Getting Started
Build Databricks Apps with apx
Welcome to the apx documentation. apx is a reliable, feature-full, human and LLM friendly development toolkit for building Databricks Apps.
Quick Start
Install apx:
curl -fsSL https://databricks-solutions.github.io/apx/install.sh | shInitialize a new project:
apx initThis launches an interactive prompt that guides you through:
- Naming your app
- Selecting a Databricks profile
- Setting up AI assistant rules
- Selecting addons (UI, backend, AI assistants)
Prerequisites
Before getting started, ensure you have:
- Databricks CLI - For deployment (install)
uv and bun are automatically installed by apx if not found on your
system. They are downloaded to ~/.apx/bin/ with SHA-256 verification. You
can override the paths with APX_UV_PATH and APX_BUN_PATH environment
variables.
Documentation
CLI Reference
Complete reference for all apx commands including init, build, and dev
MCP Reference
Model Context Protocol server for AI-assisted development
Features
Dev server, components CLI, local database, and more
Workspaces
Use apx as a uv workspace member in existing projects
Project Structure
After initialization, your project will have this structure:
Quick overview of the most important files and directories:
package.json: Frontend dependencies and scripts. Almost no need to edit this file manually.pyproject.toml: Python package metadata. Almost no need to edit this file manually.databricks.yml: Databricks Bundle configuration for deployment.src/: Source code for the app.src/<app_name>/ui/: React + Vite frontend.src/<app_name>/backend/: FastAPI backend.
Development Workflow
-
Start the dev server
apx dev start -
Add UI components
apx components add button card -
Check your code
apx dev check -
Build for deployment
apx build -
Deploy to Databricks
databricks bundle deploy -p <your-profile>
Run apx upgrade at any time to update to the latest version.
Stack
apx is built on modern, production-ready technologies:
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Backend | Python, FastAPI, Pydantic |
| Frontend | React, TypeScript, Vite |
| UI | shadcn/ui, Tailwind CSS |
| Runtime | Bun, uv |
| Database | SQLModel, PGlite (optional) |