Introduction to Data Sharing on Databricks
Who this is for:
Architecture / Concept Overview: Introduction to Data Sharing on Databricks
Data sharing on Databricks is built on Unity Catalog and the open Delta Sharing protocol. All sharing mechanisms flow through a consistent model of shares, recipients, and governed access.
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flowchart LR
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classDef governance fill:#5A3F52,stroke:#C28BB0,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
A[Data Provider] -->|Define Share| B[Unity Catalog Share]
B -->|Tables & Views| C[Governed Assets]
C -->|D2B| D[Databricks Recipient]
C -->|Open Protocol| E[Non-Databricks Recipient]
C -->|OpenSharing Link| F[Casual Consumer]
D -->|Query in Place| G[Recipient Catalog]
E -->|REST API| H[pandas / Spark / dbt]
F -->|Download / Connect| I[CSV / Parquet / BI Tool]
A:::source
B:::governance
C:::storage
D:::processing
E:::serving
F:::ingestion
G:::storage
H:::serving
I:::source
*Databricks sharing supports three recipient types — Databricks workspaces, open protocol clients, and casual consumers via OpenSharing links.*
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graph TD
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classDef governance fill:#5A3F52,stroke:#C28BB0,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
A[When to Use Which?] --> B[Internal Teams]
A --> C[Databricks Partners]
A --> D[Non-Databricks Partners]
A --> E[Public / Commercial]
A --> F[Joint Analysis]
B --> G[Unity Catalog Grants]
C --> H[D2B Sharing]
D --> I[Delta Sharing / OpenSharing]
E --> J[Marketplace]
F --> K[Clean Rooms]
A:::governance
B:::source
C:::processing
D:::serving
E:::ingestion
F:::governance
G:::source
H:::processing
I:::serving
J:::ingestion
K:::storage
*Choose your sharing mechanism based on the recipient type and collaboration pattern.*
Key Terms
Prerequisites and Setup
- A Databricks workspace with Unity Catalog enabled and a metastore configured
- Metastore admin privileges to create shares and recipients
- At least one table or view in Unity Catalog to share
- For D2B: the recipient's workspace sharing identifier
- For open sharing: an email address or communication channel to send the activation link
Step-by-Step Implementation
Configuration Reference
| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
share.name | Unique identifier for the share | Required |
share.comment | Description visible to recipients | Empty |
share.tables | List of tables/views included | Empty (add with ALTER) |
recipient.type | DATABRICKS or OPEN | Auto-detected |
recipient.sharing_id | Metastore sharing identifier for D2B | Required for D2B |
recipient.ip_access_list | Restrict recipient access by IP | None |
share.partition_filter | Share only specific partitions | None (full table) |