Problem

You previously exported a DBC file using the Databricks REST API (AWS | Azure | GCP). When you try to import that same DBC file into your Databricks workspace you get an invalid parameter value error message.

INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE: The dbc file may not be valid or may be an unsupported version.

Cause

You are missing the direct_download parameter when using the API to export. By default, the export API returns a JSON object with base64-encoded content. This is not valid for DBC files. When the direct_download parameter is set to true, the API call returns the raw DBC file, without encoding it.

Solution

You should always use "direct_download": "true" when exporting files or notebooks via the API.

Example code

%sh
curl -X POST \
  https://<databricks-instance>/api/2.0/workspace/export \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-access-token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "path": "<path-to-your-notebook-or-directory>",
    "format": "AUTO",
    "direct_download": "true"
  }'

Re-export the DBC file using the updated API call.

Import the newly exported DBC file to verify it is working correctly.