Connect a Databricks Unity Catalog Host with Personal Access Token

This page details how to use the /data v1 API to connect a Databricks Unity Catalog host to Immuta using a service principal with a personal access token (PAT). This connection works with a single set of credentials rather than configuring an integration and registering data sources separately. To manage your host, see the Manage a host reference guide.

Requirements

To complete this guide, you must be a user with the following:

• Immuta permissions:

  • APPLICATION_ADMIN

  • CREATE_DATA_SOURCE

• Databricks authorizations:

  • Account or workspace admin

  • CREATE CATALOG privilege on the Unity Catalog metastore to create an Immuta-owned catalog and tables

Prerequisites

• Unity Catalog metastore created and attached to a Databricks workspace. See the Databricks Unity Catalog reference guide for information on workspaces and catalog isolation support with Immuta.

• Unity Catalog enabled on your Databricks cluster or SQL warehouse. All SQL warehouses have Unity Catalog enabled if your workspace is attached to a Unity Catalog metastore. Immuta recommends linking a SQL warehouse to your Immuta tenant rather than a cluster for both performance and availability reasons.

To connect a Databricks host, you must do the following:

1. Create a service principal in Databricks Unity Catalog with the proper Databricks permissions for Immuta to use to manage policies in Unity Catalog

2. Enable Databricks Unity Catalog in Immuta

3. Set up Unity Catalog system tables for native query audit.

4. Use the /integrations/scripts/create endpoint to receive a script.

5. Run the script in Databricks Unity Catalog.

6. Use the /data/connection endpoint to finish creating the connection to your host and Immuta.

Step 1: Create your service principal

Create a Databricks service principal with the Databricks permissions outlined below and set up with personal access token (PAT) authentication.

The Immuta service principal requires the following Databricks privileges to connect to Databricks to create the integration catalog, configure the necessary procedures and functions, and maintain state between Databricks and Immuta:

• OWNER permission on the Immuta catalog you configure.

• OWNER permission on catalogs with schemas and tables registered as Immuta data sources so that Immuta can administer Unity Catalog row-level and column-level security controls. This permission can be applied by granting OWNER on a catalog to a Databricks group that includes the Immuta service principal to allow for multiple owners. If the OWNER permission cannot be applied at the catalog- or schema-level, each table registered as an Immuta data source must individually have the OWNER permission granted to the Immuta service principal.

• USE CATALOG and USE SCHEMA on parent catalogs and schemas of tables registered as Immuta data sources so that the Immuta service principal can interact with those tables.

• SELECT and MODIFY on all tables registered as Immuta data sources so that the Immuta service principal can grant and revoke access to tables and apply Unity Catalog row- and column-level security controls.

• USE CATALOG on the system catalog for native query audit.

• USE SCHEMA on the system.access schema for native query audit.

• SELECT on the following system tables for native query audit:

  • system.access.audit

  • system.access.table_lineage

  • system.access.column_lineage

Step 2: Enable Unity Catalog in Immuta

Enable Databricks Unity Catalog on the Immuta app settings page:

1. Click the App Settings icon in the left sidebar.

2. Scroll to the Global Integrations Settings section and check the Enable Databricks Unity Catalog support in Immuta checkbox.

Step 3: Set up native query audit

Enable native query audit by completing these steps in Unity Catalog:

1. Enable a system schema where the <SCHEMA_NAME> is access.

2. Grant the service principal from step 1 access to the Databricks Unity Catalog system tables. For Databricks Unity Catalog audit to work, Immuta must have, at minimum, the following access.

   • USE CATALOG on the system catalog

   • USE SCHEMA on the system.access schema

   • SELECT on the following system tables:

     • system.access.audit

     • system.access.table_lineage

     • system.access.column_lineage

3. Enable verbose audit logs in Unity Catalog.

Step 4: Generate the script

POST /integrations/scripts/create

Copy the request and update the <placeholder_values> with your connection details. Then submit the request.

Find descriptions of the editable attributes in the table below and of the full payload in the Integration configuration payload reference guide. All values should be included and those you should not edit are noted.

curl -X 'POST' \
    'https://<your-immuta-url>/integrations/scripts/create' \
    -H 'accept: application/json' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Authorization: <your-bearer-token>' \
    -d '{
    "": "Databricks",
    "": false,
    "config": {
      "workspaceUrl": "<www.your-workspace.cloud.databricks.com>",
      "httpPath": "<sql/protocolv1/o/0/your-path>",
      "": "token",
      "token": "<service-principal-pat>",
      "catalog": "<new-catalog>",
      "": {"enabled": true}
    }
    }'

Payload parameters

Attribute	Description	Required
config.workspaceUrl string	Your Databricks workspace URL.	Yes
config.httpPath string	The HTTP path of your Databricks cluster or SQL warehouse.	Yes
config.token string	The Databricks personal access token for the service principal created in step one for Immuta.	Yes
config.catalog string	The name of the Databricks catalog Immuta will create to store internal entitlements and other user data specific to Immuta. This catalog will only be readable for the Immuta service principal and should not be granted to other users. The catalog name may only contain letters, numbers, and underscores and cannot start with a number.	Yes

Step 5: Run the script in Databricks Unity Catalog

Step one will return a script. Copy the script and run it in your Databricks Unity Catalog environment as a user with the permissions listed in the requirements section.

The script will use the service principal that will authenticate using the personal access token (PAT) that you specified in step four. Additionally, the script will create the catalog you specified in step four.

Step 6: Create the host in Immuta

POST /data/connection

Copy the request and update the <placeholder_values> with your connection details. Note that the connection details here should match the ones used in step four. Then submit the request.

Find descriptions of the editable attributes in the table below and of the full payload in the Databricks Unity Catalog host payload table. All values should be included and those you should not edit are noted.

Test run

Opt to test and validate the create connection payload using a dry run:

POST /data/connection/test

curl -X 'POST' \
    'https://<your-immuta-url>/data/connection' \
    -H 'accept: application/json' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Authorization: <your-bearer-token>' \
    -d '{
     connectionKey: "<your-connection-key-name>",
     connection: {
       : "Databricks",
       hostname: "<www.your-workspace.cloud.databricks.com>",
       port: <your-Databricks-port>,
       httpPath: "<your-Databricks-warehouse-path>",
       : "token",
       token: "<your-service-principal-pat>"
     },
     settings: {
         : false
     },
     options: {
       : true
     },
     : {
       : "Databricks",
       : false,
       : true,
       config: {
         : "token",
         : "<your-service-principal-pat>",
         : "<www.your-workspace.cloud.databricks.com>",
         : <your-Databricks-port>,
         : "<your-new-catalog>",
         : { enabled: true },
         : false,
         jobConfig: {
           : "/Workspace/ImmutaArtifacts",
           : undefined

       }
     }
    }'
    

Payload parameters

Attribute	Description	Required
connectionKey string	A unique name for the host connection.	Yes
connection object	Configuration attributes that should match the values used when getting the script from the integration endpoint.	Yes
connection.hostname string	Your Databricks workspace URL. This is the same as host and workspaceURL.	Yes
connection.port integer	The port to use when connecting to your Databricks account host. Defaults to 443.	Yes
connection.httpPath string	The HTTP path of your Databricks cluster or SQL warehouse.	Yes
connection.token string	The Databricks personal access token for the service principal created in step one for Immuta.	Yes
nativeIntegration object	Configuration attributes that should match the values used when getting the script from the integration endpoint.	Yes
nativeIntegration.config.token string	Same as connection.token	Yes
nativeIntegration.config.host string	Same as connection.hostname	Yes
nativeIntegration.config.port integer	Same as connection.port	Yes
nativeIntegration.config.catalog string	The name of the Databricks catalog created with the script from step four.	Yes

Response schema

Attribute	Description
objectPath string	The list of names that uniquely identify the path to a data object in the remote platform's hierarchy. The first element should be the associated connectionKey.
bulkId string	A bulk ID that can be used to search for the status of background jobs triggered by this request.

Example response

{
  objectPath: ['<your-connection-key-name>'],
  bulkId: "a-new-uuid"
}