> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.summand.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delta Sharing

> Connect Summand to a Databricks Delta Sharing recipient endpoint. Available on Enterprise.

The Delta Sharing connector reads tables published from Databricks via the open [Delta Sharing](https://delta.io/sharing/) protocol. Available on **Enterprise** plans.

<Note>
  Today Summand supports **Databricks UniForm** shares only. The recipient credential JSON must include an `icebergEndpoint` field — this is what Databricks emits when the share is created with UniForm enabled. Non-UniForm shares (OSS Delta Sharing servers, AWS Data Exchange, older Databricks shares without UniForm) are not yet supported.
</Note>

## What you'll need from your Delta Sharing provider

A **recipient credential JSON** that contains, at minimum:

* `endpoint` — the Delta Sharing server URL
* `bearerToken` — the recipient access token
* `icebergEndpoint` — the UniForm Iceberg REST URL

Plus the share metadata you intend to consume:

* **Share name** — the named bundle of schemas and tables shared with you
* **Schema name** — a single schema within the share

If your provider sent a `.share` credential file, all three URLs are inside it. Open it in a text editor; you'll see a JSON document.

## Why UniForm

UniForm-backed shares produce **Iceberg-formatted** tables, which gives Summand:

* **Type-faithful reads** — column types come from Iceberg metadata, not inferred from Parquet samples.
* **Predicate pushdown for incremental sync** — only the partitions that changed are re-read on refresh.
* **Schema evolution** — new columns are picked up on the next refresh without breaking the dataset.

The non-UniForm Delta Sharing path lacks these guarantees, so we've held off on supporting it.

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get a UniForm-enabled share from your provider">
    Your Databricks-side admin must mark the share as UniForm-enabled when creating or updating it. Confirm the recipient credential JSON has an `icebergEndpoint` field before continuing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the connector in Summand">
    From **Connectors → Add connector → Delta Sharing**, provide:

    * **Endpoint** — the Delta Sharing server URL (`endpoint` from the credential JSON)
    * **Bearer token** — the recipient access token
    * **Share name** — the share you want to consume
    * **Schema name** — a single schema within that share
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test connection">
    Summand authenticates to the Delta Sharing server and lists the schemas in your share. On success, the schema-and-tables view appears.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick tables and configure datasets">
    Same as any other connector. Each table becomes a candidate dataset; pick targets and run analysis.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Refresh

Click **Refresh** to re-read the share. Because UniForm provides Iceberg metadata, refresh is **incremental** — Summand only re-reads partitions that have changed since the last run, so refresh is fast even for large tables.

## Credentials

The bearer token is encrypted in AWS Secrets Manager and never logged. To rotate, edit the connector and supply a new token; the previous secret is overwritten on save.

If the bearer token is rotated on the Databricks side without updating Summand, refresh will fail with a 401 from the Delta Sharing server. Update the token in **Settings → Connectors → Edit**.

## Limits and caveats

* **Single schema per connector.** Delta Sharing connectors are scoped to one share + schema. To consume multiple schemas, create multiple connectors.
* **Read-only.** Summand never writes back to the share; this is enforced at the protocol level (Delta Sharing is read-only).
* **No row-level security.** Filtering happens server-side via the share configuration in Databricks. If you need different views for different teams, create separate shares.