Loading Using the Web Interface (Limited)

The Classic Console provides a convenient wizard for loading limited amounts of data into a table from a small set of flat files. Behind the scenes, the wizard uses the PUT and COPY commands to load data; however, the wizard simplifies the data loading process by combining the two phases (staging files and loading data) into a single operation and deleting all staged files after the load completes.

The instructions in this topic pertain to loading both structured data (e.g. CSV) and semi-structured data (e.g. JSON, Avro, ORC, Parquet, or XML).

Important

The wizard is only intended for loading small numbers of files of limited size (up to 50 MB). This file size limit is intended to ensure better performance because browser performance varies from computer to computer and between different browser versions. Also, the memory consumption required to encrypt larger files might cause a browser to run out of memory and crash.

For loading larger files or large numbers of files, we recommend using the Snowflake client, SnowSQL. For details, see Bulk Loading Using COPY.

Step 1: Opening the Load Data Wizard

  1. Click on Databases Databases tab.

  2. Click on the link for a specific database to view the objects stored in the database.

  3. Click on the Tables tab.

  4. Either:

  • Click on a table row to select it, then click the Load Data button.

    or

  • Click a table name to open the table details page, then click the Load Table button.

The Load Data wizard opens. The wizard will load data into the table you selected.

Step 2: Selecting a Warehouse

  1. Select a warehouse from the dropdown list.

    The list includes any warehouse on which you have the USAGE privilege. Snowflake will use this warehouse to load data into the table.

  2. Click Next.

Step 3: Selecting Source Files

Important

Remember, the wizard is designed to load small amounts of data. Your individual data files should each be smaller than 50 MB in size.

You can choose to load data from files on your local machine or files already staged in an existing cloud storage location on Snowflake, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Microsoft Azure.

Loading From Your Local Machine

  1. Select the Load files from your computer option, and click the Select Files button.

  2. Select one or more local data files, and click the Open button.

  3. Click the Next button.

Loading from Cloud Storage

Choosing an Existing Stage

  1. Select an existing named stage from the Stage dropdown list.

  2. Click the Next button.

Creating a New Stage

Complete the steps in this section once per storage location.

  1. Click the plus (+) symbol beside the Stage dropdown list.

  2. Select the location where your files are located: Snowflake or any one of the supported cloud storage services, and click the Next button.

  3. Complete the fields that describe your cloud storage location. For more information, see CREATE STAGE.

  4. Click the Finish button.

  5. Select your new named stage from the Stage dropdown list.

  6. Click the Next button.

Step 4: Selecting a File Format

The dropdown list allows you to select a named set of options that describes the format of your data files.

Choosing an Existing Named File Format

  1. Select an existing named file format from the dropdown list.

  2. Click the Next button.

Creating a New Named File Format

  1. Click the plus (+) symbol beside the dropdown list.

  2. Fill in the fields on the screen to match the format of your data files. For descriptions of the options, see CREATE FILE FORMAT.

  3. Click the Finish button.

  4. Select your new named file format from the dropdown list.

  5. Click the Next button.

Step 5: Selecting Load Options

  1. Specify how Snowflake should behave if errors in the data files are encountered. For more information about the ON_ERROR copy option, see COPY INTO <table>.

  2. Click the Load button.

    Snowflake loads the data into your selected table using the warehouse you selected.

    Note

    If the warehouse is not currently running, resuming the warehouse could take some time (up to 5 minutes), in addition to the time required for loading.

  3. Click the OK button. The load data wizard closes.