Databricks Genie

Create and query Databricks Genie Spaces - natural language interfaces for SQL-based data exploration.

Overview

Genie Spaces allow users to ask natural language questions about structured data in Unity Catalog. The system translates questions into SQL queries, executes them on a SQL warehouse, and presents results conversationally.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Creating a new Genie Space for data exploration

• Adding sample questions to guide users

• Connecting Unity Catalog tables to a conversational interface

• Asking questions to a Genie Space programmatically (Conversation API)

MCP Tools

Space Management

Tool Purpose

create_or_update_genie

Create or update a Genie Space

get_genie

Get space details (by ID) or list all spaces (no ID)

delete_genie

Delete a Genie Space

Conversation API

Tool Purpose

ask_genie

Ask a question or follow-up (conversation_id optional)

Supporting Tools

Tool Purpose

get_table_details

Inspect table schemas before creating a space

execute_sql

Test SQL queries directly

Quick Start

1. Inspect Your Tables

Before creating a Genie Space, understand your data:

get_table_details( catalog="my_catalog", schema="sales", table_stat_level="SIMPLE" )

2. Create the Genie Space

create_or_update_genie( display_name="Sales Analytics", table_identifiers=[ "my_catalog.sales.customers", "my_catalog.sales.orders" ], description="Explore sales data with natural language", sample_questions=[ "What were total sales last month?", "Who are our top 10 customers?" ] )

3. Ask Questions (Conversation API)

ask_genie( space_id="your_space_id", question="What were total sales last month?" )

Returns: SQL, columns, data, row_count

Workflow

1. Inspect tables → get_table_details
2. Create space → create_or_update_genie
3. Query space → ask_genie (or test in Databricks UI)
4. Curate (optional) → Use Databricks UI to add instructions

Reference Files

• spaces.md - Creating and managing Genie Spaces

• conversation.md - Asking questions via the Conversation API

Prerequisites

Before creating a Genie Space:

• Tables in Unity Catalog - Bronze/silver/gold tables with the data

• SQL Warehouse - A warehouse to execute queries (auto-detected if not specified)

Creating Tables

Use these skills in sequence:

• databricks-synthetic-data-gen

• Generate raw parquet files

• databricks-spark-declarative-pipelines

• Create bronze/silver/gold tables

Common Issues

Issue Solution

No warehouse available Create a SQL warehouse or provide warehouse_id explicitly

Poor query generation Add instructions and sample questions that reference actual column names

Slow queries Ensure warehouse is running; use OPTIMIZE on tables

Related Skills

• databricks-agent-bricks - Use Genie Spaces as agents inside Supervisor Agents

• databricks-synthetic-data-gen - Generate raw parquet data to populate tables for Genie

• databricks-spark-declarative-pipelines - Build bronze/silver/gold tables consumed by Genie Spaces

• databricks-unity-catalog - Manage the catalogs, schemas, and tables Genie queries