When I try to establish a connection to SQL Server in Navicat (App Store Version), I get an error message saying "SQL Server ODBC Driver is required." What should I do?

Apply OS: macOS

Apply Product: Navicat Data Modeler (App Store Version)

The Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server is required to establish direct connections to Microsoft SQL Server instances.

Why am I seeing this error?

On macOS, security-hardened and Mac App Store applications run inside a secure Sandbox enforced by Apple.

When you install the Microsoft ODBC Driver via standard package managers like Homebrew, the driver binary (libmsodbcsql.18.dylib) and its resources are installed inside folders (such as /opt/homebrew on Apple Silicon or /usr/local on Intel). Because of strict sandboxing policies, App Store applications are strictly forbidden from reading these user-space Homebrew directories.

To resolve this, the SQL Server ODBC Driver must be placed in a system-wide, sandbox-accessible folder (/Library/ODBC/), and registered properly in the system configuration.

Step 1: Install the Microsoft ODBC Driver

First, ensure you have the official Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver installed on your Mac.

1. Open your Terminal application.
2. If you do not have Homebrew installed, install it by following the instructions at brew.sh.

3. Install the Microsoft ODBC Driver and the standard unixODBC tools by running:

   # Add Microsoft's tap
   brew tap microsoft/mssql-release [https://github.com/Microsoft/homebrew-mssql-release](https://github.com/Microsoft/homebrew-mssql-release)
   # Update brew formulas
   brew update
   # Install the driver (Accept the EULA when prompted)
   ACCEPT_EULA=Y brew install msodbcsql18 mssql-tools18

Step 2: Configure the Sandbox-Accessible Driver

If you continue to get the error inside the application after installing via Homebrew, run our configuration script. This script copies the driver and its relative localization resources to a secure, sandboxed-accessible system path.

1. Download the Configuration Script

Download the Microsoft ODBC configure script from the link below: https://dn.navicat.com/drivers/configure_mac_mssql_odbc.sh

2. Make the Script Executable

1. Open your Terminal application.
2. Navigate to the folder where you saved the script (e.g., your Downloads folder): cd ~/Downloads

3. Mark the script as executable: 

   chmod +x configure_mac_mssql_odbc.sh

3. Run the Script

Execute the script using sudo to grant permission to write to your system's /Library/ODBC/ directory:

sudo ./configure_mac_mssql_odbc.sh

Step 3: Verify the Connection

Restart Navicat and test the connection.