This article covers connecting Unstructured to Delta Tables in Databricks.For information about connecting Unstructured to Delta Tables in Amazon S3 instead, see Delta Tables in Amazon S3.For information about connecting Unstructured to Databricks Volumes instead, see Databricks Volumes.
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Batch process all your records to store structured outputs in a Delta Table in Databricks. The Delta Tables in Databricks connector provides two implementations:
  • The SQL-based implementation enables you to have Unstructured write its processed data directly to a table in Unity Catalog. If you use this implementation, you do not need to provide a volume as described in the following requirements.
  • The volume-based implementation enables you to have Unstructured write its processed data as a file to a volume in Unity Catalog. Unstructured then uses that file in the volume to write the file’s data to a table in Unity Catalog. The file remains in the volume.
The requirements are as follows.
  • A Databricks account on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
  • A workspace within the Datbricks account for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
  • One of the following compute resources within the workspace:
    • A SQL warehouse for AWS, Azure, or GCP. The following video shows how to create a SQL warehouse if you do not already have one available, get its Server Hostname and HTTP Path values, and set permissions for someone other than the warehouse’s owner to use it:
    • An all-purpose cluster for AWS, Azure, or GCP. The following video shows how to create an all-purpose cluster if you do not already have one available, get its Server Hostname and HTTP Path values, and set permissions for someone other than the cluster’s owner to use it:
  • The SQL warehouse’s or cluster’s Server Hostname and HTTP Path values for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
  • Unity Catalog enabled in the workspace for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
  • Within Unity Catalog:
    • A catalog for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
    • A schema (formerly known as a database) for AWS, Azure, or GCP within that catalog,
    • A table for AWS, Azure, or GCP within that schema (formerly known as a database). You can have the connector attempt to create a table for you automatically at run time. To do this, in the connector settings as described later in this article, do one of the following:
      • Specify the name of the table that you want the connector to attempt to create within the specified catalog and schema (formerly known as a database).
      • Leave the table name blank. The connector will attempt to create a table within the specified catalog and schema (formerly known as a database). For the Unstructured UI and Unstructured API, the table is named u<short-workflow-id>. For the Unstructured Ingest CLI and Ingest Python library, the table is named unstructuredautocreated.
      The connector will attempt to create the table on behalf of the related Databricks workspace user or Databricks managed service principal that is referenced in the connector settings, as described later in these requirements. If successful, the table’s owner is set as the related Databricks workspace user or Databricks managed service principal. The owner will have all Unity Catalog privileges on the table by default. No other Databricks workspace users or Databricks managed service principals will have any privileges on the table by default.
      If the table’s parent schema (formerly known as a database) is not owned by the same Databricks workspace user or Databricks managed service principal that is referenced in the connector settings, then you should grant the new table’s owner the CREATE TABLE privilege on that parent schema (formerly known as a database) before the connector attempts to create the table. Otherwise, table creation could fail.
      Using dashes (-) in the names of catalogs, schemas (formerly known as databases), and tables might cause isolated issues with the connector. It is recommended to use underscores (_) instead of dashes in the names of catalogs, schemas, and tables.
    The following video shows how to create a catalog, schema (formerly known as a database), and a table in Unity Catalog if you do not already have them available, and set privileges for someone other than their owner to use them: If you want to use an existing table or create one yourself beforehand, this table must contain at minimum the following column names and their data types: 
    CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS <catalog_name>.<schema_name>.<table_name> (
    id STRING NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
    record_id STRING NOT NULL,
    element_id STRING NOT NULL,
    text STRING,
    embeddings ARRAY<FLOAT>,
    type STRING,
    metadata VARIANT
);
    In Databricks, a table’s schema is different than a schema (formerly known as a database) in a catalog-schema object relationship in Unity Catalog.
  • Within Unity Catalog, a volume for AWS, Azure, or GCP. The volume can be in the same schema (formerly known as a database) as the table, or the volume and table can be in separate schemas. In either case, both of these schemas must share the same parent catalog.
    Using dashes (-) in the names of volumes might cause isolated issues with the connector. It is recommended to use underscores (_) instead of dashes in the names of volumes.
    The following video shows how to create a catalog, schema (formerly known as a database), and a volume in Unity Catalog if you do not already have them available, and set privileges for someone other than their owner to use them:
  • For Databricks managed service principal authentication (using Databricks OAuth M2M) to the workspace:
    • A Databricks managed service principal. This service principal must have the appropriate access permissions to the catalog, schema (formerly known as a database), table, volume, and cluster or SQL warehouse.
    • The service principal’s UUID (or Client ID or Application ID) value.
    • The OAuth Secret value for the service principal.
    To get this information, see Steps 1-3 of the instructions for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
    For Azure Databricks, this connector only supports Databricks managed service principals for authentication. Microsoft Entra ID managed service principals are not supported.
    The following video shows how to create a Databricks managed service principal if you do not already have one available:
  • For Databricks personal access token authentication to the workspace, the Databricks personal access token value for AWS, Azure, or GCP. This token must be for the workspace user who has the appropriate access permissions to the catalog, schema (formerly known as a database), table, volume, and cluster or SQL warehouse, The following video shows how to create a Databricks personal access token if you do not already have one available:
  • The Databricks workspace user or Databricks managed service principal must have the following minimum set of permissions and privileges to write to an existing volume or table in Unity Catalog. If the owner of these is that Databricks workspace user or Databricks managed service principal, then they will have all necessary permissions and privileges by default. If the owner is someone else, then the following permissions and privileges must be explicitly granted to them before using the connector:
    • To use an all-purpose cluster for access, Can Restart permission on that cluster. Learn how to check and set cluster permissions for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
    • To use a SQL warehouse for access, Can use permission on that SQL warehouse. Learn how to check and set SQL warehouse permissions for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
    • To access a Unity Catalog volume, the following privileges:
      • USE CATALOG on the volume’s parent catalog in Unity Catalog.
      • USE SCHEMA on the volume’s parent schema (formerly known as a database) in Unity Catalog.
      • READ VOLUME and WRITE VOLUME on the volume.
      Learn how to check and set Unity Catalog privileges for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
    • To access a Unity Catalog table, the following privileges:
      • USE CATALOG on the table’s parent catalog in Unity Catalog.
      • USE SCHEMA on the tables’s parent schema (formerly known as a database) in Unity Catalog.
      • To create a new table, CREATE TABLE on the table’s parent schema (formerly known as a database) in Unity Catalog.
      • If the table already exists, MODIFY and SELECT on the table.
      Learn how to check and set Unity Catalog privileges for AWS, Azure, or GCP.
The Delta Tables in Databricks connector dependencies:
CLI, Python
pip install "unstructured-ingest[databricks-delta-tables]"
You might also need to install additional dependencies, depending on your needs. Learn more. The following environment variables:
  • DATABRICKS_HOST - The Databricks cluster’s or SQL warehouse’s Server Hostname value, represented by --server-hostname (CLI) or server_hostname (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH - The cluster’s or SQL warehouse’s HTTP Path value, represented by --http-path (CLI) or http_path (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_TOKEN - For Databricks personal access token authentication, the token’s value, represented by --token (CLI) or token (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_CLIENT_ID - For Databricks managed service principal authenticaton, the service principal’s UUID (or Client ID or Application ID) value, represented by --client-id (CLI) or client_id (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_CLIENT_SECRET - For Databricks managed service principal authenticaton, the service principal’s OAuth Secret value, represented by --client-secret (CLI) or client_secret (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_CATALOG - The name of the catalog in Unity Catalog, represented by --catalog (CLI) or catalog (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_DATABASE - The name of the schema (formerly known as a database) inside of the catalog for the target table, represented by --database (CLI) or database (Python). The default is default if not otherwise specified. If you are also using a volume, and the target table and volume are in the same schema (formerly known as a database), then DATABRICKS_DATABASE and DATABRICKS_SCHEMA will have the same values.
  • DATABRICKS_TABLE - The name of the table inside of the schema (formerly known as a database), represented by --table-name (CLI) or table_name (Python).
    • If a table name is specified, but a table with that name does not exist within the specified schema (formerly known as a database), the connector attempts to create a table with that name within that schema.
    • If no table name is specified, the connector attempts to create a table named u<short-workflow-id> within the specified schema (formerly known as a database).
    See the beginning of this article for additional technical requirements before having the connector attempt to create a table.
Using dashes (-) in the names of catalogs, schemas (formerly known as databases), tables, and volumes might cause isolated issues with the connector. It is recommended to use underscores (_) instead of dashes in the names of catalogs, schemas, tables, and volumes.
For the SQL-based implementation, add these environment variables:
  • DATABRICKS_RECORD_ID_KEY - The name of the column that uniquely identifies each record in the table, represented by --record-id-key (CLI) or record_id_key (Python).
  • The maximum number of records to be transmitted per batch, represented by --batch-size (CLI) or batch_size (Python). The default is 50 if not otherwise specified.
For the volume-based implementation, add these environment variables:
  • DATABRICKS_SCHEMA - The name of the schema (formerly known as a database) inside of the catalog for the target volume, represented by --schema (CLI) or schema (Python). The default is default if not otherwise specified. If the target volume and table are in the same schema (formerly known as a database), then DATABRICKS_SCHEMA and DATABRICKS_SCHEMA will have the same values.
  • DATABRICKS_VOLUME - The name of the volume inside of the schema (formerly known as a database), represented by --volume (CLI) or volume (Python).
  • DATABRICKS_VOLUME_PATH - Optionally, a specific path inside of the volume that you want to start accessing from, starting from the volume’s root, represented by --volume-path (CLI) or volume_path (Python). The default is to start accessing from the volume’s root if not otherwise specified.
Now call the Unstructured Ingest CLI or the Unstructured Ingest Python library. The source connector can be any of the ones supported. This example uses the local source connector. This example sends files to Unstructured for processing by default. To process files locally instead, see the instructions at the end of this page. 
#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Chunking and embedding are optional.

# For authenticating with Databricks personal access tokens:
unstructured-ingest \
  local \
    --input-path $LOCAL_FILE_INPUT_DIR \
    --chunking-strategy by_title \
    --embedding-provider huggingface \
    --partition-by-api \
    --api-key $UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY \
    --partition-endpoint $UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL \
    --additional-partition-args="{\"split_pdf_page\":\"true\", \"split_pdf_allow_failed\":\"true\", \"split_pdf_concurrency_level\": 15}" \
  databricks-delta-tables \
    --server-hostname $DATABRICKS_HOST \
    --http-path $DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH \
    --token $DATABRICKS_TOKEN \
    --catalog $DATABRICKS_CATALOG \
    --database $DATABRICKS_DATABASE \
    --table-name $DATABRICKS_TABLE
    --record-id-key $DATABRICKS_RECORD_ID_KEY \
    --batch-size 50

# For authenticating with Databricks managed service principals:
unstructured-ingest \
  local \
    --input-path $LOCAL_FILE_INPUT_DIR \
    --chunking-strategy by_title \
    --embedding-provider huggingface \
    --partition-by-api \
    --api-key $UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY \
    --partition-endpoint $UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL \
    --additional-partition-args="{\"split_pdf_page\":\"true\", \"split_pdf_allow_failed\":\"true\", \"split_pdf_concurrency_level\": 15}" \
  databricks-delta-tables \
    --server-hostname $DATABRICKS_HOST \
    --http-path $DATABRICKS_HTTP_PATH \
    --client-id $DATABRICKS_CLIENT_ID \
    --client-secret $DATABRICKS_CLIENT_SECRET \
    --catalog $DATABRICKS_CATALOG \
    --database $DATABRICKS_DATABASE \
    --table-name $DATABRICKS_TABLE
    --record-id-key $DATABRICKS_RECORD_ID_KEY \
    --batch-size 50
For the Unstructured Ingest CLI and the Unstructured Ingest Python library, you can use the --partition-by-api option (CLI) or partition_by_api (Python) parameter to specify where files are processed:
  • To do local file processing, omit --partition-by-api (CLI) or partition_by_api (Python), or explicitly specify partition_by_api=False (Python). Local file processing does not use an Unstructured API key or API URL, so you can also omit the following, if they appear:
    • --api-key $UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY (CLI) or api_key=os.getenv("UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY") (Python)
    • --partition-endpoint $UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL (CLI) or partition_endpoint=os.getenv("UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL") (Python)
    • The environment variables UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY and UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL
  • To send files to the Unstructured Partition Endpoint for processing, specify --partition-by-api (CLI) or partition_by_api=True (Python). Unstructured also requires an Unstructured API key and API URL, by adding the following:
    • --api-key $UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY (CLI) or api_key=os.getenv("UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY") (Python)
    • --partition-endpoint $UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL (CLI) or partition_endpoint=os.getenv("UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL") (Python)
    • The environment variables UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY and UNSTRUCTURED_API_URL, representing your API key and API URL, respectively.
    You must specify the API URL only if you are not using the default API URL for Unstructured Ingest, for example, if you are using a self-hosted instance of the Unstructured API.The default API URL for Unstructured Ingest is https://api.unstructuredapp.io/general/v0/general, which is the API URL for the Unstructured Partition Endpoint. However, you should always use the URL that was provided to you when your Unstructured account was created. If you do not have this URL, contact Unstructured Sales at sales@unstructured.io.If you do not have an API key, get one now.If the Unstructured API is self-hosted, the process for generating Unstructured API keys, and the Unstructured API URL that you use, are different. For details, contact Unstructured Sales at sales@unstructured.io.