databricks · rahuls-db · Aug 20, 2026 · Aug 20, 2026 · Aug 20, 2026 · Aug 20, 2026
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Release History
 
+## Unreleased
+
+- Kernel backend (`useKernel: true`): OAuth **M2M with a JWT private-key client assertion** (RFC 7523) is now supported. On the `databricks-oauth` auth type, supplying `oauthJwtKeyFile` (with `oauthClientId` + `oauthJwtKid`, optional `oauthJwtPassphrase` / `oauthJwtAlgorithm` / `oauthScopes`, and `tokenUrl` for the IdP token endpoint) selects the JWT client-assertion flow: the kernel signs a short-lived assertion with the private key instead of sending a client secret, and owns the token lifecycle. A private-key file is treated as unambiguous JWT M2M intent and is mutually exclusive with `oauthClientSecret`. `tokenUrl` points the grant at the workspace's OAuth IdP (e.g. Entra ID for Azure Databricks), which is required because Databricks-native OIDC does not advertise the `private_key_jwt` method. Also fixes the kernel path to not eagerly build the connector's own OAuth provider (which could start the U2M browser flow before the kernel is consulted). Verified end-to-end against an Azure Databricks warehouse via Entra ID. Requires a `@databricks/databricks-sql-kernel` build with JWT + `tokenUrl` support.
+
 ## 2.0.0
 
 **Breaking changes — completes the security cleanup that 1.17.0 could not do without breaking changes.**

diff --git a/lib/DBSQLClient.ts b/lib/DBSQLClient.ts
@@ -497,8 +497,20 @@ export default class DBSQLClient extends EventEmitter implements IDBSQLClient, I
    */
   private mapAuthType(options: ConnectionOptions): string {
     switch (options.authType) {
-      case 'databricks-oauth':
+      case 'databricks-oauth': {
+        // JWT private-key M2M (kernel-only) presents no `oauthClientSecret`,
+        // so without this check it would misreport as `external-browser`
+        // (U2M) — the opposite of its machine-to-machine nature. The field
+        // lives on the internal options surface (see InternalConnectionOptions)
+        // and is only honored on the kernel path; gate the label on `useKernel`
+        // so a Thrift-path connection (which has no JWT branch and would run
+        // the U2M browser flow) isn't mislabeled `oauth-m2m-jwt`.
+        const { oauthJwtKeyFile, useKernel } = options as ConnectionOptions & InternalConnectionOptions;
+        if (useKernel && oauthJwtKeyFile !== undefined) {
+          return 'oauth-m2m-jwt';
+        }
         return options.oauthClientSecret === undefined ? 'external-browser' : 'oauth-m2m';
+      }
       case 'custom':
         return 'custom';
       case 'token-provider':
@@ -721,14 +733,43 @@ export default class DBSQLClient extends EventEmitter implements IDBSQLClient, I
     // hit endpoints that don't carry the workspace in their URL path.
     this.config.customHeaders = this.buildCustomHeaders(options.path, options.customHeaders);
 
-    this.authProvider = this.createAuthProvider(options, authProvider);
-
-    this.connectionProvider = this.createConnectionProvider(options);
-
     // M0: `useKernel` is consumed via a non-exported internal-options cast so it
     // doesn't ship in the public `.d.ts`. Mirrors Python's `kwargs.get("use_kernel")`
     // pattern (see databricks-sql-python/src/databricks/sql/session.py).
     const internalOptions = options as ConnectionOptions & InternalConnectionOptions;
+
+    // On the kernel path the kernel owns the full auth lifecycle (it resolves
+    // M2M / U2M / JWT purely from the raw options via `buildKernelConnectionOptions`).
+    // We must NOT build the connector's own OAuth provider here: for OAuth it
+    // eagerly runs the U2M browser flow / M2M token exchange at connect() time
+    // (a telemetry / feature-flag client calls `authProvider.authenticate()`),
+    // racing — and conflicting with — the kernel's auth. So for `useKernel` we
+    // hand over only a minimal PAT provider when a `token` is present, and
+    // `undefined` otherwise. Mirrors Python's use_kernel auth-provider handling.
+    if (internalOptions.useKernel) {
+      // The kernel owns auth via the native binding, so a JS-side custom
+      // `authProvider` (deprecated arg) genuinely can't be plumbed through.
+      // Warn rather than drop it silently, so a caller who passes one alongside
+      // `useKernel` can diagnose why their provider isn't used.
+      if (authProvider) {
+        this.logger.log(
+          LogLevel.warn,
+          'DBSQLClient: a custom authProvider was supplied with useKernel; it is ignored because the ' +
+            'kernel backend owns authentication via the native binding. Configure auth through the ' +
+            'connection options (token / OAuth fields) instead.',
+        );
+      }
+      const { token } = options as { token?: string };
+      this.authProvider =
+        typeof token === 'string' && token.length > 0
+          ? new PlainHttpAuthentication({ username: 'token', password: token, context: this })
+          : undefined;
+    } else {
+      this.authProvider = this.createAuthProvider(options, authProvider);
+    }
+
+    this.connectionProvider = this.createConnectionProvider(options);
+
     const backend = internalOptions.useKernel
       ? new KernelBackend({ context: this })
       : new ThriftBackend({

diff --git a/lib/contracts/InternalConnectionOptions.ts b/lib/contracts/InternalConnectionOptions.ts
@@ -74,4 +74,55 @@ export interface InternalConnectionOptions {
    * @internal kernel path only.
    */
   clientKeyPem?: Buffer | string;
+
+  /**
+   * kernel-only: JWT private-key M2M (RFC 7523 client assertion). Supplying
+   * `oauthJwtKeyFile` (alongside `authType: 'databricks-oauth'`) selects the
+   * JWT client-assertion flow: the kernel signs a short-lived assertion with
+   * the private key instead of sending a client secret. Requires
+   * `oauthClientId` (the assertion issuer/subject) and `oauthJwtKid` (the key
+   * id written into the JWT header). Mutually exclusive with
+   * `oauthClientSecret`.
+   *
+   * These live on the internal options surface — NOT the public
+   * `databricks-oauth` `AuthOptions` — because the Thrift backend has no
+   * JWT client-assertion path; exposing them publicly would let a Thrift
+   * caller set them and have them silently ignored. The kernel path reads
+   * them via the `InternalConnectionOptions` cast, exactly like `useKernel`
+   * and the TLS knobs above.
+   * @internal kernel path only.
+   */
+  oauthJwtKeyFile?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * kernel-only: key id written into the JWT assertion header so the IdP can
+   * select the registered public key. Required when `oauthJwtKeyFile` is set.
+   * @internal kernel path only.
+   */
+  oauthJwtKid?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * kernel-only: passphrase for an encrypted PKCS#8 private key
+   * (`oauthJwtKeyFile`). Omit for an unencrypted key.
+   * @internal kernel path only.
+   */
+  oauthJwtPassphrase?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * kernel-only: JWT signing algorithm for the client assertion. Defaults to
+   * `RS256` in the kernel when omitted.
+   * @internal kernel path only.
+   */
+  oauthJwtAlgorithm?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * kernel-only: OAuth token-endpoint override. Points the M2M /
+   * JWT client-assertion grant at the workspace's IdP token endpoint —
+   * required when auth is against an external IdP such as Entra ID, which is
+   * where `private_key_jwt` is supported. Applies to both shared-secret M2M
+   * and JWT M2M (auth-method-agnostic, matching JDBC's
+   * `OAuth2ConnAuthTokenEndpoint`).
+   * @internal kernel path only.
+   */
+  tokenUrl?: string;
 }
diff --git a/lib/kernel/KernelAuth.ts b/lib/kernel/KernelAuth.ts
@@ -230,6 +230,19 @@ export type KernelNativeConnectionOptions = KernelSessionDefaults &
         oauthClientId: string;
         oauthClientSecret: string;
         oauthScopes?: Array<string>;
+        tokenUrl?: string;
+      }
+    | {
+        hostName: string;
+        httpPath: string;
+        authMode: 'OAuthM2mJwt';
+        oauthClientId: string;
+        jwtKeyFile: string;
+        jwtKid: string;
+        jwtPassphrase?: string;
+        jwtAlgorithm?: string;
+        oauthScopes?: Array<string>;
+        tokenUrl?: string;
       }
     | {
         hostName: string;
@@ -602,6 +615,11 @@ export function buildKernelConnectionOptions(options: ConnectionOptions): Kernel
     azureTenantId?: string;
     useDatabricksOAuthInAzure?: boolean;
     persistence?: unknown;
+    oauthJwtKeyFile?: string;
+    oauthJwtKid?: string;
+    oauthJwtPassphrase?: string;
+    oauthJwtAlgorithm?: string;
+    tokenUrl?: string;
   };
 
   if (authType === undefined || authType === 'access-token') {
@@ -611,9 +629,13 @@ export function buildKernelConnectionOptions(options: ConnectionOptions): Kernel
         "kernel backend: a non-empty PAT must be supplied via `token` when using `authType: 'access-token'`.",
       );
     }
-    if (oauth.oauthClientId !== undefined || oauth.oauthClientSecret !== undefined) {
+    if (
+      oauth.oauthClientId !== undefined ||
+      oauth.oauthClientSecret !== undefined ||
+      oauth.oauthJwtKeyFile !== undefined
+    ) {
       throw new HiveDriverError(
-        'kernel backend: cannot supply both `token` and `oauthClientId`/`oauthClientSecret` ' +
+        'kernel backend: cannot supply both `token` and `oauthClientId`/`oauthClientSecret`/`oauthJwtKeyFile` ' +
           "on the same connection. Pick one: 'access-token' (PAT) uses `token`; " +
           "'databricks-oauth' uses the OAuth fields.",
       );
@@ -637,6 +659,55 @@ export function buildKernelConnectionOptions(options: ConnectionOptions): Kernel
       );
     }
 
+    // JWT private-key M2M (RFC 7523 client assertion). A private-key file is
+    // unambiguous JWT M2M intent, so this is checked before the U2M/M2M
+    // secret split. The kernel signs a short-lived assertion with the key
+    // (`authMode: 'OAuthM2mJwt'`) instead of sending a client secret. Requires
+    // `oauthClientId` (assertion issuer/subject) and `oauthJwtKid` (key id).
+    // Mutually exclusive with `oauthClientSecret`.
+    if (oauth.oauthJwtKeyFile !== undefined) {
+      if (oauth.oauthClientSecret !== undefined) {
+        throw new HiveDriverError(
+          'kernel backend: cannot supply both `oauthJwtKeyFile` (JWT private-key M2M) ' +
+            'and `oauthClientSecret` (shared-secret M2M). Pick one.',
+        );
+      }
+      if (oauth.persistence !== undefined) {
+        throw new HiveDriverError(
+          'kernel backend: `persistence` is not supported on JWT private-key M2M ' +
+            '(M2M tokens have no refresh token; the kernel re-issues on expiry).',
+        );
+      }
+      if (oauth.oauthClientId === undefined) {
+        throw new AuthenticationError(
+          'kernel backend: JWT private-key M2M (`oauthJwtKeyFile`) requires `oauthClientId` ' +
+            '(the service principal / OAuth client id used as the assertion issuer and subject).',
+        );
+      }
+      if (oauth.oauthJwtKid === undefined) {
+        throw new AuthenticationError(
+          'kernel backend: JWT private-key M2M (`oauthJwtKeyFile`) requires `oauthJwtKid` ' +
+            '(the key id written into the JWT header so the IdP can select the registered public key).',
+        );
+      }
+      const jwt = {
+        ...base,
+        authMode: 'OAuthM2mJwt' as const,
+        oauthClientId: oauth.oauthClientId,
+        jwtKeyFile: oauth.oauthJwtKeyFile,
+        jwtKid: oauth.oauthJwtKid,
+        // Configurable (parity with pyo3); defaults to `['all-apis']` in the kernel.
+        oauthScopes:
+          Array.isArray(oauth.oauthScopes) && oauth.oauthScopes.length > 0 ? oauth.oauthScopes : M2M_DEFAULT_SCOPES,
+      };
+      return {
+        ...jwt,
+        ...(oauth.oauthJwtPassphrase !== undefined ? { jwtPassphrase: oauth.oauthJwtPassphrase } : {}),
+        ...(oauth.oauthJwtAlgorithm !== undefined ? { jwtAlgorithm: oauth.oauthJwtAlgorithm } : {}),
+        ...(oauth.tokenUrl !== undefined ? { tokenUrl: oauth.tokenUrl } : {}),
+      };
+    }
+
     // Flow selector + client-id resolution mirror the Thrift driver EXACTLY
     // (`DBSQLClient.createAuthProvider`, DBSQLClient.ts:220):
     //   flow     = oauthClientSecret === undefined ? U2M : M2M   (strict undefined)
@@ -680,16 +751,17 @@ export function buildKernelConnectionOptions(options: ConnectionOptions): Kernel
           '(M2M tokens have no refresh token; the kernel re-issues on expiry).',
       );
     }
-    return {
+    const m2m = {
       ...base,
-      authMode: 'OAuthM2m',
+      authMode: 'OAuthM2m' as const,
       // Thrift: `getClientId()` = `oauthClientId ?? defaultClientId`.
       oauthClientId: oauth.oauthClientId ?? DEFAULT_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID,
       oauthClientSecret: oauth.oauthClientSecret,
       // Configurable (parity with pyo3); defaults to `['all-apis']`.
       oauthScopes:
         Array.isArray(oauth.oauthScopes) && oauth.oauthScopes.length > 0 ? oauth.oauthScopes : M2M_DEFAULT_SCOPES,
     };
+    return oauth.tokenUrl !== undefined ? { ...m2m, tokenUrl: oauth.tokenUrl } : m2m;
   }
 
   throw new HiveDriverError(

diff --git a/tests/unit/DBSQLClient.test.ts b/tests/unit/DBSQLClient.test.ts
@@ -284,6 +284,83 @@ describe('DBSQLClient.connect', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('useKernel: true with an OAuth flow installs NO auth provider (kernel owns auth; no eager browser flow)', async () => {
+    const client = new DBSQLClient();
+
+    // `useKernel` + `databricks-oauth` (U2M: no secret, no token). The kernel
+    // owns the full auth lifecycle here, so `connect()` must NOT build the
+    // connector's own OAuth provider (which would eagerly open a browser /
+    // run the token exchange at connect() time via a telemetry client). The
+    // authProvider is assigned before the backend connects, so it is set even
+    // though the subsequent KernelBackend connect() rejects (absent native
+    // binding in CI / no live workspace).
+    const kernelOAuthOptions = {
+      ...connectOptions,
+      token: undefined,
+      authType: 'databricks-oauth',
+      useKernel: true,
+    } as any;
+
+    try {
+      await client.connect(kernelOAuthOptions);
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (error instanceof AssertionError || !(error instanceof Error)) {
+        throw error;
+      }
+      // Expected: KernelBackend connect() rejects (native binding absent / no
+      // live workspace). The contract under test is the authProvider decision,
+      // which happened before the throw.
+    }
+
+    expect(client['authProvider']).to.be.undefined;
+  });
+
+  it('useKernel: true with a token installs a PAT-only PlainHttpAuthentication provider', async () => {
+    const client = new DBSQLClient();
+
+    // `useKernel` + a PAT: the connector hands the kernel a minimal PAT
+    // provider (for the telemetry / feature-flag clients) rather than
+    // undefined, and still must NOT build an OAuth provider.
+    const kernelPatOptions = { ...connectOptions, token: 'dapiXXXX', useKernel: true } as any;
+
+    try {
+      await client.connect(kernelPatOptions);
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (error instanceof AssertionError || !(error instanceof Error)) {
+        throw error;
+      }
+      // Expected: KernelBackend connect() rejects (native binding absent).
+    }
+
+    expect(client['authProvider']).to.be.instanceOf(PlainHttpAuthentication);
+  });
+
+  it('useKernel: true warns when a custom authProvider is supplied (it cannot be plumbed through)', async () => {
+    const client = new DBSQLClient();
+    const logSpy = sinon.spy((client as any).logger, 'log');
+
+    // The kernel owns auth via the native binding, so a JS-side authProvider
+    // is ignored — but the drop must be warned, not silent.
+    const kernelOptions = { ...connectOptions, token: 'dapiXXXX', useKernel: true } as any;
+
+    try {
+      await client.connect(kernelOptions, new AuthProviderStub());
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (error instanceof AssertionError || !(error instanceof Error)) {
+        throw error;
+      }
+      // Expected: KernelBackend connect() rejects (native binding absent). The
+      // warning is emitted before the backend connects.
+    }
+
+    const warned = logSpy
+      .getCalls()
+      .some((c) => c.args[0] === LogLevel.warn && /custom authProvider was supplied with useKernel/.test(c.args[1]));
+    expect(warned).to.be.true;
+
+    logSpy.restore();
+  });
+
   it('populates config.customHeaders with org-id parsed from ?o= (SPOG)', async () => {
     const client = new DBSQLClient();
     await client.connect({ ...connectOptions, path: '/sql/1.0/warehouses/abc?o=12345678901234' });
@@ -297,6 +374,36 @@ describe('DBSQLClient.connect', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('DBSQLClient.mapAuthType (telemetry authType)', () => {
+  it('labels databricks-oauth + oauthJwtKeyFile as oauth-m2m-jwt ONLY on the kernel path', () => {
+    const client = new DBSQLClient();
+
+    const kernelJwt = {
+      ...connectOptions,
+      token: undefined,
+      authType: 'databricks-oauth',
+      oauthJwtKeyFile: '/keys/jwt.pem',
+      useKernel: true,
+    } as any;
+    expect(client['mapAuthType'](kernelJwt)).to.equal('oauth-m2m-jwt');
+  });
+
+  it('does NOT label a Thrift-path connection oauth-m2m-jwt even if oauthJwtKeyFile is set (no useKernel)', () => {
+    const client = new DBSQLClient();
+
+    // oauthJwtKeyFile is a kernel-only internal option; on the Thrift path a
+    // no-secret OAuth connection actually runs U2M (external-browser), so the
+    // label must reflect that rather than mislabeling it oauth-m2m-jwt.
+    const thriftJwt = {
+      ...connectOptions,
+      token: undefined,
+      authType: 'databricks-oauth',
+      oauthJwtKeyFile: '/keys/jwt.pem',
+    } as any;
+    expect(client['mapAuthType'](thriftJwt)).to.equal('external-browser');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('DBSQLClient.openSession', () => {
   it('should successfully open session', async () => {
     const { client } = makeStubbedClient();