databricks-model-serving

name	databricks-model-serving
description	Deploy and query Databricks Model Serving endpoints. Use when (1) deploying MLflow models or AI agents to endpoints, (2) creating ChatAgent/ResponsesAgent agents, (3) integrating UC Functions or Vector Search tools, (4) querying deployed endpoints, (5) checking endpoint status. Covers classical ML models, custom pyfunc, and GenAI agents.

Databricks Model Serving

Deploy MLflow models and AI agents to scalable REST API endpoints.

Quick Decision: What Are You Deploying?

Model Type	Pattern	Reference
Traditional ML (sklearn, xgboost)	mlflow.sklearn.autolog()	1-classical-ml.md
Custom Python model	mlflow.pyfunc.PythonModel	2-custom-pyfunc.md
GenAI Agent (LangGraph, tool-calling)	ResponsesAgent	3-genai-agents.md

Prerequisites

• DBR 16.1+ recommended (pre-installed GenAI packages)
• Unity Catalog enabled workspace
• Model Serving enabled

Foundation Model API Endpoints

ALWAYS use exact endpoint names from this table. NEVER guess or abbreviate.

Chat / Instruct Models

Endpoint Name	Provider	Notes
databricks-gpt-5-2	OpenAI	Latest GPT, 400K context
databricks-gpt-5-1	OpenAI	Instant + Thinking modes
databricks-gpt-5-1-codex-max	OpenAI	Code-specialized (high perf)
databricks-gpt-5-1-codex-mini	OpenAI	Code-specialized (cost-opt)
databricks-gpt-5	OpenAI	400K context, reasoning
databricks-gpt-5-mini	OpenAI	Cost-optimized reasoning
databricks-gpt-5-nano	OpenAI	High-throughput, lightweight
databricks-gpt-oss-120b	OpenAI	Open-weight, 128K context
databricks-gpt-oss-20b	OpenAI	Lightweight open-weight
databricks-claude-opus-4-6	Anthropic	Most capable, 1M context
databricks-claude-sonnet-4-6	Anthropic	Hybrid reasoning
databricks-claude-sonnet-4-5	Anthropic	Hybrid reasoning
databricks-claude-opus-4-5	Anthropic	Deep analysis, 200K context
databricks-claude-sonnet-4	Anthropic	Hybrid reasoning
databricks-claude-opus-4-1	Anthropic	200K context, 32K output
databricks-claude-haiku-4-5	Anthropic	Fastest, cost-effective
databricks-claude-3-7-sonnet	Anthropic	Retiring April 2026
databricks-meta-llama-3-3-70b-instruct	Meta	128K context, multilingual
databricks-meta-llama-3-1-405b-instruct

Embedding Models

Endpoint Name	Dimensions	Max Tokens	Notes
databricks-gte-large-en	1024	8192	English, not normalized
databricks-bge-large-en	1024	512	English, normalized
databricks-qwen3-embedding-0-6b	up to 1024	~32K	100+ languages, instruction-aware

Common Defaults

• Agent LLM: databricks-meta-llama-3-3-70b-instruct (good balance of quality/cost)
• Embedding: databricks-gte-large-en
• Code tasks: databricks-gpt-5-1-codex-mini or databricks-gpt-5-1-codex-max

These are pay-per-token endpoints available in every workspace. For production, consider provisioned throughput mode. See supported models.

Reference Files

Topic	File	When to Read
Classical ML	1-classical-ml.md	sklearn, xgboost, autolog
Custom PyFunc	2-custom-pyfunc.md	Custom preprocessing, signatures
GenAI Agents	3-genai-agents.md	ResponsesAgent, LangGraph
Tools Integration	4-tools-integration.md	UC Functions, Vector Search
Development & Testing	5-development-testing.md	MCP workflow, iteration
Logging & Registration	6-logging-registration.md	mlflow.pyfunc.log_model
Deployment	7-deployment.md	Job-based async deployment
Querying Endpoints	8-querying-endpoints.md	SDK, REST, MCP tools
Package Requirements	9-package-requirements.md	DBR versions, pip

---

Quick Start: Deploy a GenAI Agent

Step 1: Install Packages (in notebook or via MCP)

%pip install -U mlflow==3.6.0 databricks-langchain langgraph==0.3.4 databricks-agents pydantic
dbutils.library.restartPython()

Or via MCP:

execute_code(code="%pip install -U mlflow==3.6.0 databricks-langchain langgraph==0.3.4 databricks-agents pydantic")

Step 2: Create Agent File

Create agent.py locally with ResponsesAgent pattern (see 3-genai-agents.md).

Step 3: Upload to Workspace

manage_workspace_files(
    action="upload",
    local_path="./my_agent",
    workspace_path="/Workspace/Users/[e-mail]/my_agent"
)

Step 4: Test Agent

execute_code(
    file_path="./my_agent/test_agent.py",
    cluster_id="<cluster_id>"
)

Step 5: Log Model

execute_code(
    file_path="./my_agent/log_model.py",
    cluster_id="<cluster_id>"
)

Step 6: Deploy (Async via Job)

See 7-deployment.md for job-based deployment that doesn't timeout.

Step 7: Query Endpoint

manage_serving_endpoint(
    action="query",
    name="my-agent-endpoint",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)

---

Quick Start: Deploy a Classical ML Model

import mlflow
import mlflow.sklearn
from sklearn.linear_model import LogisticRegression

# Enable autolog with auto-registration
mlflow.sklearn.autolog(
    log_input_examples=True,
    registered_model_name="main.models.my_classifier"
)

# Train - model is logged and registered automatically
model = LogisticRegression()
model.fit(X_train, y_train)

Then deploy via UI or SDK. See 1-classical-ml.md.

---

MCP Tools

If MCP tools are not available, use the SDK/CLI examples in the reference files below.

Development & Testing

Tool	Purpose
manage_workspace_files (action="upload")	Upload agent files to workspace
execute_code	Install packages, test agent, log model

Deployment

Tool	Purpose
manage_jobs (action="create")	Create deployment job (one-time)
manage_job_runs (action="run_now")	Kick off deployment (async)
manage_job_runs (action="get")	Check deployment job status

manage_serving_endpoint - Querying

Action	Description	Required Params
get	Check endpoint status (READY/NOT_READY/NOT_FOUND)	name
list	List all endpoints	(none, optional limit)
query	Send requests to endpoint	name + one of: messages, inputs, dataframe_records

Example usage:

# Check endpoint status
manage_serving_endpoint(action="get", name="my-agent-endpoint")

# List all endpoints
manage_serving_endpoint(action="list")

# Query a chat/agent endpoint
manage_serving_endpoint(
    action="query",
    name="my-agent-endpoint",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
    max_tokens=500
)

# Query a traditional ML endpoint
manage_serving_endpoint(
    action="query",
    name="sklearn-classifier",
    dataframe_records=[{"age": 25, "income": 50000, "credit_score": 720}]
)

---

Common Workflows

Check Endpoint Status After Deployment

manage_serving_endpoint(action="get", name="my-agent-endpoint")

Returns:

{
    "name": "my-agent-endpoint",
    "state": "READY",
    "served_entities": [...]
}

Query a Chat/Agent Endpoint

manage_serving_endpoint(
    action="query",
    name="my-agent-endpoint",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "What is Databricks?"}
    ],
    max_tokens=500
)

Query a Traditional ML Endpoint

manage_serving_endpoint(
    action="query",
    name="sklearn-classifier",
    dataframe_records=[
        {"age": 25, "income": 50000, "credit_score": 720}
    ]
)

---

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
Invalid output format	Use self.create_text_output_item(text, id) - NOT raw dicts!
Endpoint NOT_READY	Deployment takes ~15 min. Use manage_serving_endpoint(action="get") to poll.
Package not found	Specify exact versions in pip_requirements when logging model
Tool timeout	Use job-based deployment, not synchronous calls
Auth error on endpoint	Ensure resources specified in log_model for auto passthrough
Model not found	Check Unity Catalog path: catalog.schema.model_name

Critical: ResponsesAgent Output Format

WRONG - raw dicts don't work:

return ResponsesAgentResponse(output=[{"role": "assistant", "content": "..."}])

CORRECT - use helper methods:

return ResponsesAgentResponse(
    output=[self.create_text_output_item(text="...", id="msg_1")]
)

Available helper methods:

• self.create_text_output_item(text, id) - text responses
• self.create_function_call_item(id, call_id, name, arguments) - tool calls
• self.create_function_call_output_item(call_id, output) - tool results

---

Related Skills

• databricks-agent-bricks - Pre-built agent tiles that deploy to model-serving endpoints
• databricks-vector-search - Create vector indexes used as retriever tools in agents
• databricks-genie - Genie Spaces can serve as agents in multi-agent setups
• databricks-mlflow-evaluation - Evaluate model and agent quality before deployment
• databricks-jobs - Job-based async deployment used for agent endpoints

Resources

• Model Serving Documentation
• MLflow 3 ResponsesAgent
• Agent Framework