Hey there, and welcome back! Just wanted to quickly share my first impressions of something that’s pretty big — Databricks has just launched a brand-new Free Edition, and honestly, I’m excited.
What’s New?
So this launched on June 11th, and we’re just a few days in. Previously, we had the Databricks Community Edition (which has been around since 2016), but this new Free Edition feels like a major upgrade.
It’s basically a sandbox environment, but with a whole bunch of features that used to be locked behind a paywall.
Key Features I’m Loving:
- Serverless Compute: Big win here. You no longer have to spin up full clusters to run your code. Serverless makes things easier and more efficient — especially for testing and learning.
- Built-in AI & ML Tools: You get access to the latest notebooks and machine learning tooling without needing your own infrastructure.
- SQL Editor with History: Yep, it remembers your queries. That alone makes it more usable day-to-day.
- Shared Notebooks: Great for collaboration or just keeping things organized.
- Access to System Tables: Includes billing info and job runs, which is super helpful — especially if you want to monitor usage without unexpected costs.
- New Catalog Interface: Looks much better and is easier to navigate compared to the old Community Edition.
Why It Matters
This is honestly huge if you’re just starting out, especially if you’re learning Databricks on your own or don’t have access to a paid enterprise environment.
You don’t need a credit card to sign up, which is refreshing. It’s similar to what Microsoft does with SQL Server — a real environment you can actually learn and experiment with.
A Few Caveats
While this is amazing for learning and experimentation, keep in mind:
- It’s not meant for production workloads.
- You might experience some slowness or limitations, but that’s expected in a free-tier service.
Final Thoughts
I think this Free Edition opens a lot of doors for new developers, students, and self-learners. I’ll be diving into more of these features on the channel soon, so stay tuned.
If you’re even a little curious about Databricks — now’s the time to give it a try.
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