Use Databricks Free Edition¶

Databricks Free Edition is suitable for learning and limited integration tests. It is not equivalent to a full enterprise Databricks account.

Because Databricks capabilities and quotas can change, review the current Free Edition documentation and limitations before testing.

What to test¶

Free Edition can be useful for:

PAT-based workspace connectivity;
catalog and schema discovery;
catalog and schema creation when your workspace permits it;
default-storage catalog creation through a SQL warehouse;
Unity Catalog grants supported by the workspace;
import discovery and YAML generation.

Do not rely on Free Edition for:

multi-workspace orchestration;
account-console administration;
enterprise SSO, SCIM, or networking;
production scale, quotas, or service commitments.

Configure the provider¶

provider:
  cloud: azure
  execution_mode: live-readonly
  host: https://your-workspace.cloud.databricks.com
  auth_type: pat
  token_env: DATABRICKS_TOKEN
  sql_warehouse_id_env: DATABRICKS_SQL_WAREHOUSE_ID

The hostname can contain cloud.databricks.com even when the provider cloud is Azure. Use the actual workspace URL shown by Databricks.

Test in stages¶

1. Validate locally¶

datamuru validate --config datamuru.yml

2. Verify read-only connectivity¶

datamuru doctor --config datamuru.yml
datamuru import discover --config datamuru.yml

3. Create a unique test catalog¶

Switch to live-apply and use a name that cannot collide with important resources:

catalogs:
  - name: dm_free_tutorial_01
    use_default_storage: true
    schemas:
      - bronze
      - silver

datamuru plan --target catalog:dm_free_tutorial_01
datamuru apply --target catalog:dm_free_tutorial_01 --auto-approve
datamuru plan --target catalog:dm_free_tutorial_01

Understand default storage¶

The Unity Catalog REST API can reject catalog creation when the metastore has no storage root. use_default_storage: true makes DataMuru submit CREATE CATALOG through a configured SQL warehouse, allowing Databricks to select account default storage where available.

Identity limitation¶

Use existing users and groups for ACL assignments. Managed identity lifecycle is an Enterprise feature and requires account SCIM capability. DataMuru probes capability when managed identities are declared; edition configuration alone cannot create an unavailable Databricks API.

Clean up¶

Confirm that the catalog contains no needed data, then:

datamuru destroy --target catalog:dm_free_tutorial_01 --confirm-destroy