First Aid - Free Scripts, Downloads, Videos

Our free First Responder Kit (zip) is packed with scripts, worksheets, and checklists like:

sp_Blitz, sp_BlitzIndex, sp_BlitzCache – free health check scripts
White papers – on Availability Groups, Google Compute Engine, disaster recovery in the cloud, and more
Worksheets and e-books – like our SQL Server Setup Checklist and the HA/DR Worksheet

It’s totally free because we’ve been there too. We’re database administrators and developers who know how hard it is to keep SQL Server fast and reliable, and we want to make your job easier. Later, if you need consulting for tough pains that have you stumped, we hope you’ll remember us and stop by.

Download the First Responder Kit (zip)

Get Emails When We Update It

Instructions

Also known as the fine manual that you probably won’t read at first. You’ll regret that later. It’s okay. We’re the same way.

Health Check: sp_Blitz

Is my SQL Server healthy, or sick?

Speed Check: sp_BlitzFirst

Why is my SQL Server slow right now?

Query Check: sp_BlitzCache

Which queries have been using the most resources?

Index Check: sp_BlitzIndex

Are my indexes designed for speed?

Vital Stats: Power BI

Graph server and query performance over time.

Cloud Restores: sp_AllNightLog

How can I use the cloud for disaster recovery?

Query Trending: sp_BlitzQueryStore

How has my query plan changed over time?

Who's Doing What: sp_BlitzWho

Who’s running what queries right now?

Recent First Responder Kit Changes

First Responder Kit Release: Fully Hand Automated

August 31, 2017

Erik Darling

Did you know there are more issues closed in this FRK than there are planets in this solar system? Special thanks to Pluto for making that statement possible, and all the other planets that didn’t form. Also thanks to @mches for making the FIRST EVER contribution to sp_foreachdb, and @rabryst for hooking us up with some Linux Love in…

First Responder Kit Release: Yukon Ho!

August 1, 2017

Erik Darling

We’re going to Alaska this month, so try not to find any bugs, okay? To celebrate, I’m channeling childhood nostalgia, and quoting a verse from one of my many Taco-Bell-dripping-stained Calvin and Hobbes tomes. We’ll never have to clean a plate, Of veggie goops and goos Messily we’ll masticate, Using any fork we choose! When…

sp_BlitzCache: Eventual Compatibility With Azure

July 18, 2017

Erik Darling

azure, dba, development, performance tuning, sp_BlitzCache

Better than nothing Yesterday it was announced that global temp tables were available in public preview for Azure. That means that unmodified versions of sp_BlitzCache (which uses a global temp table to hold a whole bunch of information) will be compatible up there. This is a nice addition for Azure, and an even nicer addition…

Introducing sp_AllNightLog: Log Shipping at Scale, Open Source

June 29, 2017

Brent Ozar

faux paas

In our Faux PaaS project, we need a backup plan – or rather, a restore plan. On each SQL Server instance, clients can create as many databases as they want, anytime they want, with no human intervention. We need those databases covered by disaster recovery as quickly as practical. SQL Server’s newer disaster recovery options – Always On Availability Groups and…

First Responder Kit Release: Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Wonderful

June 28, 2017

Erik Darling

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN WHO DO WE APPRECIATE? No one. Appreciate doesn’t rhyme with seven. Special thanks to @JohnKNess, @jsetliffe, @rabryst, @gdoddsy and @SOlsonFAC for various levels of contribution. I’ve made a $10,000 donation in each of your names to the Erik Darling Home For Little Wanderers. Very thoughtful of me. You…

Introducing sp_BlitzQueryStore

June 6, 2017

Erik Darling

Oh, so you’re the one While SQL Server 2016 adoption is still pretty low, and 2017 still quite isn’t out yet, that’s no reason to not invest a few days of dev time into a stored procedure that is only usable by the smallest portion of SQL Server users. Right? Look, someone around here has…

First Responder Kit Release: Now With 50% MORE Double Checking

June 3, 2017

Erik Darling

So many things happen in mid-Summer. Dreams. Death. Pit stains. And FRK updates! Special thanks to @digitalohm for once again taking the axe to sp_DatabaseRestore. You are the only person on our email list who isn’t getting a Box O’ Tripe® You can download the updated FirstResponderKit.zip here. sp_Blitz Improvements #872 @MosesOfJ pointed out that,…

Announcing sp_BlitzBackups: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.

May 30, 2017

Brent Ozar

If one of your SQL Servers went down at some point over the last week: What’s the most data you could have lost? What’s the longest you would have been down for? To find out, Erik and I (mostly Erik) wrote sp_BlitzBackups (sure, blame me for everything. –ED). Download the latest First Responder Kit including the…

First Responder Kit Re-Release: The Hubris Of Titles

May 2, 2017

Erik Darling

The Gods of the Copy Book Headings Frowned Upon Me So yesterday, I pushed out a new FRK. You could say I FRKed up, and you’d be right. Not so much See, before I push stuff to master, I do a round of testing in our AWS lab to find version-specific bugs and make sure…

First Responder Kit Release: Ça plane pour moi

May 1, 2017

Erik Darling

Ah, May. Spring has sprung, and young people’s minds turn towards seasonal allergies. Special thanks to @digitalohm for the Differential Restore code and general sp_DatabaseRestore spiffiness. May you live to an age that can only be described in Unix. You can download the updated FirstResponderKit.zip here. sp_Blitz Improvements #857 Do you have any idea how much…