Client versions & support policy¶
Snowflake provides a CLI (command line interface) as well as other client software (drivers, connectors, etc.) for connecting to Snowflake and using certain Snowflake features (e.g. Apache Kafka for loading data, Apache Hive metadata for external tables). The clients must be installed on each local workstation or system from which you wish to connect.
As needed, we release new versions of the clients to fix bugs, and introduce enhancements and new features. New versions are backward-compatible with existing Snowflake features, but we do not guarantee that earlier versions are forward-compatible. As such, we recommend actively monitoring and maintaining the versions of your installed clients; if they are not in-sync with the current version of Snowflake, you may encounter issues when connecting to and using Snowflake.
For more information about determining the current version of a client or driver, refer to the following:
All downloads on this page are considered “Client Software” as defined in your agreement for use of the Snowflake Service.
Attention
Customers who use GCP (Google Cloud Platform) for authentication must update their clients and drivers to new minimum versions due to upcoming changes by Google for signing request headers and payloads. Snowflake recommends affected customers read the FAQ: 2023 Client Driver deprecation for GCP customers knowledge base article for more information.
Recommended client versions¶
As a policy, Snowflake recommends that you always install the latest (i.e. most recent) version of each client, if possible.
Snowflake uses semantic versioning for client and driver updates.
Note
Snowflake’s support policy generally provides a minimum two-year window for clients and drivers, after which support might be dropped. To help you track supported versions, the following table includes the minimum version of clients and drivers Snowflake currently supports. If you use a version older than the minimum, Snowflake makes no commitment to provide support.
Once a client is installed, you are not required to upgrade each time a new version is released; however, to stay current with the latest fixes, updates, and features, we recommend monitoring for new versions and upgrading at regular intervals (e.g. monthly, quarterly, semiannually).
Type |
Client |
Recommended Version |
End-of-Support Version (as of Feb 01, 2025) |
Release Information |
Where to Download the Installers |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CLI (Command Line Interface) |
1.3.2 (or later) |
1.2.24 |
1.2.24 |
SnowSQL Download page |
||
Connectors and Drivers |
4.1.0 (or later) |
2.0.17 |
2.0.20 |
|||
1.12.0 (or later) |
1.6.14 |
1.6.17 |
||||
3.20.0 (or later) |
3.13.24 |
3.13.27 |
||||
1.14.0 (or later) |
1.6.15 |
1.6.18 |
||||
3.4.1 (or later) |
2.25.6 |
2.25.7 |
ODBC Download page |
|||
3.0.3 (or later) |
1.2.5 |
1.2.6 |
||||
2.4.1 (or later) |
1.6.9 |
1.6.9 |
||||
3.12.3 (or later) |
2.8.0 |
3.0.0 |
||||
3.0.0 (or later) |
2.10.0 |
2.11.1 |
||||
1.6.1 (or later) |
1.4.3 |
1.4.5 |
||||
Snowpark |
1.14.0 (or later) |
1.8.0 |
N/A |
|||
1.23.0 (or later) |
1.0.0 |
N/A |
||||
1.14.0 (or later) |
1.8.0 |
N/A |
||||
1.7.0 (or later) |
0.3.0 |
1.7.0 |
||||
Other |
Latest |
None (preview) |
None (preview) |
Release Notes (in GitHub) |
Tip
You can also use the SYSTEM$CLIENT_VERSION_INFO system function to retrieve this information programmatically.
Minimum client versions¶
The minimum version for a client identifies the earliest supported version of the client. Any client versions lower than the documented minimum are no longer covered by our support policy (see below) and may encounter issues when connecting to Snowflake.
Attention
As stated in the Client Support Policy, Snowflake fixes issues on the latest client versions only. As such, the minimum versions might contain issues that have been fixed in later versions. Therefore, you should not install the minimum versions.
The versions documented in the table above serve only as guidelines for managing your installed clients relative to the support policy.
Client support policy¶
Snowflake maintains the following support policy for all clients provided by Snowflake:
For all clients listed on this page, Snowflake generally supports each client version for at least two years, except in cases where a more recent version introduces critical fixes (e.g. for security or performance issues).
Client versions that are below the minimum supported version might be blocked from connecting to Snowflake. Note that Snowflake will provide advance notification before blocking access for a particular client version.
Unsupported versions might be removed from distribution (i.e. they may no longer be available for download/install).
Snowflake provides bug fixes, new features, and required security updates only on the latest client versions. Likewise, when troubleshooting client issues, Snowflake verifies only against the latest client versions only.
Snowflake ensures backward compatibility for APIs across all supported client versions.
For critical/important client changes (e.g. required security updates), Snowflake may require you to upgrade to the latest version, or at least a version higher than the minimum version (see the table in this topic).
Note
This policy does not cover client connectors provided by third-party partners (Informatica, Tableau, etc.); please consult directly with the partners providing the connectors for information about their support policies.
For more details about Snowflake’s third-party partners, see Snowflake Ecosystem.
Operating system support¶
The latest versions of most Snowflake clients are supported on the following operating systems:
Operating System |
Supported Versions |
---|---|
AIX |
AIX 7.2 (JDBC only) |
Linux |
CentOS 7, 8 |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, 8 |
|
Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, 20.04 or later |
|
macOS |
10.14 or later |
Microsoft Windows |
Microsoft Windows 8 or later |
Microsoft Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022 |
Note
The supported version numbers change over time, based largely on the evolving support policies of the operating system vendors.
The following table shows which clients are available on which operating systems:
Linux |
macOS |
Microsoft Windows |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Go Snowflake Driver |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
.NET Driver |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Node.js Driver |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
JDBC Driver |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
ODBC Driver |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
PHP PDO Driver |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake Connector for Kafka |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake Connector for Python |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake Connector for Spark |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake Library for Java |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake Library for Python |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake Library for Scala |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
Snowflake ML |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
Operating system support policy¶
Snowflake typically obsoletes support for an operating system version in accordance with the support timeline stated by the operating system vendor.
Snowflake typically provides three months’ notice before dropping support for a particular version of an operating system.