[Bug]: Password not passed correctly when creating a container

[dlevy-msft-sql]

Description

Expected the extension to create a container with the sa password set to P@$$WORD2.
Container was created with sa password set to P@7698WORD2.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a container using the extension, use the password above
2. Observe the login failure
3. Use docker inspect <containerName> | grep -v grep | grep -i password to look at what password was actually used

Affected Area

• Connection dialog (SQL Server | Azure browse/Fabric browse)
• Query results panel
• Query editor
• Object Explorer
• Table Designer
• Schema Compare
• Schema Designer
• Local SQL Server Container provisioning
• SQL database in Fabric provisioning
• GitHub Copilot integration
• Query Plan Visualizer
• Other (please describe below)

If you selected "Other", please describe the affected area

No response

Environment Information

VS Code Version: 1.105
Extension Version: 1.36.0
Operating system: Linux/codespaces

Confirmation

• I have searched existing issues and couldn't find a match
• I want to work on this issue

[croblesm]

Hi @dlevy-msft-sql,

I was able to reproduce this issue. This is not a problem with the extension per se, but a synchronization issue. As you can see, I have two "Local Dev" connections, but the VS Live profile is failing:

After reporting that error message, I see the prompt to enter the password:

This creates the false impression that the container was created with the wrong password. However, that is not the case. The container in question does not exist on my local machine:

[croblesm] ~ > docker ps -a --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}"

NAMES         STATUS
sql_copilot   Exited (137) 10 minutes ago
fabcon-dab    Exited (255) 2 months ago
sqldb_seed    Exited (255) 7 days ago

This is the connection metadata. Notice that the container given for the VS Live profile is sql_server_container, but again, this container does not exist on my local environment.

        {
            "version": "2025-RC1-ubuntu-24.04",
            "user": "SA",
            "password": "",
            "savePassword": true,
            "profileName": "VS Live",
            "containerName": "sql_server_container",
            "database": "vslive2025"
        },

This container exists only in one of my Codespaces, but I see the profile in my local VS Code because I have the Settings Sync option enabled. This means that all my configurations remain the same across environments.

Here’s what happens when I perform the exact same action from my Codespace:

The container is getting started

The container starts as expected but the extension can't connect automatically

This is what happens when I try to connect again:

After opening in local VS Code and updating the password:

I would say that this issue is expected when using multiple credential stores. In my case macOS (local) and Linux (Codespace). We might not be able to solve that problem unless VS Code implements a cloud synchronization for the credentials store.

cc @aasimkhan30

[dlevy-msft-sql]

The part I can't understand is how the password I entered got changed to a password that I've never used before.

[aasimkhan30]

I think it has to do with linux shell expanding your $$ into the process ID. That explains why a random number appears in your password.

[Benjin]

@aasimkhan30 I think it has to do with linux shell expanding your $$ into the process ID. That explains why a random number appears in your password.

Wild; never would've guessed that. Sounds like the bug is that the arguments need to be escaped or passed differently?