Databricks introduces managed MCP servers in beta
Databricks released managed MCP servers in beta for Genie spaces, Vector Search indexes and Unity Catalog functions, with on-behalf-of-user authentication.
On June 18, 2025, Databricks announced managed MCP servers in beta.
What was announced
- Managed MCP servers that Databricks hosts, so teams do not run their own.
- Three starting sources: Genie spaces, Vector Search indexes and Unity Catalog functions.
- On-behalf-of-user authentication. The agent acts with the permissions of the person using it, governed by Unity Catalog.
Why it matters
Permissions are the part of agent access that is easiest to get wrong. When an agent calls a tool with a shared service account, it can see more than the person asking. Running the call as the user keeps the answer inside what that person was already allowed to see.
Exposing a Genie space over MCP also means any MCP client can now ask it questions. The space's instructions and examples travel with it. Agents built elsewhere will inherit whatever the space's authors decided terms mean, so those decisions should be visible and reviewed, not tucked inside one space.