Free SQL Server Health Check Tool: 29 Checks, One Command, About Five Minutes
A read-only diagnostic tool built for real production servers. No installation, no agents, no scripts to assemble. Run one command, get a full Excel workbook of findings, and decide what to do next. It is the same collector I use to start every paid SQL Server Health Check engagement, free to run yourself.
The fastest way to run a free SQL Server health check is a packaged diagnostic tool: download it, point it at your server, and run one command. This free tool executes 29 read-only checks covering configuration, backups, performance, indexing and error history, and produces an Excel workbook of findings in about five minutes.
Your SQL Server Is Probably Fine. Probably.
Most organisations running SQL Server have no full-time DBA. The server was set up years ago, it mostly works, and nobody looks at it until something breaks. That is the pattern behind almost every emergency call I take: the backups had been failing for weeks, the error log was full of warnings nobody read, and a query that ran fine at 10,000 rows fell over at 10 million.
The uncomfortable part is that every one of those failures was visible in advance. The evidence sits in SQL Server's own diagnostic views the whole time. What is usually missing is someone with the time and the tooling to go and look.
That is the gap this tool closes. It gathers the evidence for you, in one run, without changing anything on the server. Whether you then act on it yourself or bring me in is entirely your call.
How the Free Health Check Works
Sign up and download
Create a free member account and download the tool as a zip. No installation on the server, no agents, no admin change requests. It runs from any Windows machine that can reach your SQL Server.
Run one command
Open a command prompt and point the tool at your server name. It works with Windows sign-in, SQL logins and Azure SQL Database. A standard run takes about five minutes and every check is read-only.
Review or send
The tool packs everything into one zip containing a formatted Excel workbook. Work through the findings yourself, or send the zip to me and I will tell you what matters and what to fix first.
Get the tool
Free for signed-up members. Download it once, run it on as many of your own servers as you like.
Sign up and downloadWhat the Health Check Covers
The tool runs 29 checks combining purpose-built diagnostic queries with the industry-standard First Responder Kit (sp_Blitz and its companions), the open-source toolset trusted by SQL Server professionals worldwide. Together they cover the areas where production servers actually fail:
A standard run covers the essentials in around five minutes. If I ask you for the in-depth version, a single command-line switch adds the deeper index, query plan and deadlock analysis, which takes between five and thirty minutes depending on the size of your estate.
Safe to Run on Production. By Design.
Nobody sensible runs an unknown executable against a production database server, so here is exactly what this one does and does not do:
- Read-only, always. Every query reads from SQL Server's diagnostic views. Nothing is written to your databases.
- Nothing is installed. The First Responder Kit procedures run as session-scoped temporary procedures. When the tool disconnects, nothing remains on the server.
- Nothing leaves your machine. The tool has no network calls home. Results stay in a zip on your machine until you decide to email them.
- Failures do not stop the run. Old databases and tight permissions cause some checks to fail. Each failure is logged and the run continues.
- Every query is readable. The SQL behind every check ships as plain text files in the download. Your security team can read exactly what will run before it runs.
Do It Yourself, or Have It Done Properly
The tool gives you the evidence either way. The difference is who interprets it.
| Option | What you get | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-serve | The full Excel workbook of findings from all 29 checks, prioritised by the First Responder Kit's own severity ratings. | Teams with SQL Server experience who want a structured starting point. | Free |
| Expert review | Send me the results zip. I review the findings and come back with a written summary of the highest-priority issues and what I would fix first. | Teams without a DBA who want a professional read on what the data means. | Free |
| Full health check service | A consultant-led engagement: deep-dive analysis, a prioritised written report, a findings walkthrough, and scoped remediation. Full details on the SQL Server Health Check service page. | Organisations where SQL Server underpins critical operations. | Scoped and quoted up front |
Who This Is Built For
IT managers without a DBA. You own the infrastructure, SQL Server sits in the middle of it, and you need to know whether it is a risk. The health check gives you a documented answer without hiring anyone.
Accidental DBAs. You inherited the database server alongside everything else. The workbook hands you a prioritised list instead of a blank page, and the expert review is there when a finding is outside your comfort zone.
Organisations planning what comes next. If a SQL Server upgrade, an Azure migration or a move to Microsoft Fabric is on your roadmap, the health check is the evidence base. You cannot plan a migration from a server you have never profiled.
Anyone running out-of-support versions. SQL Server 2014 is out of extended support and SQL Server 2016 reaches the same point on 14 July 2026. If the health check shows you are on either, that finding alone justifies the five minutes.
Why This Tool Exists
I am Gethyn Ellis, a UK-based Microsoft Certified Trainer and consultant with twenty years working on the Microsoft data platform, from SQL Server 2000 through to Microsoft Fabric. This tool is the same collector that opens every paid SQL Server Health Check engagement I deliver. Rather than keep it behind that engagement, I have packaged it so any organisation can run the diagnostics themselves.
The commercial logic is straightforward and I would rather state it than pretend otherwise: some of the people who run this tool will find problems they want help fixing, and some of them will hire me. Most will not, and that is fine. Either way your server gets looked at, which it probably has not been for a while.
SQL Server Health Check FAQs
What does the free health check tool actually do?
It connects to your SQL Server, runs 29 read-only diagnostic checks covering configuration, backups, performance, indexing and error history, and packs the results into one zip containing a formatted Excel workbook. It identifies risks such as failed backups, memory pressure and expensive queries before they cause downtime.
Is the tool safe to run on a production server?
Yes. Every check is read-only, nothing is installed on the server, and the diagnostic procedures run as session-scoped temporary procedures that disappear when the tool disconnects. The SQL behind every check ships as readable text files, so your security team can inspect exactly what will run.
Do I need to install anything on my SQL Server?
No. The tool is a standalone executable that runs from any Windows machine able to reach the SQL Server over the network. You unzip the folder, run one command, and delete the folder afterwards if you wish. The server itself is never modified.
Which versions of SQL Server does it support?
SQL Server 2016 and later, including instances running on-premises or in virtual machines, plus Azure SQL Database. It works with Windows authentication and SQL Server logins. Older versions may partially work, with some checks reporting as failed rather than stopping the run.
What do I actually get at the end of a run?
One zip file containing a formatted Excel workbook with a worksheet per check, the raw results as JSON files, any captured query plans, and a run log. The workbook is designed to be read top to bottom, with the First Responder Kit findings pre-prioritised by severity.
What happens if I send you my results?
I review the workbook and reply with a written summary of the highest-priority findings and what I would address first. If anything needs fixing, remediation work is scoped and priced separately before anything starts. Sending results creates no obligation, and your data is treated as confidential.
How is this different from running sp_Blitz myself?
The First Responder Kit is excellent, and this tool runs it for you. The difference is packaging: sp_Blitz requires SQL Server Management Studio, T-SQL confidence and manual result handling. This tool wraps the same checks plus additional diagnostics into one command that a non-specialist can run, with everything exported to Excel automatically.
Why is it free?
Because it is the start of a relationship, not the product. The tool collects the evidence any good SQL Server engagement needs. Some organisations will use it and never speak to me, which is fine. Others will find issues they want expert help with, and that is the consulting work I do.
Find out what your SQL Server has been trying to tell you
Sign up, download the tool, and run your first health check today. If the results raise questions, send them over or book a call and we will go through them together.
Sign up and download the free tool Book a call insteadRelated: If the results surface issues you want handled properly, the SQL Server Health Check service is the done-for-you version of this page, or get in touch to talk through the findings.