Get the installer and install#

SQL Server LocalDB setup file is included in SQL Server Express. SQL Server 2019 can be downloaded from https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=866658, and SQL Server 2017 can be downloaded from: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=853017.

After unzip the downloaded package, please run root\x64\Setup\x64\SQLLOCALDB.MSI to install.

When it is done, code can connect to it with a connection string, or SQL Server Management Studio can be used to manage the databases by connecting to (LocalDB)\MSSQLLocalDB:

Resolve the engine connectivity/versioning issue#

After SQL Server LocalDB 2017/2019 is installed, connecting with SSNS may fail with an error:

In command line, trying to manage it with the sqllocaldb command may also fail with an error:

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D:\ λ sqllocaldb info MSSQLLocalDB
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Printing of LocalDB instance "MSSQLLocalDB" information failed because of the following error: Unexpected error occurred inside a LocalDB instance API method call. See the Windows Application event log for error details.
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This is caused by engine versioning issue, which can be viewed in Windows Event Viewer:
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LocalDB parent instance version is invalid: MSSQL13E.LOCALDB

Apparently “MSSQL13E” is incorrect. SQL Server 2016 is v13, SQL Server 2017 should be v14, and SQL Server 2019 should be v15. There are 2 ways to fix this:

The default instance can be deleted and recreated:

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sqllocaldb stop mssqllocaldb
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sqllocaldb delete mssqllocaldb
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sqllocaldb create MSSQLLocalDB

Or the version info can be manually updated in Registry: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\UserInstances\{2DD3D445-34C1-4251-B67D-7DFEED432A87}.

Just change ParentInstance to MSSQL14E.LOCALDB or MSSQL15E.LOCALDB.

Then SQL Server LocalDB can be managed by command line or SSMS:

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D:\ λ sqllocaldb info MSSQLLocalDB
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Name: MSSQLLocalDB
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Version: 15.0.2000.5
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Shared name:
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Owner: PC\dixin
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Auto-create: Yes
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State: Stopped
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Last start time: 4/28/2020 5:31:14 PM
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Instance pipe name: