Polyglot Notebooks Deprecation - Implications for Azure Data Studio Retirement

[ebeery11]

The official Azure Data Studio Retirement documentation lists the Polyglot notebooks extension as the recommended replacement for Azure Data Studio T-SQL + markdown notebooks.

Given today's announcement regarding deprecation of the Polyglot Notebooks extension, what is the official guidance from Microsoft regarding a replacement for the T-SQL + markdown notebook functionality that existed in Azure Data Studio?

[rwestMSFT]

There is no guidance at this time. We will remove that suggestion from the article in the meantime.

[DawMatt]

We will remove that suggestion from the article in the meantime.

@rwestMSFT, Is that a joke? If so I think it is in poor taste.

The team should rethink deprecating this extension. Azure Data Studio's deprecation has been in progress for something like 12 months. 1 month before that is meant to be completed, you announce one of its replacements is being deprecated with ~6 weeks warning. That is a pretty poor behaviour.

Removing that documentation from the Azure Data Studio page - and giving no transition path at all for those users (like myself) who depend on those Azure Data Studio features - seems a pretty user-hostile approach. We've already followed Microsoft's transition guidance once and ended up in this situation. Should we now look elsewhere for this functionality?

[rwestMSFT]

@DawMatt

I am a technical writer on the Data Docs team, which is part of Microsoft Learn. As part of my portfolio, I am the content lead for SQL tools, including SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), Azure Data Studio (ADS), and others.

Given where I sit in the organization, I am not involved with the developer tools product group, nor do I have any insight into its planning.

Removing that documentation from the Azure Data Studio page [...] seems a pretty user-hostile approach.

Notwithstanding your opinion, I am legally obliged to remove that recommendation, because our documentation cannot make future promises, nor intentionally mislead customers. If a replacement should present itself at any point in the future, then the article will be updated.

[...] and giving no transition path at all for those users (like myself) who depend on those Azure Data Studio features [...]

I know you don't know who I am, so you'll have to take my word that I'm just as big a fan of Azure Data Studio as you are. My personal feelings have to be set aside, though.

Here's what I can tell you:

1. Azure Data Studio is being retired on February 28, 2026. As part of the extensive content updates I am undertaking to retire Azure Data Studio, I personally wrote the sentence that recommended Polyglot Notebooks as a replacement for ADS Notebooks. You can see in this commit from July 11, 2025, where I added the suggestion.

2. Had I known that the Polyglot Notebooks extension for Visual Studio Code was going to be deprecated today, that edit would never have been made.

3. As a result of the deprecation announcement for Polyglot Notebooks, I am legally bound to remove that recommendation from the Azure Data Studio article, because it would mislead customers to keep it in.

4. Because of the short notice period, there is currently no information available that is an acceptable (or legally permissible) to put in its place.

Which brings me to:

Should we now look elsewhere for this functionality?

I can't answer that until we have finalized the content plan for ADS retirement. I am in constant discussions with the SQL product group, and all I can say is "stay tuned".

Therefore, while I don't expect you to furiously press the refresh button in your browser while February 28th rolls around, I can tell you that the best place for Azure Data Studio retirement information is the What's happening with Azure Data Studio article.

[cjohnsto-nz]

Nothing against you @rwestMSFT, and appreciate everything you're doing.

This is just another dark day for Microsoft customers, and the decision makers are nowhere to be seen taking accountability for the impact of their decisions.

[ebeery11]

Thank you for your response, @rwestMSFT. I appreciate your professionalism and candor.

[DawMatt]

@rwestMSFT , thanks for your reply, and appreciate you are in a tough position here.

I'm underwhelmed by the handling of the retirement of these two products. But that is not due to the quality of the documentation..

[PrashantUnity]

What why ? No wonder why everyone try to avoid microsoft

[rwestMSFT]

I encourage all of you to refresh your browser tabs later this week.

[sascharo]

The deprecation is really sad.

[cjohnsto-nz]

I encourage all of you to refresh your browser tabs later this week.

Don't do this to me rwest 😭🥺

[mika76]

Why was it deprecated?

[ebeery11]

@cjohnsto-nz are you following this?? 😬

microsoft/vscode-mssql#21324

[cjohnsto-nz]

@ebeery11 I am now! Thanks for the ping :)