Databricks Free Edition – Workspaces Prefetch Error 500 After Gmail Verification

[Sam92]

Hi everyone,

I have been using Databricks Free Edition regularly for learning and practising Data Engineering. However, since today, I am unable to access my workspace.

I can log in successfully using my Gmail account and complete the email verification process. But immediately after verification, the workspace page fails to load and displays a server error with code 500."Workspaces Prefetch error: 500"

I also tried opening my existing workspace directly in a new browser tab, but I am facing the same issue.

I have already tried the following:

• Logging in through Chrome Incognito mode.

• Signing in again using my Gmail account.

• Completing the email verification process again.

• Opening my existing workspace URL directly.

Unfortunately, none of these steps worked.

I have created several notebooks, tables and data engineering projects in this workspace, so I am concerned about losing access to my existing work.

Has anyone faced a similar issue with Databricks Free Edition? Is this a temporary issue, and is there a way to restore access to the existing workspace?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[ThomazNeto]

Hi Sam,

You're not the only one. Another user reported the same "Workspaces Prefetch error: 500" on Free Edition today: https://community.databricks.com/t5/databricks-free-edition-help/free-edition-workspace-errors-quot-...

status.databricks.com shows no open incident right now and lists Free Edition as operational. Still, two identical reports on the same day point to something on the service side, not your browser or account. Incognito, signing in again and opening the URL directly already rule out the usual browser causes.

About losing your work: the Free Edition docs only mention deleting accounts that are inactive for a prolonged period, and that isn't your case since you use it regularly.

What you can do in the meantime:

1. If you have the Databricks CLI set up for this workspace, try exporting your notebooks. The API may respond even when the UI doesn't:

databricks workspace export-dir /Users/your-email ./backup

2. Subscribe to updates on the status page.

3. Free Edition isn't covered by the Databricks support policy or SLA, so the community is the channel here. If the error page shows a TraceId, add it to this thread, as the other user did.

Docs:
Free Edition limitations (inactivity, support and SLA): https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/getting-started/free-edition-limitations
Status page: https://status.databricks.com/
CLI workspace commands: https://docs.databricks.com/aws/en/dev-tools/cli/reference/workspace-commands

[Ashwin_DSA]

Hi @Sam92,

Workspaces Prefetch error: 500" and the GetFilebrowserHeaderFolder ... temporarily unavailable message are both server-side errors. They come from the backend that serves your workspace, not from your browser. That's why the hard refresh, incognito window, different browser and cleared cache didn't change anything, and there's nothing more to try on your end. Other Free Edition users reported the same Prefetch 500 error around the time you first saw it, so you're not the only one.

Two likely causes for this. The first is a temporary platform problem. If that's what it is, the workspace usually comes back on its own once the service recovers. Your notebooks and data aren't affected by this kind of error.

The second is that the workspace was deactivated. The Free Edition limitations page says Databricks may delete Free Edition accounts that stay inactive for a long time, and accounts can also be removed for breaking the fair usage policy. 

Check the Databricks status page for any open incidents in your region. Then sign out completely and sign back in from the main Databricks login page instead of the saved workspace URL. See whether your workspace still appears in the workspace picker and whether it opens from there.

If this answer resolves your question, could you mark it as “Accept as Solution”? That helps other users quickly find the correct fix.