Cannot select a Databricks Runtime version when using a Delta Live Tables pipeline

Delta Live Tables do not allow you to directly configure the Databricks Runtime version.

Written by Jose Gonzalez

Last published at: April 20th, 2023

Problem

You want to select a specific Databricks Runtime version for use with your Delta Live Tables (DLT) pipeline, but you cannot find an option for it in the UI or the API. 

Cause 

Delta Live Tables do not allow you to directly configure the Databricks Runtime version.

Delta Live Tables clusters run on a custom version of the Databricks Runtime that is continually updated to include the latest features.

Solution

When creating a Delta Live Tables pipeline you can choose from one of two channels:

  • Current channel - This is the default choice. It is the current, stable DLT runtime version.
  • Preview channel - This allows you to test your pipeline with the newest version of the DLT runtime.

Delete

Info

The channel field is optional. If you do not enter a value, the DLT pipeline defaults to the current channel.

Databricks recommends using the current channel for production workloads.

For more information, please review the creating a new DLT pipeline documentation (AWS | Azure | GCP).