Fix ‘The application “SQLDeveloper.app” can’t be opened.’

If you just installed SQL Developer on a Mac, but you’re getting an error when trying to launch it, try the steps below to fix it.

The error reads “The application “SQLDeveloper.app” can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software“. It also mentions that “This software needs to be updated. Contact the developer for more information“.

Below are the steps I used to overcome this issue, and launch SQL Developer.

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How to Install SQL Server on a Mac with VirtualBox

Here I’ll show you how to install SQL Server on a Mac with VirtualBox running Windows (a free trial edition).

The result of this is that you’ll have both Windows and SQL Server running on your Mac. And because you’re using VirtualBox, switching between macOS and Windows is as easy as switching between any other application.

As mentioned, this method involves Windows. If that scares you, then you might be better off installing SQL Server on your Mac via a Docker container. That method doesn’t involve Windows in any shape or form.

But if you don’t mind using Windows (or if you need to), here are the main steps for installing SQL Server for Windows on your Mac using VirtualBox:

  1. Download and Install VirtualBox
  2. Create a New Virtual Machine (VM)
  3. Download the Windows ISO image
  4. Install Windows
  5. Download and Install SQL Server

Below are more detailed instructions for each of these steps.
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How to Restore a SQL Server Database on a Mac using SQL Operations Studio

UPDATE: SQL Operations Studio (SQLOPS) has since been renamed to Azure Data Studio. The steps in this article remain the same though. In any case, I’ve also rewritten these steps (and included the equivalent screenshots) specifically for Azure Data Studio . See How to Restore a SQL Server Database on a Mac using Azure Data Studio.

Restoring a database is a piece of cake with SQL Operations Studio. It’s a similar process to doing it with SQL Server Management Studio.  Simply click Restore and follow the prompts.

This restore process allows you to navigate through the computer’s file system to locate the .bak file. This .bak file contains a backup of the database you want to restore. So when SQL Server restores the database, it’s using the .bak file to do so.

However, if you’re running your SQL Server instance inside a Docker container (which of course, you would be if you’re running SQL Server on Mac or Linux), there’s something you need to be aware of if your backup file is located outside the Docker container.

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How to Install SQLOPS on a Mac

UPDATE: SQL Operations Studio (SQLOPS) has since been renamed to Azure Data Studio. The steps in this article remain the same though. In any case, I’ve also rewritten these steps (and included the equivalent screenshots) specifically for Azure Data Studio . See How to Install Azure Data Studio on a Mac.

SQL Operations Studio (also abbreviated to SQLOPS) is a free tool that you can use to manage SQL Server. It uses a graphical user interface (GUI) that helps you view the various databases and objects within a SQL Server instance. It can run on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and it’s also designed to be used with Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse.

Here I explain how to install SQLOPS onto a Mac, then how to use it to connect to SQL Server.

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How to Install SQL Server on a Mac

Here I’ll show you how to get SQL Server up and running on your Mac in less than half an hour. And the best part is, you’ll have SQL Server running locally without needing any virtualization software.

Prior to SQL Server 2017, if you wanted to run SQL Server on your Mac, you first had to create a virtual machine (using VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or Bootcamp), then install Windows onto that VM, then finally SQL Server. This is still a valid option depending on your requirements (here’s how to install SQL Server on a Mac with VirtualBox if you’d like to try that method).

Starting with SQL Server 2017, you can now install SQL Server directly on to a Linux machine. And because macOS is Unix based (and Linux is Unix based), you can run SQL Server for Linux on your Mac. The way to do this is to run SQL Server on Docker.

So let’s go ahead and install Docker. Then we’ll download and install SQL Server.

But first… if you’re using a Mac with the M1 chip, see How to Install SQL Server on an M1 Mac (ARM64).

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