How do I copy SQL Azure database to my local development server?

Question

Does anyone know how I can copy a SQL Azure database to my development machine? I\'d like to stop paying to have a development database in the cloud, but it\'s the best way

Answer 1

In SQL Server Management Studio

Right click on the database you want to import, click Tasks > Export data-tier application, and export your database to a local .dacpac file.

In your local target SQL server instance, you can right click Databases > Import data-tier application, and once it's local, you can do things like backup and restore the database.