Platform overview
Databricks Apps, Lakebase Postgres, Agent Bricks, and the Data Lakehouse are the four core workspace services that make up a full-stack Databricks application. The diagram below shows how they fit together.
- Databricks Apps: managed hosting for apps you build with AppKit, the TypeScript SDK for production-ready Databricks applications.
- Lakebase Postgres: managed Postgres database for OLTP storage co-located with your workspace data. Use it for sessions, app state, conversation history, or any data your app reads and writes at low latency.
- Agent Bricks: Databricks' enterprise agent platform, unifying model access, execution, governance, and context. Use it for AI features in your app: chat with your company's docs (Knowledge Assistants), ask-your-data in plain English (Genie), foundation-model calls, or custom Python agents.
- Data Lakehouse: governed analytical data in Unity Catalog. Use it to read company data, trigger Lakeflow Jobs, and display data freshness in your UI.
How a request flows
- A user opens the app at its workspace URL. Databricks Apps authenticates them via workspace SSO.
- Each AppKit plugin then handles requests for its service: the Lakebase Plugin queries Lakebase, the Model Serving Plugin calls Agent Bricks, the Analytics Plugin reads the Data Lakehouse.
- Each plugin call runs as the app's service principal (by default) or the user's forwarded token (when per-user permissions matter). Workspace permissions and governance apply automatically.
Where to next
- Set up your environment to start building apps.
- Already have your environment set up? Use a template to quickly scaffold an app.
- Dive deeper into each service: Databricks Apps, Lakebase Postgres, Agent Bricks, and the Data Lakehouse.