Connecting to SQL Server with the Dapper framework is one of the simplest and fastest ways to work with databases in .NET. Dapper is a lightweight ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) created by Stack Overflow, designed for performance and minimal abstraction—ideal if you want control over your SQL while avoiding boilerplate code.

How to Connect to SQL Server Using Dapper

1. What You Need

Before getting started, make sure you have:

A .NET project (e.g., .NET 6 or later)

SQL Server installed (local or remote)

NuGet packages: Dapper, Microsoft.Data.SqlClient

You can install them via NuGet:

dotnet add package Dapper dotnet add package Microsoft.Data.SqlClient

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