Databricks releases, every cloud
- Data Classification now scans Unity Catalog views (Beta)
Scans Unity Catalog views in addition to tables, using the same detection engine, and is currently in Beta.
- The counter_diff SQL window function is now available
Calculates differences between consecutive cumulative counter values, available in Databricks Runtime 19 and above.
- Window measures on a numeric index column in metric views
Supports unitless offset and ranges on consecutive integer columns, useful for non-calendar periods like fiscal weeks.
- External secrets in Unity Catalog (Beta)
Connects Unity Catalog schema to AWS Secrets Manager, appearing as read-only objects.
- See which chunks support each ai_search answer (Beta)
Added generate_citations option to show supporting chunks.
- time_bucket SQL function aligns timestamps to fixed-width time buckets
Replaces date_trunc for non-calendar units, requires origin and width parameters.
- Run the change, do not just read it. Hands-on labs in your own Databricks workspace, graded when you submit. Browse labs
- Unity Catalog Skills (Beta)
Publishes and governs agent skills, controlling access with Unity Catalog permissions.
- Context attributes in ABAC column mask and row filter policies (Beta)
Targets request context, such as OAuth client ID and on-behalf-of status, in Unity Catalog policies.
- Identity attributes in ABAC column mask policies (Beta)
Targets users by attributes like department or country, using has_identity_attribute_value and has_identity_attribute_tag_match functions.
- Tags page in Governance Hub (Beta)
Provides a centralized view of tag usage, summarizes governed tags, and offers recommendations for invalid values. Requires account admins to enable from Previews page.
- Define business concepts with Pages (Beta)
Gives business terms a single governed definition, part of Unity Catalog semantics.
- REPLACE USING flows for standalone streaming tables (Beta)
Replaces rows matching specified key columns, requires SEQUENCE BY column.
- READ METADATA privilege is GA
Provides read-only visibility into security-sensitive metadata, including privilege grants and ABAC policies.
- Change data feed on materialized views (Beta)
Requires Databricks Runtime 18 LTS or above. Enables replication to external destinations.
- Tag automations (Beta)
Assigns or removes governed tags on Unity Catalog tables or volumes based on defined conditions.
- Automatic cost attribution for materialized views and streaming tables in Databricks SQL
Inherits custom tags from enclosing SQL warehouse environment for billing.
- Refresh materialized views and streaming tables without exempting the pipeline owner from ABAC policies
Pipeline owners are now subject to ABAC policies when refreshing views and tables. Policies are evaluated using the pipeline owner's identity.
- Secrets in Unity Catalog is GA
Stores secrets as securable objects with Unity Catalog privileges. Uses catalog.schema.secret namespace.
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- Upcoming general availability of Unity Gateway Coming soon
Extends Unity Catalog governance to runtime interactions, controls AI service usage, and monitors traffic. Available by default for workspaces with compliance security profile in mid-September.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Automated setup for S3 external locations
Uses AWS IAM temporary delegation to configure external locations and provision required resources.
- Databricks-hosted sample datasets available in the samples catalog
Available in Unity Catalog-enabled workspaces through OpenSharing as samples.databricks.datasets.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Warehouse-level statement timeouts (Beta)
Set via statement_timeout field in Create or Update warehouse APIs.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Lakehouse Real-Time (Beta)
Delivers sub-second SQL read queries against Unity Catalog tables. Built for low-latency workloads.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Custom Docker images for AI Runtime CLI workloads (Beta)
Allows custom system library versions and complex dependencies, requires setup via Use custom Docker images.
- Databricks SQL version 2026.20 is now available in Preview
Adds IP address functions, NEAREST BY join type, and QUALIFY clause, with fixes for MERGE WITH SCHEMA EVOLUTION.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Govern LLMs in Unity Catalog with model services (Beta)
Represents a governed LLM endpoint, sharable across workspaces via Unity Catalog privileges.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Solution Accelerators in Databricks Marketplace are now published as apps or notebooks
They are now categorized as apps or notebooks, with unchanged content.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Comments on foreign tables (Beta)
Syncs table and column comments from external data sources to Unity Catalog foreign tables.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Install third-party apps from Databricks Marketplace
Installs apps directly in Unity Catalog-governed workspaces, keeping provider code closed-source.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Use Universal Commits to purchase Marketplace partner products
Up to 10% of Universal Commits can be used for third-party products.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - AI Runtime CLI (Beta)
Submits and manages distributed training workloads on serverless GPU compute from a local machine.
- ABAC GRANT policies for models (Beta)
Grants EXECUTE privilege on models based on governed tags, supporting MLflow and foundation models.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Lakehouse Replay (Beta)
Automatically replays serverless workloads against upcoming runtime releases. Requires no setup.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Column popularity is now available in the Catalog Explorer
Shows column query count in the Overview tab, determined by read queries.
- Cross-engine attribute-based access controls (Beta)
Enforces row filters and column masks server-side for external engines reading Unity Catalog tables.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Databricks SQL version 2026.15 is now available in Preview
XPath no longer fetches external DTDs, fixing failures from malformed URLs.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Fixed LOD expression syntax update for metric views
Uses SQL window functions, replacing two-step pre-computation approach.
- Serve custom LLMs with Custom Model Serving (Beta)
Supports multimodal models and PEFT recipes, unlike Foundation Model APIs.
- Native data profiling for results tables in the SQL editor
Select column headers and click Open selection details to view statistics.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - agg SQL function as a synonym for measure
Replaces measure, used as agg(measure_column) in metric views.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud)
Headlines, dates and product areas are Databricks' own, from the release notes published for each cloud, and every item links to the note it came from. The one-line summaries are ours. Not a Databricks product and not affiliated with Databricks, Inc.