No, SQL Server will not run on macOS (it can run on Apple hardware, if you use Boot Camp and boot natively to Windows). Otherwise you will need to install virtualization software of some sort, where you install Windows in a VM, and install SQL Server there - I use, but there is also. (I haven't tested the latter recently, but last time I tried, it was a disaster - gets great reviews as a VM host on Windows, but not very stable on the Mac.) You can also, of course, RDP to other machines, use to connect to another SQL Server running on Windows elsewhere, or install a different platform on the Mac.
SQLPro for MSSQL is a lightweight Microsoft SQL Server database client.. And in my opinion, it's very close to a lite* SQL Management Studio replacement. SQLPro Studio is the Premier application for editing and viewing mysql, postgres, oracle and microsoft sql server databases on mac os x. APPLIES TO: SQL Server (Linux only) Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Data Warehouse Parallel Data Warehouse. This article shows how to use the mssql extension for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) to develop SQL Server databases. Visual Studio Code is a graphical code editor for Linux, macOS, and Windows that supports extensions.
There is also and I'm sure others I don't know about. With SQL Server 2017, you can run, and can even host your own docker container without using Windows at all (I am doing this on my Macs right now - )., and now run natively on the Mac, so that can work for you too in some scenarios. It all depends on whether you expect SQL Server to actually run on macOS, or if you just want to do most of your work there. EDIT Recently SQL Server was released for linux. This makes using Docker a viable solution to 'running sql server on mac'.
You can find some details on how to do this here:. Old answer If you have a mac and do not want to run a virtual machine, there are a few options. You can grab a and setup an SQL Server instance. Azure also provides a web based query interface. You could also setup a free account and create an SQL Server instance. If you need an MSSQL database client which runs on OS X (similar to SSMS) there are a few available. (also available on the ) Note: I am the developer of this app.
You can find a review of multiple clients.