.BigInt
sql.Decimal ([precision], [scale])
sql.Float
sql.Int
sql.Money
sql.Numeric ([precision], [scale])
sql.SmallInt
sql.SmallMoney
sql.Real
sql.TinyInt

sql.Char ([length])
sql.NChar ([length])
sql.Text
sql.NText
sql.VarChar ([length])
sql.NVarChar ([length])
sql.Xml

sql.Time ([scale])
sql.Date
sql.DateTime
sql.DateTime2 ([scale])
sql.DateTimeOffset ([scale])
sql.SmallDateTime

sql.UniqueIdentifier

sql.Variant

sql.Binary
sql.VarBinary ([length])
sql.Image

sql.UDT
sql.Geography
sql.Geometry

To setup MAX length for VarChar, NVarChar and VarBinary use sql.MAX length. Types sql.XML and sql.Variant are not supported as input parameters.

SQL injection

This module has built-in SQL injection protection. Always use parameters or tagged template literals to pass sanitized values to your queries.

const request = new sql.Request()
request.input('myval', sql.VarChar, '-- commented')
request.query('select @myval as myval', (err, result) => {
    console.dir(result)
})

Known issues

Tedious

8.x to 7.x changes

7.x to 8.x changes

6.x to 7.x changes

5.x to 6.x changes

4.x to 5.x changes

3.x to 4.x changes