SQL Change Automation Core was an in-the-box entitlement exclusive to Visual Studio 2017 Enterprise Edition users, containing a sub-set of the functionality provided in the full edition of SQL Change Automation.


SQL Change Automation Core is only available as part of Visual Studio 2017 Enterprise edition.  

There will be no Core Edition of SQL Change Automation from version 4.0 onward. In order to ensure you do not accidentally upgrade to a version that doesn’t support Core edition, it is recommended to turn off auto-updates for the SQL Change Automation extension. 


Components

ComponentCore EditionStandard Edition
Visual Studio 2015 extension✖✔
Visual Studio 2017 extension✔✔
PowerShell Build components*✖✔
PowerShell Release components*✖✔

Supported Technologies

TechnologyCore EditionStandard Edition
SQL Server 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 R2, 2008✔✔
Azure SQL Database✔✔

Visual Studio 2017 Extension features

Visual Studio extension featureCore EditionStandard Edition
Write a migration script for a database change✔✔
Auto-generate migration scripts – powered by SQL Compare✔✔
Customize auto-generated migration scripts✔✔
Verify migration scripts locally✔✔
Deploy database migrations during a Visual Studio build✔✔
Organize migrations for easier branching/merging and navigation✔✔
Pre/post deployment scripts✔✔
Additional scripts✖✔
Work quickly and efficiently with code-based objects e.g. stored procedures✖✔
Offline Schema Model for object-level history✖✔
Include static data alongside schema changes✖✔
Customize schema and data comparison options✖✔
Customize schema comparison filters✖✔
Generate a diff report of database changes✖✔
Generate a schema drift report✖✔
Generate a schema drift correction script✖✔
Easy deployment of CLR database objects✖✔

* Despite the inability to use the build and release components, it is still possible to use Core edition to automate deployments. See Automated deployment with SQL Change Automation Core.

Upgrading

If you upgrade from the Core edition, you'll get access to all the above features.

It is possible to do this within the Visual Studio extension.