Databricks releases, every cloud
- Metastore-level ABAC policies are in Beta
Applies across every catalog in the metastore. Replaces per-catalog policy setup.
- 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 READ METADATA privilege will soon be available by default for workspaces with the compliance security profile enabled Coming soon
Grants read-only visibility into object metadata, including security-sensitive information.
- External secrets in Unity Catalog (Beta)
Connects Unity Catalog schema to AWS Secrets Manager, appearing as read-only objects.
- ABAC DENY policies are in Beta
Explicitly deny MANAGE ACCESS CONTROL privilege, taking precedence over grants.
- Automatic change data feed is now generally available
Requires Databricks Runtime 19 or above with row tracking enabled. Makes MERGE and UPDATE operations about 15% faster.
- Run the change, do not just read it. Hands-on labs in your own Databricks workspace, graded when you submit. Browse labs
- Databricks Runtime 19: September 1, 2026
Replaces manual change data feed enablement, requires row tracking enabled.
- Databricks Runtime maintenance updates (09/01)
Includes bug fixes, security patches, and performance improvements for versions 13.3 to 18.2.
- ABAC GRANT policies are generally available for models and services
Replaces individual privilege grants with governed tag matching.
- Unity Catalog Skills (Beta)
Publishes and governs agent skills, controlling access with Unity Catalog permissions.
- Secrets in Unity Catalog will soon be available by default for workspaces with the compliance security profile enabled Coming soon
Replaces manual enablement, uses catalog.schema.secret namespace.
- The INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges are in Beta
Require Databricks Runtime 18.1 or above, alternative to MODIFY privilege.
- 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.
- Role-based access control (RBAC) is generally available
Requires account and workspace admin setup. Enables exclusive access to sensitive data.
- Role-based access control (RBAC) will soon be available by default for workspaces with the compliance security profile enabled Coming soon
Lets users assume a role with exclusive permissions, replacing accumulated permissions.
- 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.
- Upcoming deprecation of the data quality monitoring downstream_impact column Coming soon
Deprecation starts September 7, 2026, and the column will no longer be populated after rollout.
- Upcoming deprecation of the data quality monitoring root_cause_analysis column Coming soon
Deprecation starts August 18, 2026, and the column will no longer be populated after rollout.
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- 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.
- Custom trace views in the MLflow trace explorer are in Beta
Genie generates views based on plain language descriptions, surfacing relevant trace fields and metrics.
- Define business concepts with Pages (Beta)
Gives business terms a single governed definition, part of Unity Catalog semantics.
- Unity Catalog ABAC GRANT policies support more securable types in Beta
Now supports model services, model provider services, MCP services, and agent services, in addition to models.
- READ METADATA privilege is GA
Provides read-only visibility into security-sensitive metadata, including privilege grants and ABAC policies.
- Tag automations (Beta)
Assigns or removes governed tags on Unity Catalog tables or volumes based on defined conditions.
- Databricks Runtime maintenance updates (08/04)
Includes bug fixes, security patches, and performance improvements for versions 13.3 to 18.2.
- Schema-level HTTP connections in Unity Catalog are now generally available
Creates connections inside a schema, inheriting its privileges, instead of only at metastore level.
- Environment variables for serverless jobs are in Beta
Requires workspace admin to enable from Previews page.
- MANAGE no longer requires USE CATALOG or USE SCHEMA on the same object
No longer requires USE CATALOG or USE SCHEMA on the same object, but still needs them on parent containers.
- 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.
- 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) - Python UDTFs in Unity Catalog are now generally available
Runs on serverless compute, classic compute, and SQL warehouses. Requires Databricks Runtime 18.
- Databricks Runtime maintenance updates (07/24)
Includes bug fixes, security patches, and performance improvements for versions 13.3 to 18.2.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Governed tags system table is in Beta
Contains records for each governed tag key, including customer-created and system-generated tags.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Databricks Runtime 18 and Databricks Runtime 18 for Machine Learning have transitioned to LTS
Receives 3 years of stability and security fixes.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Databricks Runtime 19 and Databricks Runtime 19 for Machine Learning are now generally available
Powered by Apache Spark 4.2.0.
AWS, read it on their docsAzure, read it on their docsGCP, read it on their docsSAP(not on this cloud) - Databricks Runtime 19: July 23, 2026
Enables Arrow-optimized Python UDFs by default, changing type-coercion behavior.
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) - Role-based access control (RBAC) is in Public Preview
Lets users assume a role with limited permissions. Requires account and workspace admin setup.
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.