Welcome to Snowflake Documentation

WELCOME TO SNOWFLAKE

DOCUMENTATION

In these topics, you will find the information you need to access your Snowflake account and perform all the administrative and user tasks associated with using Snowflake. The documentation also provides conceptual overviews, tutorials, and a detailed reference for all supported SQL commands, functions, and operators.

You can start by browsing the contents on the left or using the search box at the top to search across the documentation and other Snowflake resources. If you do not find the information you are looking for, please feel free to reach out to Snowflake Documentation or Snowflake Support using the buttons at the bottom of each page.

Getting Started

• Before You Begin

  System prerequisites and requirements for using Snowflake once your account has been provisioned.

• Logging into Snowflake

  Instructions for connecting to Snowflake using the Snowflake web interface and other supported clients.

• Quick Tour of the Web Interface

  Introduction to the main pages in the Snowflake web interface and the tasks you can perform in each page.

• Snowflake in 20 Minutes

  Step-by-step instructions for using the command line interface to create a database and table, load data into the table from an external file, and query the table.

Also, if you have a Snowflake trial account, you may be interested in this Hands-on Lab.

Introduction to Snowflake

• Key Concepts & Architecture

  Overview of Snowflake architecture and basic concepts.

• Supported Cloud Platforms

  Overview of the cloud computing platforms on which Snowflake is offered.

• Supported Regions

  Description of the different cloud platform regions in which Snowflake is offered.

• Snowflake Editions

  Description of the services and features included with each edition of Snowflake.

• Snowflake Releases

  Description of the Snowflake release process and instructions for requesting 24-hour early access for Enterprise Edition (and higher) accounts.

• Overview of Key Features

  List of key/major features in the current release of Snowflake.

• Overview of the Data Lifecycle

  Introduction to the main tasks (and corresponding SQL commands) for getting your data into Snowflake and then using it to perform queries and other SQL operations.

• Continuous Data Protection

  Introduction to the powerful and unique features that Snowflake provides for ensuring your data is protected, secure, and available.

Tutorials, Videos & Other Resources

This topic provides links to assorted “how to” tutorials/labs and “best practices”, as well as videos, for using Snowflake.

Release Notes

These topics describe the new features, enhancements, and fixes introduced in recent and previous releases of Snowflake, as well as the features that are currently in preview. They also describe the required versions for the client software provided by Snowflake and the changes introduced in each client version.

Connecting to Snowflake

• Overview of the Ecosystem — Overview of the 3rd-party tools and technologies, as well as the Snowflake-provided clients, in the Snowflake ecosystem:

  • All Partners & Technologies (Alphabetical)

  • Data Integration

  • Business Intelligence (BI)

  • Machine Learning & Data Science

  • Security & Governance

  • SQL Development & Management

  • Programmatic Interfaces

• Snowflake Partner Connect — List of Snowflake partners who offer free trials for connecting to and using Snowflake; includes instructions for starting a trial through the Snowflake web interface. More detailed instructions and trial terms are provided by the individual partners.

  
  

• General Configuration (All Clients) — General configuration instructions that apply to all Snowflake-provided clients (CLI, connectors, and drivers):

  • Viewing Snowflake Client Versions

  • SnowCD (Connectivity Diagnostic Tool)

  • Allowing Hostnames

  • Limits on Query Text Size

  • OCSP Configuration

  • Snowflake Client Repository

• SnowSQL (CLI Client) — Detailed instructions for installing, configuring, and using the Snowflake command-line client:

  • Installing SnowSQL

  • Configuring SnowSQL

  • Connecting Through SnowSQL

  • Using SnowSQL

• Connectors & Drivers - Detailed instructions for installing, configuring, and using the Snowflake-provided drivers and connectors for Python, Spark, JDBC, ODBC, and other clients:

  • Snowflake Connector for Python

  • Snowflake Connector for Spark

  • Snowflake Connector for Kafka

  • Node.js Driver

  • Go Snowflake Driver

  • .NET Driver

  • JDBC Driver

  • ODBC Driver

Loading Data into Snowflake

• Key concepts related to data loading, as well as best practices.

  • Overview of Data Loading

  • Summary of Data Loading Features

  • Data Loading Considerations

• Overview of supported data file formats and data compression.

  • Preparing to Load Data

• Detailed instructions for loading data in bulk using the COPY command.

  • Bulk Loading Using COPY

• Detailed instructions for loading data continuously using Snowpipe.

  • Loading Continuously Using Snowpipe

• Basic instructions for loading limited amounts of data using the web interface.

  • Loading Using the Web Interface (Limited)

• Key concepts and tasks for executing queries on staged data and transforming data while loading it into tables.

  • Querying Data in Staged Files

  • Querying Metadata for Staged Files

  • Transforming Data During a Load

Unloading Data from Snowflake

• Key concepts related to data unloading, as well as best practices.

  • Overview of Data Unloading

  • Summary of Data Unloading Features

  • Data Unloading Considerations

• Overview of supported data file formats for unloading data.

  • Preparing to Unload Data

• Detailed instructions for unloading data in bulk using the COPY command.

  • Unloading into a Snowflake Stage

  • Unloading into Amazon S3

  • Unloading into Google Cloud Storage

  • Unloading into Microsoft Azure

Using Snowflake

• Web Interface — Basic usage information for the web interface, as well as more detailed usage information for the Worksheets and History pages:

  • Using the Web Interface: General Usage Notes

  • Changing Your Password / Switching Your (Session) Role / Logging Out

  • Managing Your User Preferences

  • Using Snowsight

  • Using Worksheets for Queries / DML / DDL

  • Using the History Page to Monitor Queries

• Virtual Warehouses — Key concepts and tasks for creating and using virtual warehouses to execute queries and perform DML operations, such as loading and unloading data:

  • Overview of Warehouses

  • Multi-cluster Warehouses

  • Warehouse Considerations

  • Working with Warehouses

  • Monitoring Warehouse Load

• Databases, Tables & Views — Key concepts and tasks related to understanding and working with Snowflake databases and tables:

  • Understanding Snowflake Table Structures

  • Working with Temporary and Transient Tables

  • Working with External Tables

  • Overview of Views

  • Working with Secure Views

  • Working with Materialized Views

  • Table Design Considerations

  • Cloning Considerations

  • Data Storage Considerations

• Queries — Key concepts and tasks for executing queries in Snowflake:

  • Working with Subqueries

  • Querying Hierarchical Data

  • Working with CTEs (Common Table Expressions)

  • Querying Semi-structured Data

  • Using Window Functions

  • Using Sequences

  • Using Persisted Query Results

  • Estimating Number of Distinct Values

  • Estimating Similarity of Two or More Sets

  • Estimating Frequent Values

  • Estimating Percentile Values

  • Analyzing Queries Using Query Profile

  • Canceling Statements

• Date & Time Data — Reference information and examples for working with dates, times and timestamps, and time zones in Snowflake:

  • Date and Time Input / Output

  • Using Dates and Timestamps

• Semi-structured Data — Key concepts and tasks for working with JSON and other types of semi-structured data:

  • Introduction to Semi-structured Data

  • Semi-structured Data Considerations

  • Tutorial: JSON Basics

• Binary Data — Reference information and examples for working with binary data in Snowflake:

  • Binary Input and Output

  • Using Binary Data

• Snowflake Time Travel & Fail-safe — Key concepts and tasks for understanding how Snowflake maintains access to deleted and modified data, and also how Snowflake enables data recovery in the event of loss:

  • Understanding & Using Time Travel

  • Understanding & Viewing Fail-safe

  • Storage Costs for Time Travel and Fail-safe

• Continuous Data Pipelines — Key concepts and tasks for transforming and optimizing loaded data for analysis:

  • Change Tracking Using Table Streams

  • Executing SQL Statements on a Schedule Using Tasks

• Database Replication and Failover/Failback — Key concepts and tasks for replicating and syncing databases across multiple Snowflake accounts, as well as failing over databases for business continuity and disaster recovery:

  • Introduction to Database Replication Across Multiple Accounts

  • Understanding Billing for Database Replication

  • Database Replication Considerations

  • Replicating Databases Across Multiple Accounts

  • Managing Replicated Databases

  • Introduction to Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

  • Failing Over Databases Across Multiple Accounts

• Sample Data Sets — Key concepts and tasks for using the sample data sets provided with Snowflake:

  • Using the Sample Database

  • Sample Data: TPC-H

  • Sample Data: OpenWeatherMap — Deprecated

Sharing Data Securely in Snowflake

• Introduction to Secure Data Sharing

• Overview of the Product Offerings for Secure Data Sharing

• Data Exchange/Data Marketplace Privileges

• Secure Direct Data Share

  • Data Providers

    • Working with Shares

    • Sharing Data from Multiple Databases

    • Sharing Data Securely Across Regions and Cloud Platforms

    • Using Secure Objects to Control Data Access

    • Managing Reader Accounts

    • Configuring a Reader Account

    • Enabling Sharing from a Business Critical Account to a non-Business Critical Account

  • Data Consumers

• Snowflake Data Marketplace

  • Introduction to the Snowflake Data Marketplace

  • Data Providers

  • Data Consumers

• Data Exchange

  • Data Exchange Key Benefits

  • Admin and Membership

  • Accessing a Data Exchange

  • Configuring and Using a Data Exchange

Managing Your Snowflake Account

• Trial Accounts

  Instructions for signing up for a trial account, adding a credit card to the account, and canceling the account.

• System Usage & Billing

  • What are Snowflake Credits?

  • Understanding Snowflake Virtual Warehouse, Storage, and Cloud Services Usage

  • Understanding Snowflake Data Transfer Billing

  • Understanding Billing for Serverless Features

  • Viewing Account-level Credit and Storage Usage in the Web Interface

  • Working with Resource Monitors

• Parameter Management

  Instructions for setting account, session, and object parameters for your account.

• User Management

  Instructions for creating and managing users in your account.

Managing Security in Snowflake

• Summary of Security Features

  List of security features, grouped by category (access, authentication, etc.).

• Network Policies

  Concepts and tasks for controlling site access through network policies and to allow or block IP addresses.

• AWS PrivateLink & Snowflake

  Use AWS PrivateLink to secure private/direct communication between Snowflake and your other VPCs.

• Azure Private Link & Snowflake

  Use Azure Private Link to secure private/direct communication from your Azure VNet to Snowflake.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

  Concepts and tasks for managing and using multi-factor authentication for more secure user login.

• Federated Authentication & SSO

  • Overview of Federated Authentication and SSO

  • Configuring an Identity Provider (IdP) for Snowflake

  • Configuring Snowflake to Use Federated Authentication

  • Managing/Using Federated Authentication

  • Advanced SAML SSO Features

  • SAML Error Codes

• OAuth

  • Introduction to OAuth

  • Snowflake OAuth

  • External OAuth

• Access Control in Snowflake

  • Overview of Access Control

  • Access Control Privileges

  • Configuring Access Control

  • Access Control Considerations

• Data Encryption

  Concepts related to how Snowflake automatically encrypts your data, as well as additional features you can enable for enhanced levels of encryption.

• SCIM

  • Okta SCIM Integration with Snowflake

  • Azure SCIM Integration with Snowflake

  • Custom SCIM Integration with Snowflake

  • Making a SCIM API Request

• Column-level Security

  • Understanding Column-level Security

  • Dynamic Data Masking

  • External Tokenization

Developing Applications in Snowflake

To begin developing applications in Snowflake, you need to first become familiar with some Snowflake basics. This topic will guide you through the foundational tasks required for developing applications in Snowflake. In this topic, you will learn how to:

• Install and configure the SnowSQL CLI client.

• Create a virtual warehouse, database, and table.

• Load data into the table and query the table.

• Use Python to connect to Snowflake, perform queries, and manipulate the returned data.

You can then use this knowledge to explore the more advanced features and capabilities available in Snowflake.

General Reference

• Parameters — parameters that can be used to control system behavior at the account, user, session, and object level.

• Data Types — supported data types (VARCHAR, NUMBER, DATE, etc.) in Snowflake:

  • Summary of Data Types

  • Numeric Data Types

  • String & Binary Data Types

  • Logical Data Types

  • Date & Time Data Types

  • Semi-structured Data Types

  • Geospatial Data Types

  • Unsupported Data Types

• Collation Support — information about sorting and other character-set-dependent operations on text strings.

• SQL Format Models — formats for specifying conversion of numeric and date/time values to and from text strings.

• Object Identifiers — rules for defining and using object identifiers, including resolving object names used in SQL statements:

  • Identifier Requirements

  • String Literals / Session Variables / Bind Variables as Identifiers

  • Object Name Resolution

• Constraints — concepts and reference information for defining and maintaining unique, primary key, and foreign key constraints in tables:

  • Overview of Constraints

  • Constraint Properties

  • Creating Constraints

  • Modifying Constraints

  • Dropping Constraints

  • Additional Constraint Details

• SQL Variables — concepts and reference for defining and using variables in sessions.

• Transactions — concepts and reference for using transactions with SQL statements.

• Table Literals — concepts and reference for using table literals instead of a single scalar value in queries.

• UDFs (User-Defined Functions) — concepts for creating user-defined SQL and Javascript functions:

  • Overview of UDFs

  • Secure UDFs

  • SQL UDFs

  • SQL UDTFs (User-Defined Table Functions)

  • JavaScript UDFs

  • JavaScript UDTFs (User-Defined Table Functions)

• External Functions — concepts for creating external functions:

  • Introduction to External Functions

  • External Function Concepts

  • Platform-Independent Information for Creating External Functions

  • Creating an External Function on AWS

  • Securing an External Function

  • Troubleshooting External Functions

• Stored Procedures — concepts for creating stored procedures:

  • Overview of Stored Procedures

  • Working with Stored Procedures

  • Stored Procedures API

• Information Schema — concepts and reference for the Snowflake Information Schema, which consists of a set of metadata views and historical table functions for querying/reporting on objects in Snowflake.

• Account Usage — concepts and reference for the SNOWFLAKE shared database, which is provided by Snowflake for querying/reporting on your account and object usage.

SQL Command Reference

• Summary of Commands — combined list of all the commands and query syntax and operators. Can be used as a quick-reference.

• All Commands (Alphabetical) — alphabetical list of all the commands.

• DDL Commands — commands categorized by the type of objects they control:

  • Account & Session DDL

  • User & Security DDL

  • Warehouse & Resource Monitor DDL

  • Database, Schema, & Share DDL

  • Data Pipeline DDL

  • Table, View, & Sequence DDL

  • Data Loading / Unloading DDL

  • DDL for User-Defined Functions, External Functions, and Stored Procedures

• DML Commands — commands for performing the following DML operations:

  • Inserting, deleting, updating, and merging data in Snowflake tables.

  • Bulk copying data into and out of Snowflake tables.

  • Staging files for bulk copying.

• Query Syntax — structure of SQL queries in Snowflake.

• Query Operators — arithmetic, logical, and other types of operators.

SQL Function Reference

• Summary of Functions — combined summary of all system-defined functions. Can be used as a quick-reference.

• All Functions (Alphabetical) — alphabetical list of all system-defined functions (scalar, aggregate, table, etc.).

• Scalar Functions — functions that take a single row/value as input and return a single value:

  • Bitwise Expression Functions

  • Conditional Expression Functions

  • Context Functions

  • Conversion Functions

  • Data Generation Functions

  • Date & Time Functions

  • Encryption Functions

  • Geospatial Functions

  • Numeric Functions

  • Semi-structured Data Functions

  • String Functions (Regular Expressions) — regular expression (search) functions

  • String & Binary Functions

  • Utility & Hash Functions

• Aggregate Functions — functions that take multiple rows/values as input and return a single value.

• Window Functions — subset of aggregate functions that can operate on a subset of rows.

• Table Functions — functions that return results in tabular format.

• System Functions — functions that perform control operations or return system-level information.

Appendices

• Notational Conventions

  Notational conventions used in the Snowflake documentation.

• Reserved & Limited Keywords

  List of words reserved for Snowflake SQL.