How do I request Unity Catalog access for my team's Databricks workspace?

Question

How do I request Unity Catalog access for my team's Databricks workspace?

Niki Vasan 20 Microsoft Employee

I am looking to see if I can add Unity Catalog on my team's Databricks workspace. The goal is to be able the leverage the Databricks extension on VS Code to develop locally (with support of AI-assisted development tools like Github Copilot CLI) but still run things on the cluster when needed. I am currently unable to do so due to lack of Unity Catalog support for our cluster.

I have confirmed I have the correct extension and python-compatible environment. I am able to view my workspace file system and cluster in VS Code but Databricks Connect is disable due to the above issue.

User's image

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Allan Solomon Mejia 5,420

Hello @Niki Vasan

The METASTORE_DOES_NOT_EXIST message and “The workspace should have Unity Catalog enabled” indicate that this is most likely a workspace configuration issue, rather than a problem with your VS Code extension or Python environment.

For an existing Azure Databricks workspace, Unity Catalog is enabled by assigning the workspace to a Unity Catalog metastore. This is normally an account-level administrative task.

I would ask your Azure Databricks account administrator to check the workspace in the Databricks Account Console. They can:

Go to Catalog and verify that a Unity Catalog metastore exists in the same region as your workspace.
Open the metastore → Workspaces → Assign to workspace.
Select your team's workspace and enable the assignment.
Verify that your user/group has the appropriate catalog/schema privileges afterward.

You can also verify whether the workspace is already attached to a metastore from the Account Console under Workspaces. The Metastore column should contain a metastore name.

One thing to keep in mind is that enabling Unity Catalog on an existing workspace cannot be reversed, so your Databricks administrators should review the identity, access, and data-governance implications before making the change.

So, in your case, I wouldn't spend more time troubleshooting VS Code yet. The screenshots are consistent with the extension reaching the workspace but finding that the required Unity Catalog/metastore configuration isn't available.

Sharing you these references:

Microsoft Learn: Enable a workspace for Unity Catalog | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/databricks/data-governance/unity-catalog/enable-workspaces?

Microsoft Learn: Unity Catalog setup guide | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/databricks/data-governance/unity-catalog/setup-uc?

Once the metastore is assigned, reconnect the Databricks extension and retry attaching to the Unity Catalog-enabled compute.

Please "Accept the Answer" if this information helped you. This will help us and others in the community as well.

0 comments

1 additional answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi @Niki Vasan
The error shown in VS Code, METASTORE_DOES_NOT_EXIST, indicates that the Azure Databricks workspace is not currently attached to a Unity Catalog metastore. Since Databricks Connect requires a Unity Catalog-enabled workspace for this scenario, the VS Code extension is disabling Databricks Connect.

Unity Catalog access is configured at the Azure Databricks account/workspace level rather than from VS Code. An Azure Databricks account administrator needs to verify whether a Unity Catalog metastore exists for the workspace's region and, if necessary, assign the workspace to that metastore.

The account administrator can go to the Azure Databricks account console, open Catalog, select the appropriate metastore, go to the Workspaces tab, choose Assign to workspace, select the team's workspace, and enable it. Microsoft documents these steps here: Enable a workspace for Unity Catalog

If no metastore exists for the workspace's region, an account administrator will need to create one first and then assign the workspace to it. Unity Catalog setup also requires the workspace to be on the Premium plan.

After the workspace is attached to the metastore, refresh or restart the Databricks extension in VS Code and reattach a cluster that meets the Databricks Connect requirements. The Databricks documentation confirms that Databricks Connect in the VS Code extension requires a Unity Catalog-enabled workspace and a compatible cluster.

Therefore, the recommended next step is to contact the Azure Databricks account administrator for the organization and request that the team's workspace be enabled for Unity Catalog by attaching it to the appropriate metastore. This is an account/workspace configuration change and cannot normally be completed solely from the VS Code extension.