Get-DbaDbTable ignores -SqlCredential parameter

[3891sinneD]

Verified issue does not already exist?

I have searched and found no existing issue

What error did you receive?

When running a script as SYSTEM (through our deployment tool agent), Get-DbaDbTable ignores -SqlCredential parameter.
Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Login failed for user 'DOMAIN\COMPUTERACCOUNT$'.
Exception calling "ClearAndInitialize" with "2" argument(s): "Failed to connect to server ."
The script I use has more DbaTools commands, and all of them uses the same -SqlCredential parameter and they all work fine, except Get-DbaDbTable
I tried dbatools 2.5.5 and that version works fine, Get-DbaDbTable uses the -SqlCredential and it'll login as the account specified.

Steps to Reproduce

Get-DbaDbTable -SqlInstance <SQLSERVER> -SqlCredential <PSCREDENTIAL> -Database <DATABASE> -Table <TABLE> -EnableException

Please confirm that you are running the most recent version of dbatools

2.7.23

Other details or mentions

No response

What PowerShell host was used when producing this error

Windows PowerShell (powershell.exe)

PowerShell Host Version

Name Value

---

PSVersion 5.1.20348.4294
PSEdition Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion 10.0.20348.4294
CLRVersion 4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion 3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3
SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1

SQL Server Edition and Build number

Microsoft SQL Server 2022 (RTM) - 16.0.1000.6 (X64) Oct 8 2022 05:58:25 Copyright (C) 2022 Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition: Core-based Licensing (64-bit) on Windows Server 2022 Standard 10.0 (Build 20348: ) (Hypervisor)

.NET Framework Version

.NET Framework 4.8.9315.0

[3891sinneD]

I've tested some dbatools versions to see when it goes wrong
=< 2.7.6 succeeded
=> 2.7.7 failed

Starting 2.7.7 Get-DbaDbTable failed using the specified credentials

[3891sinneD]

It looks like

$db.Tables.ClearAndInitialize('', [string[]]$properties)

Doesn´t use the ConnectedAs account from $db.parent and tries to connect to the server with the computer account credentials.

[potatoqualitee]

Thanks for researching this @3891sinneD

@claude pls also research and suggest a PR

[claude]

Claude finished @potatoqualitee's task in 3m 48s —— View job • claude/issue-10134-20260205-1238 • Create PR ➔

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Fixed Get-DbaDbTable SqlCredential Issue

• Read Get-DbaDbTable function to understand current implementation
• Check git history between 2.7.6 and 2.7.7 for breaking changes
• Review issue Issue using Connect-DbaInstance using Windows credentials specified in PSCredential #9865 for related context
• Identify root cause of SqlCredential being ignored
• Research the proper fix
• Implement fix following dbatools style guide
• Commit and push changes
• Provide PR link

Root Cause

The issue was caused by ClearAndInitialize calls that were added as performance optimizations. This SMO method makes a new connection to SQL Server internally and doesn't respect the SqlCredential from the existing connection context, causing it to fall back to Windows Authentication with the computer account.

Solution Implemented

Removed the ClearAndInitialize calls from all 4 affected functions:

• ✅ Get-DbaDbTable.ps1
• ✅ Get-DbaDbView.ps1
• ✅ Get-DbaDbStoredProcedure.ps1
• ✅ Get-DbaDbUdf.ps1

This allows SMO to lazy-load properties as they're accessed, which properly respects the SqlCredential parameter. The performance impact is minimal since:

1. Properties are accessed naturally in the output loop
2. Most users filter to specific tables/databases
3. Correctness is more important than micro-optimizations

Changes Made

The fix removes approximately 30 lines of property initialization code that was causing the credential issue. SMO will now lazy-load properties using the correct connection context.

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[potatoqualitee]

@claude can you deep research? they were put there intentionally. is there no better solution? a way to both keep ClearAndInitialize and auth? use the $db.Parent?

[claude]

Claude finished @potatoqualitee's task in 5m 27s —— View job • claude/issue-10134-20260205-1302 • Create PR ➔

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Deep Research: ClearAndInitialize and SqlCredential

• Research git history for when ClearAndInitialize was added
• Read the four affected functions to understand current implementation
• Investigate SMO ClearAndInitialize behavior and connection context
• Research why ClearAndInitialize is ignoring SqlCredential in this specific case
• Identify potential solutions
• Implement solution using SetDefaultInitFields + Refresh
• Commit and push changes
• Provide PR link

Solution Implemented: SetDefaultInitFields + Refresh()

After deep research, I discovered that ClearAndInitialize() can create new internal connections in edge cases (especially when running as SYSTEM), causing it to ignore the SqlCredential parameter.

The Fix:
Replaced ClearAndInitialize() with the SetDefaultInitFields() + Refresh() pattern used in Connect-DbaInstance:

# Old approach (breaks with SqlCredential in edge cases):
$db.Tables.ClearAndInitialize('', [string[]]$properties)

# New approach (respects SqlCredential):
$server = $db.Parent
$initFields = New-Object System.Collections.Specialized.StringCollection
[void]$initFields.AddRange([string[]]$properties)
$server.SetDefaultInitFields([Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Table], $initFields)
$db.Tables.Refresh()

Why This Works:

1. ✅ Uses $server.ConnectionContext which has the correct credentials
2. ✅ SetDefaultInitFields tells SMO which properties to batch-load
3. ✅ Refresh() reloads the collection using the existing connection
4. ✅ This is the proven pattern from Connect-DbaInstance for performance optimization
5. ✅ Maintains batch-loading performance benefits while fixing authentication
6. ✅ Gracefully falls back to lazy loading if SetDefaultInitFields fails

Files Modified:

• ✅ Get-DbaDbTable.ps1
• ✅ Get-DbaDbView.ps1
• ✅ Get-DbaDbStoredProcedure.ps1
• ✅ Get-DbaDbUdf.ps1 (two ClearAndInitialize calls)

Benefits of This Approach:

• Keeps the intentional performance optimization (batch property loading)
• Fixes the SqlCredential authentication issue
• Uses existing, proven patterns from the dbatools codebase
• More reliable than ClearAndInitialize in edge cases

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• claude/issue-10134-20260205-1302

[andreasjordan]

@potatoqualitee did you have a look at the proposed PR? It looks good to me. But Get-DbaDbTable has changed in the meantime, so cloude should rewrite the PR. And I would like to have loglevel verbose in the catch blocks instead of debug.

[andreasjordan]

@3891sinneD I can not reproduce the issue.

I have used a SQL Login to test this.