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SQL Server (stack)

Databases

Official SQL Server on Linux container (SQL Server 2025), Express edition by default - the edition Microsoft licenses for production at no cost. Single node + 10 GB volume, internal-only (databases never get a public domain).

Configuration

Type
Compose
Platform
linux
Image
mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest
Ports
1433:1433
Volumes
/var/opt/mssql : mssqldata
Env vars
ACCEPT_EULA=${ACCEPT_EULA}MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=${MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD}MSSQL_PID=${MSSQL_PID:-Express}
Restart
unless-stopped
Source
Repo

Template by deployable-sh·Source

Report issue

Standalone Install

Select an install method, to see config/commands for deploying SQL Server (stack)

Installation method

Install on Portainer

Import all app templates into your Portainer instance, for easy 1-click deploys

  1. Ensure both Docker and Portainer are installed, and up-to-date
  2. Log into your Portainer web UI
  3. Under Settings → App Templates, paste the below URL
  4. Head to Home → App Templates, and the list of apps will show up
  5. Select SQL Server (stack), fill in any config options, and hit Deploy

Template Import URL

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates/main/templates.json
Show Me demo
Original stackfile

The compose file this template deploys, straight from its repo:

name: mssql

services:
  mssql:
    image: mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      ACCEPT_EULA: ${ACCEPT_EULA}
      MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD: ${MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD}
      MSSQL_PID: ${MSSQL_PID:-Express}
    ports:
      - "1433:1433"
    volumes:
      - mssqldata:/var/opt/mssql

volumes:
  mssqldata:

Or deploy it directly from the source:

git clone https://github.com/deployable-sh/stacks
cd stacks
docker compose -f mssql/compose.yaml up -d

More install options in our documentation.

Serve SQL Server (stack) on your own domain behind Caddy, Nginx or Traefik. Fill in your domain and copy the result. It's a starting point, some apps need their own base URL or extra headers set too.

Proxying sql-server-stack.example.com to http://mssql:1433

Add this to your Caddyfile

sql-server-stack.example.com {
	reverse_proxy http://mssql:1433
}

Check the logs first

Nine times out of ten the logs tell you exactly what went wrong.

  • In Portainer, go to Containers, click the container, then Logs. Or run docker logs <container>
  • Exit codes help too: 137 means killed, usually out of memory. 126 or 127 means the command inside the image is broken.

Port already in use

If deployment fails with "Bind for 0.0.0.0:1433 failed: port is already allocated", something else on your server is using that port.

  • Find what's using it: sudo ss -tlnp | grep :1433
  • Stop the other service, or pick a different host port. In 1433:1433 only the left number is yours to change, the right one belongs to the app.

Running but the page won't load

The container is up but nothing appears in your browser.

  • Use your server's real IP: http://your-server-ip:1433. The 0.0.0.0 link Portainer shows isn't a real address.
  • Give it a minute after first deploy, mssql can take a while to initialise.
  • Make sure your firewall allows the port, e.g. sudo ufw allow 1433

Image won't pull

Test the pull directly on the host: docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest

  • "manifest unknown" means the tag no longer exists.
  • "toomanyrequests" is the Docker Hub rate limit. Log in with docker login to raise it.
  • "no space left on device" means a full disk. Reclaim space with docker system prune

"exec format error"

This means the image was built for a different CPU architecture than your server.

  • Check yours with uname -m: x86_64 is amd64, aarch64 is arm64. Raspberry Pi and other ARM boards are the usual culprits.

Container keeps restarting

The unless-stopped restart policy relaunches the app after every crash, so the real error can scroll past.

  • Check the logs right after a restart, the last few lines before it died are the useful ones.
  • Get the exit code with docker inspect <container> --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}'
  • Still stuck? Redeploy once with the restart policy set to no so the failure stays visible.

Stack won't deploy

Compose stacks fail fast on small mistakes, and Portainer shows the reason just above the editor.

  • YAML only accepts spaces for indentation, a single tab breaks the whole file.

Raise an issue

Found something which isn't working as it should? Here's how to report it.

A Compose stack

SQL Server (stack) is a Compose stack, a set of containers defined in one file and brought up together by Portainer, then started and stopped as a single app.

The app image

An image is the app packed up ready to go, everything SQL Server (stack) needs bundled into one download. This template pulls mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest, which Docker fetches once and then starts your own copy from.

Where the image comes from

Docker pulls its images from registries, public libraries of ready-built apps. SQL Server (stack)'s comes from Microsoft's container registry, published by mssql.

Version tags

The bit after the colon in the image name is the version tag. This one pins 2025-latest, so every redeploy gives you that exact build until you bump it yourself.

Ports

A port is the door the app answers on. A mapping like 1433:1433 means it's reachable on port 1433 of your server, where the left number is yours to change and the right one belongs to the app. It opens:

  • 1433:1433

Volumes

A volume is where SQL Server (stack) keeps its files so they survive an update or a restart. Without one, anything it saves would sit inside the container and vanish the moment it's recreated. This template mounts:

  • /var/opt/mssql kept in the mssqldata volume Docker manages

Environment variables

Environment variables are the settings you hand over when you deploy, things like a password or a timezone. SQL Server (stack) takes 3 of them, all with defaults you can leave alone or tweak:

  • ACCEPT_EULA, pulled from your own environment. Setting Y accepts the Microsoft SQL Server EULA.
  • MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD, pulled from your own environment. Sa password: min 8 chars, 3 of 4 classes (upper/lower/digit/symbol).
  • MSSQL_PID, defaults to Express. Express has a free production license (50 GB/db, 1.4 GB buffer pool, 4 cores).

Restart policy

The restart policy here is unless-stopped, so Docker restarts SQL Server (stack) after a crash or reboot, but leaves it off when you stop it on purpose. You can change this on the deploy screen. The choices are no (never restart), on-failure (only after a crash), unless-stopped (restart unless you stop it), and always (bring it back no matter what).

Networking

Nothing custom is set, so SQL Server (stack) sits on Docker's default bridge network: its own private space that reaches the outside world only through the ports it publishes.

Container name

Once it's deployed, Portainer names the container mssql. That's what you'll spot in the containers list and use in commands like docker logs mssql.

Platform

The platform is linux, the kind of system the container is built to run on. Docker and Portainer handle this on a normal Linux server.

Portainer app templates

Zooming out, this whole page comes from a Portainer app template: a short recipe telling Portainer how to set SQL Server (stack) up. Add the template list to Portainer once, then deploying SQL Server (stack) is a click rather than a wall of config.