Databricks to Snowflake notebook transformation

This document describes the transformation process from Databricks notebooks to Snowflake notebooks (vNext).

The transformation tool converts Databricks notebooks (.py format with # COMMAND ---------- markers) to Snowflake notebooks (.ipynb format), adapting Databricks-specific APIs to functional equivalents in Snowflake.

Input and output files

Input

File

Description

input/dbx_with_dbutis_run.py

Databricks notebook with dbutils commands

Output

File

Description

output/Output/dbx_with_dbutis_run.ipynb

Transformed notebook for Snowflake

Transformation example

Input file: dbx_with_dbutis_run.py

# Databricks notebook source
dbutils.notebook.help("run")

# COMMAND ----------

dbutils.notebook.run("./my_second_notebook", timeout_seconds=1000)

# COMMAND ----------

print(myVar)

# COMMAND ----------

# MAGIC %r
# MAGIC names <- c("Product A", "Product B", "Product C", "Product D")
# MAGIC sales <- c(120, 450, 300, 780)
# MAGIC df <- data.frame(names, sales)
# MAGIC df$total_with_tax <- df$sales * 1.15
# MAGIC print(df)
# MAGIC barplot(df$sales, names.arg=df$names, col="steelblue", main="Sales Overview")

Output file: dbx_with_dbutis_run.ipynb

The transformed notebook contains the following cells:

Cell 0 - Connection configuration

-- To configure the connection in vNext notebook, uncomment the following code and update the values accordingly.
--     use role <ROLE>;
--     use database <DATABASE>;
--     USE SCHEMA <SCHEMA>;
--     USE WAREHOUSE <WAREHOUSE>;

Cell 1 - Utility imports

import sfutils
from snowflake.snowpark.session import Session

spark = Session.getActiveSession() or Session.builder.configs(connection_parameter).getOrCreate()

Cell 2 - dbutils help (unchanged)

dbutils.notebook.help("run")

Cell 3 - Notebook execution (transformed)

sfutils.notebook.run("./my_second_notebook", timeout_seconds = 1000)

Cell 4 - Python code (unchanged)

print(myVar)

Cell 5 - R code (with warning)

SPRKDBX1003 R cells code are not supported in Snowsight. You must rewrite the R code in Python.

For more information, see EWI codes in this topic.

names <- c("Product A", "Product B", "Product C", "Product D")
sales <- c(120, 450, 300, 780)
df <- data.frame(names, sales)
df$total_with_tax <- df$sales * 1.15
print(df)
barplot(df$sales, names.arg=df$names, col="steelblue", main="Sales Overview")

Applied transformations

1. Addition of initialization cells

Cells are automatically added at the beginning of the notebook for:

  • Snowflake connection configuration (commented for customization)

  • Import of sfutils and Snowpark session creation

2. Conversion of dbutils.notebook.run()

Databricks

Snowflake

dbutils.notebook.run("./my_second_notebook", timeout_seconds=1000)

sfutils.notebook.run("./my_second_notebook", timeout_seconds = 1000)

3. Handling of unsupported language cells

Cells with # MAGIC %r (R) or # MAGIC %scala (Scala) are marked with an EWI (Early Warning Issue) comment:

#EWI: SPRKDBX1003 => R cells code are not supported in Snowsight. It is necessary to rewrite the R code in Python.

For more information, see EWI codes in this topic.

EWI codes (early warning issues)

During transformation, warnings may be generated for code that requires manual review:

Code

Description

SPRKDBX1003

R cell code is not supported in Snowsight. Requires rewriting in Python

Important considerations

  1. Snowflake Session: The transformed notebook automatically initializes a Snowpark session.

  2. R/Scala Cells: Require manual migration to Python.

  3. Notebook Execution: dbutils.notebook.run() is converted to sfutils.notebook.run().

Complete migration example

Before (Databricks)

# Databricks notebook source

# Get widget value
env = dbutils.widgets.get("env")
print(f"Running in environment: {env}")

# COMMAND ----------

# Execute child notebook
result = dbutils.notebook.run("./process_data", timeout_seconds=3600, arguments={"env": env})

# COMMAND ----------

# Read file
content = dbutils.fs.head("/mnt/data/config.json")
print(content)

After (Snowflake)

# Cell 0 - Configuration
import sfutils
from snowflake.snowpark.session import Session

spark = Session.getActiveSession() or Session.builder.configs(connection_parameter).getOrCreate()

# Cell 1 - Get widget
env = sfutils.widgets.get("env")
print(f"Running in environment: {env}")

# Cell 2 - Execute notebook
result = sfutils.notebook.run("./process_data", timeout_seconds=3600, arguments={"env": env})

# Cell 3 - Read file
content = sfutils.fs.head("/mnt/data/config.json")
print(content)