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Arrow Database Connectivity (ADBC) driver for Power BI

Preview

This feature is in Public Preview.

This page describes how to switch to the Arrow Database Connectivity (ADBC) driver for Power BI dashboards that connect to Databricks data sources. The ADBC driver is a modern, columnar API standard designed for analytical applications, enabling efficient data transfer between databases and client tools using the Apache Arrow format.

You can use the ADBC driver instead of the ODBC driver for the Databricks connector in Power BI. To use the ADBC driver, use Power BI Desktop 2.145.1105.0 (July 2025 release) or above.

Databricks continues to enhance this connector and add new capabilities. Upgrade to the latest version, try it out, and Submit product feedback.

Switch to the ADBC driver​

There are two methods to switch to the ADBC driver:

  • Opt-in to use Databricks new connector on Power BI. This affects all new connections.
  • Individually edit the implementation of each Power BI dashboard.

Option 1: Turn on feature preview on Power BI Desktop​

To enable the ADBC feature preview for all new Databricks connections created on Power BI, do the following:

  1. On Power BI Desktop, click File > Options and settings > Options.
  2. Click Preview Feature.
  3. Select Use new Databricks connector implementations.

Option 2: Edit the implementation​

To switch to the ADBC driver for a specific dashboard, do the following:

  1. Open the desired dashboard in Power BI.
  2. Click Transform Data.
  3. Click Advanced Editor in the Query option section.
  4. Specify Implementation="2.0" to switch to the ADBC driver. 
    let
        Source = DatabricksMultiCloud.Catalogs("<instance-name>.cloud.databricks.net", "/sql/1.0/warehouses/<sql-warehouse-id>",
         [Catalog=null, Database=null, EnableAutomaticProxyDiscovery=null, Implementation="2.0"]),
        powerbi_Database = Source{[Name="powerbi",Kind="Database"]}[Data],
        default_Schema = powerbi_Database{[Name="default",Kind="Schema"]}[Data],
        dashboard_data_Table = default_Schema{[Name="dashboard_data",Kind="Table"]}[Data]
    in
        dashboard_data_Table
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