databricks-sql-connector
Databricks SQL Connector for Python
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. This is the official Databricks SQL client for Python, actively maintained with no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and permissive licensing. Install it if you need to query Databricks clusters or SQL warehouses from Python. The standard Thrift backend works out of the box; add the optional PyArrow extra only if you need Arrow-based result fetching.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or above.
- Environment variables DATABRICKS_HOST and DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH must be set, or credentials passed explicitly to sql.connect().
- Low friction install with a pure-wheel distribution.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache License 2.0 is permissive, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. You may use, modify, and distribute the package freely as long as you include the license notice.
last release 2026-07-22 (23 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 233 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 119,486,114 downloads/mo, #304 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install databricks-sql-connector
import os
from databricks import sql
host = os.getenv("DATABRICKS_HOST")
http_path = os.getenv("DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH")
connection = sql.connect(
server_hostname=host,
http_path=http_path)
cursor = connection.cursor()
cursor.execute('SELECT * FROM RANGE(10)')
result = cursor.fetchall()
connection.close()- Whether the Rust kernel backend (use_kernel=True) offers measurable performance gains over the default Thrift backend for typical workloads.
- Support for specific authentication methods beyond PAT and OAuth (e.g., Kerberos via proxy) and their maturity level.
- Behavior and error handling when connecting to older Databricks cluster versions.
What it is and what it does
The Databricks SQL Connector for Python is a Thrift-based database client that lets you run SQL queries against Databricks clusters and SQL warehouses from Python applications. It implements the standard Python DB API 2.0 interface, so it works with familiar cursor and connection patterns. The connector uses Arrow as its data exchange format, allowing you to fetch query results directly as Arrow tables via methods like `fetchmany_arrow`, which is useful for working with large datasets efficiently. It supports multiple authentication methods (PAT tokens, OAuth), HTTP/HTTPS proxies, and transaction control with manual commit/rollback.
The package has no ODBC or JDBC dependencies—it speaks Thrift directly to Databricks. It ships with ten runtime dependencies covering HTTP requests, JWT handling, Excel support, and data manipulation. An optional Rust-based kernel backend is available for users on Python 3.10+ who want a native compiled alternative to the default Thrift implementation. The connector is actively maintained, supports Python 3.10 through 3.14, and has no known security vulnerabilities.
Use it for
- Execute SQL queries against Databricks SQL warehouses from a Python script or application.
- Fetch large query results as Arrow tables for efficient in-memory processing with pandas or other data tools.
- Build ETL pipelines that read from and write to Databricks tables using standard DB API cursors.
- Authenticate to Databricks using OAuth or PAT tokens in automated or user-facing applications.
- Connect through HTTP/HTTPS proxies with Kerberos or basic authentication in restricted network environments.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
This is the official Databricks SQL client for Python, actively maintained with no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and permissive licensing. Install it if you need to query Databricks clusters or SQL warehouses from Python. The standard Thrift backend works out of the box; add the optional PyArrow extra only if you need Arrow-based result fetching.
Install
databricks-sql-connector on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a pure-wheel distribution. The package is actively maintained with a recent release (23 days old) and supports current Python versions (3.10–3.14). Ten runtime dependencies are all well-established libraries, and optional extras like PyArrow and the Rust kernel backend are available without forcing installation.
Requires Python 3.10 or above. Environment variables DATABRICKS_HOST and DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH must be set, or credentials passed explicitly to sql.connect().
License in practice
Apache License 2.0 is permissive, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. You may use, modify, and distribute the package freely as long as you include the license notice.
Quickstart
pip install databricks-sql-connector
import os
from databricks import sql
host = os.getenv("DATABRICKS_HOST")
http_path = os.getenv("DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH")
connection = sql.connect(
server_hostname=host,
http_path=http_path)
cursor = connection.cursor()
cursor.execute('SELECT * FROM RANGE(10)')
result = cursor.fetchall()
connection.close()Verify before relying
- Whether the Rust kernel backend (use_kernel=True) offers measurable performance gains over the default Thrift backend for typical workloads.
- Support for specific authentication methods beyond PAT and OAuth (e.g., Kerberos via proxy) and their maturity level.
- Behavior and error handling when connecting to older Databricks cluster versions.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <4.0,>=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 10 packageslz4oauthlibopenpyxlpandaspybreakerpyjwtpython-dateutilrequeststhrifturllib3 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 23 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 119,486,114 / month, #304 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14 |
Evidence: databricks_sql_connector-4.4.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also databricks-connect · databricks-sql · sqlalchemy-databricks · databricks-labs-lsql · databricks-dbapi · databricks-sqlalchemy · databricks-zerobus-ingest-sdk · agate-sql · dbt-databricks · adbc-driver-flightsql