Databricks SQL version 2026.10 is now available in the Preview channel. Review the following section to learn about new features, behavioral changes, and bug fixes.
Observation metric errors no longer fail queries
Errors during observation metric collection no longer cause query execution failures. Previously, errors in OBSERVE clauses (such as division by zero) could block or fail the entire query. Now, the query completes successfully and the error is raised when you call observation.get.
Optimized writes for Unity Catalog CRTAS operations
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE AS SELECT (CRTAS) operations on partitioned Unity Catalog tables now apply optimized writes by default, producing fewer, larger files. To disable, set spark.databricks.delta.optimizeWrite.UCTableCRTAS.enabled to false.
Timestamp partition values use session timezone
Timestamp partition values now use the SQL warehouse session timezone. If you have timestamp partitions written before Databricks SQL version 2025.40, run SHOW PARTITIONS to verify your partition metadata before writing new data.
DESCRIBE FLOW reserved keyword
The DESCRIBE FLOW command is now available. If you have a table named flow, use DESCRIBE schema.flow, DESCRIBE TABLE flow, or DESCRIBE `flow` with backticks.
SpatialSQL boolean set operations …