# Introducing Apache Arrow Support in mssql-python

DevFeed: [Introducing Apache Arrow Support in mssql-python](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/introducing-apache-arrow-support-in-mssql-python-20347.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://devblogs.microsoft.com/python/introducing-apache-arrow-support-in-mssql-python/>)

Author: Saumya Garg

Published: 2026-05-04T04:33:00Z

Content type: release

Language: en

Sources: [Microsoft Python Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/microsoft-python-engineering.md>)

Topics: [sql-server](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/sql-server.md>), [data-processing](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data-processing.md>), [interoperability](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/interoperability.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data.md>), [pandas](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/pandas.md>)

Tags: [apache-arrow](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/apache-arrow.md>), [arrow](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/arrow.md>), [azure](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/azure.md>), [azure-sql](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/azure-sql.md>), [client-driver](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/client-driver.md>), [data-processing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-processing.md>), [interoperability](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/interoperability.md>), [pandas](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pandas.md>), [python](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python.md>), [python-driver-for-azure-sql](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python-driver-for-azure-sql.md>), [python-driver-for-sql-server](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python-driver-for-sql-server.md>), [sql-server](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sql-server.md>), [sql-server-2025](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sql-server-2025.md>), [zero-copy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/zero-copy.md>)

## AI overview

Microsoft introduces Apache Arrow support in mssql-python, enabling SQL Server data to be fetched directly into Arrow structures for Polars, Pandas, DuckDB, and other Arrow-native libraries. The approach is intended to reduce Python object creation and memory overhead during data processing.

## Source excerpt

Reviewed by Sumit Sarabhai Fetching a million rows from SQL Server into a Polars DataFrame used to mean a million Python objects, a million GC allocations, and then throwing it all away to build a DataFrame. Not anymore. mssql-python now supports fetching SQL Server data directly as Apache Arrow structures - a faster and more [...] The post Introducing Apache Arrow Support in mssql-python appeared first on Microsoft for Python Developers Blog.