Understanding the different types of Streamlit objects¶

Streamlit objects in Snowflake have two important differences that influence their capabilities, limitations, and management:

How the source location is specified: using the ROOT_LOCATION parameter (legacy) or the FROM parameter (recommended).
The runtime environment: warehouse runtime or container runtime (Preview).

This page explains the differences between the source location specifications, which in turn affect the runtime environments that can be used.

For more information about runtime environments, see Runtime environments for Streamlit apps. For a checklist to migrate from warehouse to container runtimes, see Migrating between runtime environments.

Source location¶

When you create Streamlit apps in Snowflake, you can use two different parameters to specify the location of your source files: ROOT_LOCATION or FROM. ROOT_LOCATION is a legacy parameter that has several restrictions. Currently, FROM is the recommended parameter for new apps and is required to access the latest Streamlit in Snowflake features, including container runtimes. This page explains how to differentiate between the two types of apps. To enable the latest Streamlit in Snowflake features, you must upgrade your legacy Streamlits. For more information, see Migrating between runtime environments.

FROM parameter (recommended)¶

The FROM parameter copies files from a specified location into an embedded stage within the Streamlit object. This is the current recommended approach for creating Streamlit apps.

Benefits:

Supports both warehouse and container runtimes.
Enables multi-file editing in Snowsight.
Compatible with Git integration features.
Uses an embedded, versioned stage within the Streamlit object.

Syntax:

CREATE STREAMLIT my_app
FROM '@my_stage/app_folder'
MAIN_FILE = 'streamlit_app.py';

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ROOT_LOCATION parameter (legacy)¶

The ROOT_LOCATION parameter creates an app that references an internal stage as its source. This is a legacy approach with several limitations. If you created your app using an older version of Snowsight, your app’s root location might be a snow URL (snow://) instead of a named stage.

Limitations:

Only supports warehouse runtime (can’t use container runtime).
No multi-file editing support in Snowsight.
Can’t use Git integration features.
Requires ongoing access to the internal stage.

Syntax:

CREATE STREAMLIT my_app
ROOT_LOCATION = '@my_stage/app_folder'
MAIN_FILE = '/streamlit_app.py';

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Identifying your app’s source location type¶

You can determine which parameter was used to create your app by examining the DESCRIBE STREAMLIT output:

DESCRIBE STREAMLIT my_app;

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ROOT_LOCATION-based apps return fewer columns and include a root_location column.
FROM-based apps return more columns and include a live_version_location_uri column.

When you edit an app in Snowsight, you are pushing updates to either the root_location or the live_version_location_uri, depending on the app type. You can update both types of apps using SQL commands to PUT or COPY FILES to these locations.