Hi @ZafarJ,
This is a common point of confusion when getting started with Azure Databricks, and the answer depends on which level of user management you need.
WORKSPACE-LEVEL USER MANAGEMENT
As a workspace admin, you can manage users directly in your workspace. To access this:
1. Log in to your Azure Databricks workspace.
2. Click your username in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Settings".
4. In the left sidebar, look for "Identity and access" and then "Users", "Groups", or "Service principals".
If you created the workspace using your Azure Contributor role, you should automatically have workspace admin privileges. If you do not see the Settings option or the identity sections, confirm that your Azure role (Contributor or Owner) is assigned at the subscription level where the Databricks workspace lives.
ACCOUNT-LEVEL USER MANAGEMENT (RECOMMENDED FOR UNITY CATALOG)
Since you mentioned wanting to set up Unity Catalog, you will need account-level access. Unity Catalog manages identities at the account level, not the workspace level. The account console is at:
https://accounts.azuredatabricks.net
To access the account console for the first time, a Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) Global Administrator needs to:
1. Sign in to the Azure Portal with Global Admin credentials.
2. Navigate to https://accounts.azuredatabricks.net and sign in with Microsoft Entra ID. This automatically creates an account admin role for that user.
3. Click "User management" in the account console.
4. From there, they can delegate the Account Admin role to you or other users.
Once someone has the account admin role, they can assign it to others without the Global Administrator being involved further.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR UNITY CATALOG
Most workspaces created after November 2023 have identity federation and Unity Catalog enabled by default. With identity federation, you manage users centrally at the account level, then assign them to specific workspaces. This is the recommended approach. When you add a user in workspace admin settings, you select from identities that already exist in your account.
QUICK CHECKLIST
1. Confirm you are a workspace admin: click your username in the top bar, select Settings, and check for admin options.
2. If you need account-level user management for Unity Catalog, ask your Microsoft Entra ID Global Administrator to set up the first account admin at https://accounts.azuredatabricks.net.
3. Once you have account admin access, you can manage all users, groups, and service principals from the account console and assign them to workspaces.
HELPFUL DOCUMENTATION
- Manage users, service principals, and groups:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/databricks/admin/users-groups/
- Databricks administration overview (including first account admin setup):
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/databricks/admin/admin-concepts
- Get started with Unity Catalog:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/databricks/data-governance/unity-catalog/get-started
Let us know if you run into any issues accessing the account console or workspace settings.
* This reply used an agent system I built to research and draft this response based on the wide set of documentation I have available and previous memory. I personally review the draft for any obvious issues and for monitoring system reliability and update it when I detect any drift, but there is still a small chance that something is inaccurate, especially if you are experimenting with brand new features.
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