Databricks in Codex: Genie One MCP or Contextflo

Codex can query Databricks through Genie One, Databricks' own MCP endpoint. It can also go through Contextflo, which connects to a SQL warehouse once and adds shared context for your team. Both configs are a few lines of TOML.

Option 1: Genie One MCP in Codex

Databricks exposes Genie as an MCP server at:

https://<workspace>/ai-gateway/mcp-services/system.ai.genie_one_mcp

Auth is OAuth. The older beta endpoint is deprecated on October 31, 2026, so use this one.

In ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.databricks]
url = "https://<workspace>/ai-gateway/mcp-services/system.ai.genie_one_mcp"

Genie works against Genie spaces. A space holds up to 50 tables. Databricks recommends five or fewer for accuracy, so plan to split broad data across spaces.

Option 2: Contextflo

Contextflo connects to a SQL warehouse and queries the tables you expose.

In Databricks:

1. Find your SQL warehouse's HTTP path: SQL Warehouses, your warehouse, Connection details.
2. Create a token for a service principal, or use a personal access token, with read access.
3. Grant Unity Catalog USE CATALOG, USE SCHEMA and SELECT on what you want to expose.

In Contextflo: go to Data Sources, then Add data source, and choose Databricks. Enter the host (your workspace URL), the HTTP path and the token. Pick tables and invite your team.

In Codex:

[mcp_servers.contextflo]
url = "https://mcp.contextflo.com/mcp"

codex mcp login contextflo

codex mcp list confirms the connection. Contextflo runs SELECT only.

Access in Contextflo is at table level. Unity Catalog adds row filters and column masks if you need them.

Which one to use

Just you, asking about a few curated tables: Genie One in Option 1.

Your team asks too: Contextflo. It generates table and column descriptions, your team saves shared definitions, each person gets their own table access, and you get an audit trail of prompts and the SQL that ran.

On Claude? See Claude with Databricks.

You do the modeling, we do the rest. Connect Databricks free.

FAQ

How many tables should a Genie space have for Codex? Genie spaces hold up to 50 tables. Databricks recommends five or fewer for accuracy.

Is the old Databricks Genie MCP beta endpoint still supported? The older beta endpoint is deprecated on October 31, 2026. Use the Genie One MCP endpoint under /ai-gateway/mcp-services/ instead.

What Unity Catalog grants does Contextflo need? USE CATALOG, USE SCHEMA and SELECT on what you want to expose. Unity Catalog row filters and column masks add finer control on top of Contextflo's table-level access.

Where do I find the HTTP path for a Databricks SQL warehouse? In Databricks, open SQL Warehouses, pick your warehouse, then Connection details.