# neo4j-spark-skill

This skill guides Spark and Databricks workflows that move data between Neo4j and Spark DataFrames. Use it to plan graph reads, writes, or a Delta Lake pipeline.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 768 installs · ★ 116
- Author: neo4j-contrib
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills/tree/HEAD/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-21
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/neo4j-spark-skill

## What it does

The skill covers `SparkSession` setup, reading through labels, Cypher queries, or relationship scans, and writing DataFrames as nodes or relationships. Its examples use PySpark and Scala, with guidance on partitioned reads and Databricks cluster configuration.

Match the connector to the Spark version: the 6.0 line targets Spark 4.0 or 4.1, while Spark 3.x uses 5.5.x in the version guidance. Databricks connections need a Neo4j URL and credentials; the skill shows how to retrieve them from Secrets. The cluster must use Single user access mode, since Unity Catalog shared mode is unsupported.

This skill focuses on the Spark connector. It does not cover Cypher authoring, the Python Bolt Driver, or GDS algorithms, so those tasks need their corresponding skills.

## Requirements
- Works with: Databricks

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills --skill neo4j-spark-skill -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/neo4j-spark-skill/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills --skill neo4j-spark-skill -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills --skill neo4j-spark-skill -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills neo4j-spark-skill
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills --skill neo4j-spark-skill -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills --path neo4j-spark-skill
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills --skill neo4j-spark-skill -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills/tree/HEAD/neo4j-spark-skill/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- load Neo4j nodes into Spark DataFrames
- write DataFrames to Neo4j as nodes or relationships
- configure a Databricks connection to Neo4j
- plan partitioned reads from a Neo4j graph
- move Delta Lake data into Neo4j

## Example prompts
- Show me how to configure a `SparkSession` to read Neo4j nodes into a DataFrame.
- Help me write a Spark DataFrame to Neo4j as relationships from Databricks.
- Choose the Neo4j Spark connector version for my Spark setup and show a Cypher-based read.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 1e3b52b9e84fcc8a.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 1e3b52b9e84fcc8a
```text
---
name: neo4j-spark-skill
description: Use when reading from or writing to Neo4j with Apache Spark or Databricks using the
  Neo4j Connector for Apache Spark 6.0 (org.neo4j.connectors:spark) or 5.x
  (org.neo4j:neo4j-connector-apache-spark). Covers SparkSession
  setup, DataFrame reads via labels/Cypher/relationship scan, DataFrame writes with SaveMode,
  node.keys for MERGE, relationship write mapping, partition and batch tuning, PySpark and Scala
  examples, Databricks cluster config, Databricks secrets for credentials, Delta Lake to Neo4j
  pipelines. Does NOT handle Cypher authoring — use neo4j-cypher-skill. Does NOT handle the Python
  bolt driver — use neo4j-driver-python-skill. Does NOT handle GDS algorithms — use neo4j-gds-skill.
version: 1.0.3
allowed-tools: Bash WebFetch
---

# Neo4j Connector for Apache Spark

## When to Use

- Reading Neo4j nodes/relationships into Spark DataFrames
- Writing Spark DataFrames to Neo4j as nodes or relationships
- Databricks notebooks connecting to Neo4j
- Delta Lake → Neo4j ingestion pipelines
- Partitioned parallel reads from large Neo4j graphs

## When NOT to Use

- **Python bolt driver / execute_query** → `neo4j-driver-python-skill`
- **Cypher query writing** → `neo4j-cypher-skill`
- **GDS graph algorithms** → `neo4j-gds-skill`
- **Spring Boot + Neo4j** → `neo4j-spring-data-skill`

---

## Version Matrix

| Connector | Spark | Scala | Java | Databricks Runtime | Neo4j | Maven coordinate |
|-----------|-------|-------|------|--------------------|-------|------------------|
| 6.0.x | 4.0, 4.1 | 2.13 | 17+ | 17.3 LTS | 5.x, 2025.x, 2026.x | `org.neo4j.connectors:spark:6.0.0-s_2.13` |
| 5.5.x / 5.4.x | 3.4, 3.5 | 2.12, 2.13 | 8+ | 14.3–16.4 LTS | 4.4, 5.x, 2025.x, 2026.x | `org.neo4j:neo4j-connector-apache-spark_2.13:5.5.0_for_spark_3` |

Group ID changed in 6.0 — `org.neo4j:neo4j-connector-apache-spark_<scala>` is now a relocation POM pointing at `org.neo4j.connectors:spark`. On Spark 3.x stay on 5.5.x.

### 6.0 breaking changes

| Change | Migration |
|---|---|
| Spark baseline 3.5 → 4.0/4.1; Scala 2.12 and Java 8–11 dropped | Upgrade to 5.5.0 first, then Spark 4.x + Scala 2.13 + Java 17 |
| Maven coordinate `org.neo4j.connectors:spark:<version>-s_2.13` | Replace old `_for_spark_3` coordinate |
| `schema.optimization.type` removed | `schema.optimization.node.keys`, `schema.optimization.relationship.keys`, `schema.optimization` |
| `$stream.offset` in partitioned reads removed | Use `partitions` + `query.count` |
| `;`-separated multi-statement `script` removed | `script.1`, `script.2`, … `script.N` — executed in numbered order |
| `relationship.save.strategy` default `native` → `keys` | Set `.option("relationship.save.strategy", "native")` explicitly to keep old behaviour |
```
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