Configure SQL Server settings with environment variables on Linux
Applies to: 
SQL Server - Linux
You can use several different environment variables to configure SQL Server 2017 on Linux. These variables are used in two scenarios:
You can use several different environment variables to configure SQL Server 2019 on Linux. These variables are used in two scenarios:
- To configure initial setup with the
mssql-conf setupcommand. - To configure a new SQL Server container in Docker.
Tip
If you need to configure SQL Server after these setup scenarios, see Configure SQL Server on Linux with the mssql-conf tool.
Environment variables
| Environment variable | Description |
|---|---|
| ACCEPT_EULA | Set the ACCEPT_EULA variable to any value to confirm your acceptance of the End-User Licensing Agreement. Required setting for the SQL Server image. |
| MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD | Configure the SA user password. The SA_PASSWORD environment variable is deprecated. Please use MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD instead. |
| MSSQL_PID | Set the SQL Server edition or product key. Possible values include: Evaluation Developer Express Web Standard Enterprise A product key If specifying a product key, it must be in the form of #####-#####-#####-#####-#####, where '#' is a number or a letter. |
| MSSQL_LCID | Sets the language ID to use for SQL Server. For example 1036 is French. |
| MSSQL_COLLATION | Sets the default collation for SQL Server. This overrides the default mapping of language ID (LCID) to collation. |
| MSSQL_MEMORY_LIMIT_MB | Sets the maximum amount of memory (in MB) that SQL Server can use. By default, it's 80% of the total physical memory. |
| MSSQL_TCP_PORT | Configure the TCP port that SQL Server listens on (default 1433). |
| MSSQL_IP_ADDRESS | Set the IP address. Currently, the IP address must be IPv4 style (0.0.0.0). |
| MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR | Set the Default backup directory location. |
| MSSQL_DATA_DIR | Change the directory where the new SQL Server database data files (.mdf) are created. |
| MSSQL_LOG_DIR | Change the directory where the new SQL Server database log (.ldf) files are created. |
| MSSQL_DUMP_DIR | Change the directory where SQL Server will deposit the memory dumps and other troubleshooting files by default. |
| MSSQL_ENABLE_HADR | Enable Availability Group. For example, '1' is enabled, and '0' is disabled |
| MSSQL_AGENT_ENABLED | Enable SQL Server Agent. For example, 'true' is enabled and 'false' is disabled. By default, agent is disabled. |
| MSSQL_MASTER_DATA_FILE | Sets the location of the master database data file. Must be named master.mdf until first run of SQL Server. |
| MSSQL_MASTER_LOG_FILE | Sets the location of the master database log file. Must be named mastlog.ldf until first run of SQL Server. |
| MSSQL_ERROR_LOG_FILE | Sets the location of the errorlog files. |
| Environment variable | Description |
|---|---|
| ACCEPT_EULA | Set the ACCEPT_EULA variable to any value to confirm your acceptance of the End-User Licensing Agreement. Required setting for the SQL Server image. |
| MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD | Configure the SA user password. The SA_PASSWORD environment variable is deprecated. Please use MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD instead. |
| MSSQL_PID | Set the SQL Server edition or product key. Possible values include: Evaluation Developer Express Web Standard Enterprise A product key If specifying a product key, it must be in the form of #####-#####-#####-#####-#####, where '#' is a number or a letter. |
| MSSQL_LCID | Sets the language ID to use for SQL Server. For example 1036 is French. |
| MSSQL_COLLATION | Sets the default collation for SQL Server. This overrides the default mapping of language ID (LCID) to collation. |
| MSSQL_MEMORY_LIMIT_MB | Sets the maximum amount of memory (in MB) that SQL Server can use. By default, it's 80% of the total physical memory. |
| MSSQL_TCP_PORT | Configure the TCP port that SQL Server listens on (default 1433). |
| MSSQL_IP_ADDRESS | Set the IP address. Currently, the IP address must be IPv4 style (0.0.0.0). |
| MSSQL_BACKUP_DIR | Set the Default backup directory location. |
| MSSQL_DATA_DIR | Change the directory where the new SQL Server database data files (.mdf) are created. |
| MSSQL_LOG_DIR | Change the directory where the new SQL Server database log (.ldf) files are created. |
| MSSQL_DUMP_DIR | Change the directory where SQL Server will deposit the memory dumps and other troubleshooting files by default. |
| MSSQL_ENABLE_HADR | Enable Availability Group. For example, '1' is enabled, and '0' is disabled |
| MSSQL_AGENT_ENABLED | Enable SQL Server Agent. For example, 'true' is enabled and 'false' is disabled. By default, agent is disabled. |
| MSSQL_MASTER_DATA_FILE | Sets the location of the master database data file. Must be named master.mdf until first run of SQL Server. |
| MSSQL_MASTER_LOG_FILE | Sets the location of the master database log file. Must be named mastlog.ldf until first run of SQL Server. |
| MSSQL_ERROR_LOG_FILE | Sets the location of the errorlog files. |
Use with initial setup
This example runs mssql-conf setup with configured environment variables. The following environment variables are specified:
- ACCEPT_EULA accepts the end user license agreement.
- MSSQL_PID specifies the freely licensed Developer Edition of SQL Server for non-production use.
- MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD sets a strong password.
- MSSQL_TCP_PORT sets the TCP port that SQL Server listens on to 1234.
sudo ACCEPT_EULA='Y' MSSQL_PID='Developer' MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD='<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' MSSQL_TCP_PORT=1234 /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setup
Use with Docker
This example docker command uses the following environment variables to create a new SQL Server container:
- ACCEPT_EULA accepts the end user license agreement.
- MSSQL_PID specifies the freely licensed Developer Edition of SQL Server for non-production use.
- MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD sets a strong password.
- MSSQL_TCP_PORT sets the TCP port that SQL Server listens on to 1234. This means that instead of mapping port 1433 (default) to a host port, the custom TCP port must be mapped with the
-p 1234:1234command in this example.
If you're running Docker on Linux, use the following syntax with single quotes:
docker run -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y -e MSSQL_PID='Developer' -e MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD='<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' -e MSSQL_TCP_PORT=1234 -p 1234:1234 -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest
If you're running Docker on Windows, use the following syntax with double quotes:
docker run -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y -e MSSQL_PID="Developer" -e MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD="<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" -e MSSQL_TCP_PORT=1234 -p 1234:1234 -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest
Note
The process for running production editions in containers is slightly different. For more information, see Run production container images.
If you're running Docker on Linux/macOS, use the following syntax with single quotes:
docker run -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y -e MSSQL_PID='Developer' -e MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD='<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' -e MSSQL_TCP_PORT=1234 -p 1234:1234 -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-GA-ubuntu-16.04
If you're running Docker on Windows, use the following syntax with double quotes:
docker run -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y -e MSSQL_PID="Developer" -e MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD="<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" -e MSSQL_TCP_PORT=1234 -p 1234:1234 -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-GA-ubuntu-16.04
Next steps
For other SQL Server settings not listed here, see Configure SQL Server on Linux with the mssql-conf tool.
For more information on how to install and run SQL Server on Linux, see Install SQL Server on Linux.
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