Upload an existing Python package

Snowflake CLI allows you to add existing Python packages to Snowpark imports using the snow snowpark package commands. You can use already implemented packages, such as those from PyPi, in your functions and procedures.

To add a Python package to Snowpark imports, do the following:

  1. Check whether a package is already available.

  2. Download a package and create a Snowflake artifact.

  3. Upload the package to a Snowflake stage.

  4. Use the package in Snowpark procedures and functions.

Check whether a package is already available

To check whether a package is not already available use the snow snowpark package lookup command.

The following example illustrates looking up a package that is already available on the Snowflake Anaconda channel:

snow snowpark package lookup numpy
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Package `numpy` is available in Anaconda. Latest available version: 1.26.4.

If a package is not available on the Snowflake Anaconda channel, you can get a message similar to the following:

snow snowpark package lookup july
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Package `july` is not available in Anaconda. To prepare Snowpark compatible package run:

  snow snowpark package create july

For more information, see the snowpark package lookup command.

Download a package and create a Snowflake artifact

To download a package and create a Snowflake artifact to upload use the snow snowpark package create command.

snow snowpark package create <name>
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where:

  • <name> can be any requirement specifier supported by pip, such as a package name, an URL for a package, or a local file path.

Additional options:

  • --allow-shared-libraries: Allows shared (.so/.dll) libraries, when using packages installed through pip.

  • --ignore-anaconda: Does not lookup packages on Snowflake Anaconda channel.

  • --index-url: Specifies the base URL of the Python Package Index to use for package lookup. This URL should point to a repository compliant with PEP 503 (the simple repository API) or a local directory laid out in the same format.

  • --skip-version-check: Skips comparing versions of dependencies between requirements and Anaconda.

The following examples illustrate some different situations for creating Snowflake artifacts:

Example: create a package with Anaconda dependencies

This example creates a Python package as a zip file that can be uploaded to a stage and later imported by a Snowpark Python app. Dependencies for “july” package are found on the Anaconda channel, so they were excluded from the .zip file. The command displays the packages you would need to include in requirements.txt of your Snowpark project.

snow snowpark package create july==0.1
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Package july.zip created. You can now upload it to a stage using
snow snowpark package upload -f july.zip -s <stage-name>`
and reference it in your procedure or function.
Remember to add it to imports in the procedure or function definition.

The package july==0.1 is successfully created, but depends on the following
Anaconda libraries. They need to be included in project requirements,
as their are not included in .zip.
matplotlib
numpy

Example: create a package using the --ignore-anaconda option

This example creates the july.zip package that you can use in your Snowpark project without needing to add any dependencies to the requirements.txt file. The error messages indicate that some packages contain shared libraries, which might not work, such as when creating a package using Windows.

snow snowpark package create july==0.1 --ignore-anaconda --allow-shared-libraries
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2024-05-09 15:34:02 ERROR Following dependencies utilise shared libraries, not supported by Conda:
2024-05-09 15:34:02 ERROR contourpy
numpy
pillow
kiwisolver
matplotlib
fonttools
2024-05-09 15:34:02 ERROR You may still try to create your package with --allow-shared-libraries, but the might not work.
2024-05-09 15:34:02 ERROR You may also request adding the package to Snowflake Conda channel
2024-05-09 15:34:02 ERROR at https://support.anaconda.com/

Package july.zip created. You can now upload it to a stage using
snow snowpark package upload -f july.zip -s <stage-name>`
and reference it in your procedure or function.
Remember to add it to imports in the procedure or function definition.

Example: create a package already available in the Snowflake Anaconda channel

This example fails to create the package because it already exists. You can still forcibly create the package by using the --ignore-anaconda option.

snow snowpark package create matplotlib
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Package matplotlib is already available in Snowflake Anaconda Channel.

For more information about creating a package, see the snowpark package create command.

Upload the package to a Snowflake stage

To upload your package, use the snow snowpark package upload command.

This command uploads a Python package zip file to a Snowflake stage so it can be referenced in the imports of a procedure or function.

snow snowpark package upload --file="july.zip" --stage="packages"
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Package july.zip UPLOADED to Snowflake @packages/july.zip.

Use the package in Snowpark procedures and functions

To use the package in procedures or functions, add it to the imports parameter of Snowpark definition section in snowflake.yml.

get_custom_package_version:
  handler: "functions.get_custom_package_version"
  signature: ""
  returns: string
  type: function
  imports:
    - "@packages/july.zip"
  meta:
    use_mixins:
      - snowpark_shared
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Then import your package in the function handler.

# functions.py
import july

def get_custom_package_version():
  return july.__VERSION__
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