Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver 2.3: Download and Install on Windows, Mac and Linux, the Driver Name and Connection String, and Every Error Fixed (Including the Unix Socket One)

The Amazon Redshift ODBC driver lets Excel, Power BI, Tableau, SQL clients and your own code talk to Redshift. The current version is 2.3.0.0, a free 64-bit download for Windows (.msi), macOS (one universal .pkg for Intel and Apple Silicon) and Linux (.rpm and .deb for x86_64 and ARM); the 32-bit drivers are discontinued. Its driver name is Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64), and a connection string looks like Driver={Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)};Server=CLUSTER-ENDPOINT;Port=5439;Database=dev;UID=user;PWD=password. Here is the trap that costs Linux and Mac users an afternoon. If you set up a DSN in odbc.ini but do not point the ODBCINI environment variable at that file, the 2.x driver never reads your host. It silently tries a local socket instead and fails with could not connect to server: No such file or directory ... Unix domain socket "/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5439", an error that sends people chasing a PostgreSQL server they did not install. One export ODBCINI=... fixes it. We installed the real 2.3.0.0 package in a clean Debian container to capture every error on this page.

Jake's accountant wanted the shop's sales data in Excel every Monday. Ethan had put it in Redshift months ago, so the obvious answer was an ODBC connection. "It's a driver and a connection string," he told Jake. "Twenty minutes." It took most of a Saturday, because three of the errors pointed in the wrong direction. This page is the twenty-minute version.

New to these terms? Amazon Redshift is AWS's data warehouse, a database built for big analytical queries rather than for running a website; our Redshift explainer covers the basics. ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) is a decades-old standard that lets almost any program talk to almost any database through a "driver" for that database. A DSN (data source name) is a saved, named set of connection settings, so a program only needs to know the name. Redshift also has JDBC and Python drivers; if your tool supports JDBC, it is usually the easier route, but Excel, Power BI's ODBC connector, many BI tools and C/C++ programs need ODBC.

What is the Amazon Redshift ODBC driver used for? It is the translator between a program that speaks ODBC and Redshift's network protocol. Install it once on a computer, and every ODBC-capable program there can query Redshift: spreadsheets pulling a weekly report, BI dashboards, ETL tools moving data, reporting servers, and scripts in languages such as C, C++ or PHP that use ODBC. Without it, those programs have no way to reach the cluster.

Amazon Redshift ODBC driver download (version 2.3.0.0)

AWS publishes the driver as signed packages. These are the files for version 2.3.0.0, the current release on October 24, 2026:

All of them live under https://s3.amazonaws.com/redshift-downloads/drivers/odbc/2.3.0.0/, for example .../2.3.0.0/AmazonRedshiftODBC64-2.3.0.0.msi. The 32-bit drivers are discontinued and will only receive urgent security patches, which matters for 32-bit Excel (see Excel). Older versions remain downloadable for the rare app certified against one, and the driver is open source on GitHub (aws/amazon-redshift-odbc-driver), where the change log lists every fix.

Check the signature before installing (Linux). Each package comes with a certificate (...-certificate.pem) and a detached signature (...-signature.bin). Download both, then run:

openssl x509 -in AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit-2.3.0.0.amd64-certificate.pem -pubkey -noout > redshift-odbc-pubkey.pem
openssl dgst -sha256 -verify redshift-odbc-pubkey.pem \
  -signature AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit-2.3.0.0.amd64-signature.bin \
  AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit-2.3.0.0.amd64.deb

A genuine package prints Verified OK; if you see anything else, delete the file and download it again. The 2.3.0.0 Debian package (48 MB) verified cleanly, and its certificate is issued to Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS Redshift) by DigiCert's code-signing CA, valid from September 10, 2026 to September 9, 2027. It takes thirty seconds and protects you from a tampered download, which is worth it for software that will hold your database password.

Need a 32-bit Redshift ODBC driver? Your options

Searches for a 32-bit driver usually come from one place: 32-bit Excel or an old 32-bit reporting tool that cannot load a 64-bit driver. The honest answer is that there is no current 32-bit driver. Every 2.x release, from 2.0.0.1 through 2.2.4.0 and today's 2.3.0.0, is 64-bit only, and the 32-bit drivers belonged to the old 1.x line, which AWS has discontinued apart from urgent security patches. Your realistic options:

1. Move to a 64-bit application. Microsoft 365 installs 64-bit Office by default, and switching is a reinstall. Power BI Desktop and most modern BI tools are 64-bit already.
2. Use a 64-bit middle step. Let a 64-bit tool (Power BI, a scheduled script, or an ETL job) pull from Redshift and write a file or a small database that the 32-bit tool can read.
3. Use the tool's own Redshift or PostgreSQL connector if it has one, instead of ODBC.

Old 32-bit 1.x installers still turn up on file-sharing sites. Skip them: they miss years of security and bug fixes, and nobody can vouch for a copy that is not from AWS.

The driver name: 2.x vs 1.x (and the misleading error)

Every ODBC connection names its driver, and Redshift's driver changed its name between versions:

• 2.x (current): Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)
• 1.x (old): Amazon Redshift (x64)

Most tutorials online were written for 1.x. Put the old name in a DSN with only the 2.x driver installed, and unixODBC answers with:

[IM002][unixODBC][Driver Manager]Data source name not found and no default driver specified

That message is misleading: the DSN is there, it is the driver name inside it that is unknown. Check what is actually registered with odbcinst -q -d on Linux and Mac, or the Drivers tab of ODBC Data Sources (64-bit) on Windows, and copy the name exactly, including the space before (x64). In a connection string, wrap it in braces: Driver={Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)}.

Install the Redshift ODBC driver on Windows and create a DSN

1. Install the Visual C++ Redistributable (x64) if it is not already on the machine. The driver needs the 2015-or-later runtime, which Microsoft ships as the "Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015-2022".
2. Run AmazonRedshiftODBC64-2.3.0.0.msi as an administrator and follow the wizard.
3. Open ODBC Data Sources (64-bit) from the Start menu. Pick the 64-bit one; the 32-bit administrator hides the 64-bit driver.
4. Add a DSN: on the User DSN or System DSN tab choose Add, pick Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64), and fill in the server (your cluster or workgroup endpoint), port 5439, database (often dev), and user. Use a System DSN if a service or another Windows user needs it.
5. Choose authentication: the default is Standard (database user and password). The setup dialog also offers AWS profile, IAM credentials and identity providers such as Okta, Azure AD, AD FS, PingFederate, JWT and IAM Identity Center; see IAM login.
6. Test the connection with the dialog's Test button before you blame your BI tool.

The installer puts the driver in C:\Program Files\Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver x64\. On Windows the driver reads DSN settings from the registry, so none of the Linux environment variables below are needed. There is no Microsoft-made Redshift driver: "ODBC Data Sources" is Microsoft's driver manager, and the Redshift driver you install is AWS's. If the Test button times out, it is almost always the network: see reaching the cluster.

Install and configure the Redshift ODBC driver on Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Amazon Linux)

This is where most of the confusion lives, so here is every step, as tested on a clean Debian 12 container with the 2.3.0.0 package.

1. Install with your package manager, not dpkg -i. The package depends on libc6, libkeyutils1 and unixodbc. On a clean system sudo dpkg -i stops with "dependency problems prevent configuration of amazonredshiftodbcx64 ... depends on libkeyutils1; however: Package libkeyutils1 is not installed" and leaves the driver half-installed. Instead run:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install ./AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit-2.3.0.0.amd64.deb odbcinst

   On Amazon Linux, RHEL or CentOS, use sudo dnf install ./AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit-2.3.0.0.x86_64.rpm (or yum), which also pulls in dependencies.
2. Know where it went. Everything lands in /opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64/: the driver library librsodbc64.so, sample odbc.ini and odbcinst.ini, the driver's own amazon.redshiftodbc.ini, a CA bundle root.crt, helper scripts odbc.sh/odbc.csh, and a small command-line client, rsodbcsql.
3. Register the driver. In our test the package did not add itself to /etc/odbcinst.ini: odbcinst -q -d printed only SQLGetPrivateProfileString failed with .. Registering the bundled sample file as-is is a mistake too, because it also creates bogus [ODBC Drivers] and [ODBC] "drivers". Register just the driver section:

   cat > /tmp/redshift-driver.ini <<'EOF'
   [Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)]
   Description=Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)
   Driver=/opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64/librsodbc64.so
   EOF
   sudo odbcinst -i -d -f /tmp/redshift-driver.ini
   odbcinst -q -d        # should print [Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)]

4. Create the DSN in /etc/odbc.ini (system-wide) or ~/.odbc.ini (your user only). Keep your own copies outside /opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64, so a driver upgrade does not overwrite them:

   [redshift-prod]
   Driver=Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)
   Server=examplecluster.abc123xyz789.us-west-2.redshift.amazonaws.com
   Port=5439
   Database=dev
   UID=awsuser
   LoginTimeout=15
   SSLMode=verify-full

   The 2.x driver accepts Server, HostName or Host for the endpoint, Port or PortNumber, and UID, User or LogonID for the user, so samples that look different are usually equivalent.
5. Set the three environment variables so both unixODBC and the driver find the files. This is the step that fixes the Unix-socket error:

   export ODBCINI=/etc/odbc.ini
   export ODBCSYSINI=/etc
   export AMAZONREDSHIFTODBCINI=/opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64/amazon.redshiftodbc.ini

   Put them in /etc/profile.d/redshift-odbc.sh for every user, or in the service's environment (a systemd Environment= line) for daemons. A program started without them behaves as if your DSN had no host.
6. Test with isql: isql -v redshift-prod awsuser 'your-password'. "Connected!" means you are done. Any other message is in the error list.

Here is the difference ODBCINI makes, with the same DSN pointing at a test address and nothing listening:

# without ODBCINI: the driver ignores the DSN host and tries a local socket
[S1000][unixODBC][Redshift][ODBC Driver][Server]could not connect to server: No such file or directory
        Is the server running locally and accepting
        connections on Unix domain socket "/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5439"?

# with export ODBCINI=/etc/odbc.ini: the real network error for the real host
[S1000][unixODBC][Redshift][ODBC Driver][Server]could not connect to server: Connection refused
        Is the server running on host "127.0.0.1" and accepting

"So the driver was never even trying our cluster," Jake said, when Ethan showed him. "Not once in three hours," Ethan said. "It was knocking on a door inside the laptop."

Quick tests with rsodbcsql (no DSN needed)

The package includes /opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64/rsodbcsql, a tiny client that takes either a DSN or a full connection string, plus an optional query or .sql file. It is the fastest way to separate driver problems from application problems:

/opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64/rsodbcsql \
  "DRIVER={Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)};HOST=examplecluster.abc123xyz789.us-west-2.redshift.amazonaws.com;PORT=5439;UID=awsuser;PWD=secret;Database=dev" \
  "select current_user, version()"

Because the connection string carries the host itself, this test does not depend on ODBCINI. If rsodbcsql connects and your app does not, the problem is your DSN files or environment variables. If neither connects, it is the network, the credentials or SSL.

Install the Redshift ODBC driver on a Mac

1. Install a driver manager. macOS does not include one. Many apps bundle iODBC; for the command line, install unixODBC with Homebrew: brew install unixodbc. The driver supports iODBC 3.52.9+ and unixODBC 2.3.7+.
2. Install the package: double-click AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit.2.3.0.0.universal.pkg, or run sudo installer -pkg ./AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit.2.3.0.0.universal.pkg -target /. One package serves both Intel and Apple Silicon.
3. Create odbc.ini and odbcinst.ini with the same contents as the Linux steps, using the library path the installer reports, and keep them outside the install directory.
4. Set ODBCINI, ODBCSYSINI and AMAZONREDSHIFTODBCINI in ~/.zshrc for command-line tools. Apps launched from the Dock do not read ~/.zshrc, so for those, configure the DSN in the app's own ODBC manager or use a full connection string.
5. Use 64-bit apps only. The Mac driver supports 64-bit client applications only.

The Redshift ODBC driver on GitHub: source code and building it

The 2.x driver is open source under the Apache 2.0 license, in the aws/amazon-redshift-odbc-driver repository on GitHub, which also holds the change log for every release. AWS still recommends the prebuilt installers above, and for nearly everyone that is the right choice. Building from source makes sense if you need to audit the code, patch it, or package it for an unusual platform.

It is not a one-command build. You must first build the dependencies yourself, because the repository ships neither their binaries nor scripts to build them: AWS-LC (tested with 5.5.0, set RS_OPENSSL_DIR to it), the AWS SDK for C++ (1.11.873), c-ares (1.34.5), GoogleTest (1.18.0) and, on Linux, curl. You also need CMake 3.20 or later and Git LFS to clone the repository correctly; Linux builds use gcc, Windows builds need the Visual Studio build tools and WiX. Then:

• Windows: .\build64.bat --dependencies-install-dir=C:\path\to\deps, which produces the MSI installer and rsodbc64.dll.
• Linux and macOS: point RS_DEPS_DIRS (or RS_MULTI_DEPS_DIRS) at the dependencies, then run build64.sh --version=2.3.0.0 --create-package=yes --public-dir=/path/for/packages --build-type=Release, which produces librsodbc64.so or librsodbc64.dylib and an rpm or pkg.

Installed builds use the same locations as the official packages: C:\Program Files\Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver x64\ on Windows and /opt/amazon/redshiftodbcx64/ on Linux and macOS.

Redshift ODBC connection string, explained

The Redshift console shows a ready-made ODBC URL on your cluster's details page, in this format:

Driver={Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64)}; Server=examplecluster.abc123xyz789.us-west-2.redshift.amazonaws.com; Database=dev; UID=adminuser; PWD=your_password; Port=5439

• Driver: the exact registered name, in braces.
• Server: the cluster endpoint without the :5439/dev suffix the console sometimes shows next to it. For Redshift Serverless, use the workgroup endpoint, which looks like WORKGROUP.ACCOUNT_ID.REGION.redshift-serverless.amazonaws.com.
• Database: the database inside the cluster, often dev on new clusters.
• UID and PWD: a database user, not your AWS console login.
• Port: 5439 unless you changed it when creating the cluster.

Useful extras: LoginTimeout=15 so a network problem fails in 15 seconds instead of hanging, SSLMode=verify-full (the default), and LogLevel=6;LogPath=/tmp/rsodbc when you need a driver log. In a connection string, a value containing a semicolon must be wrapped in braces, which matters for passwords: PWD={pa;ss}.

Reaching the cluster: endpoint, security group and public access

Most connection failures are not driver problems at all, and the error text tells you which network layer failed:

• could not translate host name "..." to address: Name or service not known: DNS. The endpoint has a typo, or it is a private endpoint and you are outside its VPC (and not on its VPN or Direct Connect).
• timeout expired (with LoginTimeout set), or a hang with no message (without it): the packets go nowhere. The cluster's security group does not allow inbound TCP 5439 from your IP, the cluster is not publicly accessible, or a firewall drops the traffic.
• Connection refused: something answered, but nothing listens on that port. Usually the wrong port, or the wrong host entirely.

To fix the common timeout: in the Redshift console, check whether the cluster is publicly accessible and which VPC security group it uses; then add an inbound rule for TCP 5439 from your office or home IP (keep 0.0.0.0/0 out of database rules). From inside a VPC, an EC2 instance in the same VPC with a security group the cluster trusts is the clean path. A quick test before the driver: nc -vz ENDPOINT 5439 on Linux or Mac, or Test-NetConnection ENDPOINT -Port 5439 in PowerShell.

SSL modes and certificate errors

The 2.x driver defaults to SSLMode=verify-full: it connects only over SSL, checks that a trusted authority signed the certificate, and checks that the host name matches. That is the safe default, and it explains a common surprise: connecting by IP address, through an SSH tunnel to localhost, or through a custom DNS name fails verification, because the certificate is issued for the Redshift endpoint name.

For a tunnel to localhost, verify-ca keeps encryption and the CA check while skipping the name check. Keep disable for throwaway test data only. In 2.x the old SSLCertPath option became TrustStore (Windows) or CaFile, pointing at a CA certificate; the package ships a root.crt bundle. Since version 2.2.1 the driver uses AWS-LC instead of OpenSSL for TLS, so old OpenSSL configuration tweaks no longer apply.

IAM and single sign-on login instead of a password

Instead of a database password, the driver can sign in with IAM. Set IAM=1 and choose a method: an AWS profile from your ~/.aws/credentials (Profile=), IAM access keys, or an identity provider plugin (AD FS, Azure AD, Okta, PingFederate, JWT, or IAM Identity Center through the authentication plugin). The driver then asks Redshift for temporary database credentials on your behalf, so no long-lived password sits in a DSN file.

On Windows the DSN dialog's authentication drop-down sets this up; on Linux, Mac and in connection strings you set the options directly, and the driver picks the method from them. One version note worth knowing: before 2.2.3, the driver cut passwords passed through SQLDriverConnect at 1,024 bytes, which broke some long IAM temporary passwords. If IAM logins fail with an authentication error on an older driver, upgrade first.

Connect Excel, Power BI or Tableau to Redshift through ODBC

1. Create and test a 64-bit DSN as above.
2. Excel: Data > Get Data > From Other Sources > From ODBC, pick the DSN, enter the database user and password, and choose your tables or write a query.
3. Power BI Desktop: it has a native Amazon Redshift connector, which is usually simpler; use Get Data > ODBC with your DSN when you need driver options the native connector lacks.
4. Tableau and other BI tools: most have a Redshift connector that uses this driver underneath; install the driver first, then pick Redshift in the tool.

The 32-bit Office trap. 32-bit Excel cannot load a 64-bit driver, and Redshift's 32-bit drivers are discontinued. If Excel reports that the DSN has an architecture mismatch between the driver and the application, your Office is 32-bit. The fix is 64-bit Office, or a 64-bit tool such as Power BI Desktop. Jake's accountant had 64-bit Excel, so the DSN worked first time once Ethan had fixed the security group. "Every Monday now," Jake said, "and nobody emails anybody a spreadsheet."

Upgrading from the 1.x driver: what changes

Moving from 1.x to 2.x is mostly a name change, but a few behaviors changed in ways that break things quietly:

• Driver name: Amazon Redshift (x64) became Amazon Redshift ODBC Driver (x64). Update every DSN and connection string.
• Query timeouts are now enforced. 2.x honors SQL_ATTR_QUERY_TIMEOUT as the ODBC standard says; 1.x silently ignored it. A long report that used to finish can now fail with a timeout. Check the timeout your tool sets.
• Renamed options: ConnectionTimeout is now LoginTimeout (default 0, no timeout), MaxLongVarChar is MaxLongVarcharSize (default raised from 8,190 to 65,535), SSLCertPath is TrustStore or CaFile, and VpcEndpointUrl is vpc_endpoint_url.
• Unicode: UseUnicode defaults to false, reporting narrow character types. Set UseUnicode=true if your app expects wide types (SQL_WCHAR, SQL_WVARCHAR).
• Logging: on Linux and Mac, LogLevel and LogPath must go in the global [ODBC] section of odbc.ini, not inside a DSN.
• Table types: detailed types (SYSTEM TABLE, EXTERNAL TABLE and so on) are reported by default, and Spectrum and datashare tables appear as EXTERNAL TABLE. Set EnableTableTypes=0 if a tool expects only TABLE and VIEW.
• Long data: apps that bind data-at-execution parameters must now supply the total length up front.

Test a copy of your heaviest report on 2.x before switching everyone; the timeout change is the one that surprises people on Monday morning.

Redshift ODBC errors and fixes

could not connect to server: No such file or directory ... Unix domain socket "/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5439"

The driver did not read your DSN's host. On Linux and Mac, export ODBCINI (and ODBCSYSINI, AMAZONREDSHIFTODBCINI) so it finds your odbc.ini, or pass the host in a connection string.

[IM002] Data source name not found and no default driver specified

Either the DSN name is wrong, or the DSN names a driver that is not registered, often the 1.x name Amazon Redshift (x64). Run odbcinst -q -d and odbcinst -q -s and match the names exactly.

odbcinst: SQLGetPrivateProfileString failed with .

No drivers are registered in odbcinst.ini. Register the Redshift driver section with odbcinst -i -d -f, as in the Linux steps.

dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of amazonredshiftodbcx64

Missing libkeyutils1 or unixodbc. Run sudo apt install ./AmazonRedshiftODBC-64-bit-2.3.0.0.amd64.deb to pull them in, or sudo apt -f install to repair a half-installed package.

could not translate host name to address: Name or service not known

DNS cannot find the endpoint: a typo, a :5439/dev suffix left on the host, or a private endpoint you cannot resolve from outside its VPC.

timeout expired

The cluster did not answer within LoginTimeout. Allow TCP 5439 from your IP in the cluster's security group, and check that the cluster is publicly accessible or that you are inside its network.

The connection hangs with no error at all

LoginTimeout defaults to 0, which waits indefinitely. Set LoginTimeout=15 to get a clear timeout expired, then fix the network.

could not connect to server: Connection refused

The host answered but nothing listens on that port: a wrong port, a wrong host, or a local tunnel that is not running.

The specified DSN contains an architecture mismatch between the Driver and Application

A 32-bit application (often 32-bit Excel) is trying to use the 64-bit driver. Use a 64-bit application; Redshift no longer develops 32-bit drivers.

Queries that worked on 1.x now time out

2.x enforces the application's query timeout, which 1.x ignored. Raise or remove the timeout in your tool, or make the query faster.

Amazon Redshift ODBC driver: frequently asked questions

Ethan wrote the three environment variables on a sticky note and stuck it to the monitor, under the words "the driver was never trying". Jake asked whether that was a real fix or a superstition. "Real," Ethan said. "But I'm keeping the note anyway." If a step on this page does not match what you see, please tell us. Guides like this stay accurate because readers write in.

Revision note. Written October 24, 2026, with the 2.3.0.0 driver installed and tested that day. "A bad workman blames his tools," the saying goes, but with ODBC the tool really is sometimes reading the wrong file.