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Getting started ​

Requirements ​

Internals Viewer will run on Windows 10/11 (version 17763.0 or higher).

SQL Server 2019-2025 is required when connecting to a SQL Server database or file.

sysadmin permissions are required for a SQL Server connection, see Permissions.

Installation ​

The easiest way to install Internals Viewer is to get it from the Microsoft Store.

To install manually see Installation.

Connecting ​

When you open the application the Start page will bring up the different options to connect - a live SQL Server instance, a detached/offline data file, or a database backup.

Start page

The Start page also lists recent connections - click one to reconnect. Passwords are not stored, so a SQL Server Authentication connection will prompt for the password again.

SQL Server ​

To connect to a SQL Server instance:

  • Click on Connect to SQL Server
  • Set Instance Name to the name of the SQL Server
  • Choose the Authentication type - Windows Authentication, SQL Server Authentication, or Active Directory Password
  • For Database either type in the name of the database or expand the drop down list to see a list of databases on the server
  • Click Connect

Connect to SQL Server

Data file ​

A database can also be opened directly from its MDF data file, without a SQL Server instance. The file must be detached from SQL Server or the database set offline - an attached, online file is locked exclusively by the SQL Server process.

Click Data file, browse to the MDF file, and click Open. No permissions are needed beyond read access to the file, and everything is read-only - see How the database is loaded for how this works.

Connect to a database file

Note the Query view needs a live connection to trace queries, so it is only available for SQL Server connections.

Backup file ​

Opening a database directly from a full backup is a work in progress and not yet available.