Account administrator setup for Snowflake App Runtime

We recommend that an account administrator complete Snowsight App Development Setup once per account. Setup sets account-level defaults for where apps deploy and grants the roles you choose permission to build and deploy. It points snow app setup and snow app deploy at a destination database, schema, and query warehouse, so your team’s apps land in a shared database from the start.

Until an administrator completes setup, snow app setup and snow app deploy deploy to a personal database. You can build and test apps there, but you can’t grant other roles access to them.

After setup, those same CLI commands use the destination database, schema, and warehouse you configure here. Quick start uses the SNOWFLAKE_APPS database, PUBLIC schema, and SNOWFLAKE_APPS_QUERY_WH warehouse.

Prerequisites

  • A paid Snowflake account (not a trial account).
  • A role that can change account settings, usually ACCOUNTADMIN.

Open the Apps settings page

In Snowsight, select your name in the lower-left corner, then Settings.

User menu in Snowsight with Settings selected from the profile menu in the lower-left corner

Under Account, select Apps.

If setup hasn’t run yet, the page shows App development is not set up and a Begin Setup button.

Snowsight Account Apps settings before setup, showing the Begin Setup button

Run App Development Setup

Select Begin Setup to open App Development Setup.

Choose roles

Under What roles will be making apps?, select every role that should build and deploy apps (for example PRODUCT_MANAGER and DATA_ENGINEER).

App Development Setup dialog with PRODUCT_MANAGER and DATA_ENGINEER selected under What roles will be making apps

Until at least one role is selected, Preview SQL stays disabled.

Choose resources

Expand Resources and pick Quick start or Custom.

Quick start creates new objects with recommended defaults:

  • Destination database: SNOWFLAKE_APPS
  • Destination schema: PUBLIC
  • Query warehouse: SNOWFLAKE_APPS_QUERY_WH

Snowsight also sets account defaults so snow app setup and deploy resolve to these objects.

App Development Setup with Quick start selected and SNOWFLAKE_APPS, PUBLIC, and SNOWFLAKE_APPS_QUERY_WH filled in

Custom uses databases, schemas, and warehouses you already have. Pick values from the dropdowns for destination database, destination schema, and query warehouse.

App Development Setup with Custom selected, showing Use existing resources from your Snowflake account and destination database, schema, and query warehouse dropdowns

Preview and run setup

Select Preview SQL to open the statements Snowsight will run. The list includes CREATE for the database, schema, and warehouse; ALTER ACCOUNT SET for default destination and query warehouse; and GRANT for each role you chose.

Preview SQL dialog showing CREATE, ALTER ACCOUNT SET, and GRANT statements for App Development Setup

Select Execute Setup to apply the configuration. Use Back to return and change roles or resources.

After setup

The Apps page shows two sections you can change later with Update:

  1. Destination database, Destination schema, and Query warehouse (defaults for where apps are stored and which warehouse runs in-app queries).
  2. Roles with access (roles that can create apps using those defaults).
Apps settings after setup with destination database SNOWFLAKE_APPS, schema PUBLIC, warehouse SNOWFLAKE_APPS_QUERY_WH, and roles with access

When setup finishes, send developers to Getting started with Snowflake App Runtime.

See also