Download files from DBFS with the web browser

Make sure the DBFS File Browser is enabled if you want to download files from DBFS via the web.

Written by walter.camacho

Last published at: November 18th, 2024

Problem

You want to download files stored on DBFS root directly from the web. This can be useful when working with files like logs that are being generated and stored in DBFS, such as log delivery, init script logs, or tcp dumps.

Cause

You cannot download files directly from DBFS if DBFS File Browser is disabled in the workspace admin settings.

Solution

To download files from DBFS via the web browser:

  1. Verify that a workspace admin has enabled DBFS File Browser. Follow the steps in the Manage the DBFS file browser (AWS | Azure | GCP) documentation.
  2. Click Catalog in the left nav bar.
  3. Click Browse DBFS.
  4. Go to the location where the file is located
  5. Right click the file you want to download.
  6. Click Move.
  7. Move the file to the FileStore folder.
  8. Once the file is in the FileStore folder, you can access it with a custom URL. Enter the following URL into your browser, where <workspace-url> (AWS | Azure | GCP) is the Databricks workspace URL and <file-name> is the name of the file you want to download: https://<workspace-url>/files/<file-name>
  9. Submit the URL to download the file.