Categories:: Context functions (General)

IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED (SYS_CONTEXT function)¶

Returns the VARCHAR value 'TRUE' if an agent is active in the current execution context.

See also:: SYS_CONTEXT (SNOWFLAKE$CURRENT namespace)

Syntax¶

SYS_CONTEXT(
  'SNOWFLAKE$CURRENT' ,
  'IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED'
)

Arguments¶

'SNOWFLAKE$CURRENT': Specifies that you want to call a function to return context information about the current execution context.
'IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED': Calls the IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED function. This function takes no additional arguments and returns whether any agent is active in the current execution context.

Returns¶

The function returns one of the following VARCHAR values:

'TRUE' if any agent is active in the current execution context.
'FALSE' if no agent is active.

The function returns 'TRUE' in the following scenarios:

A Snowflake first-party agent is executing the query, including:
- A named Cortex Agent (data agent)
- A stateless lite agent invoked through a Snowflake CoCo client (CLI, Desktop, or web) or the REST API
- A query initiated through Snowflake CoWork
An external agent is executing the query, including:
- An agent that connects to Snowflake through a managed MCP server
- A session opened by a SERVICE_AGENT user, which is automatically agent-active
- A session using a custom OAuth integration configured with IS_AGENTIC = TRUE

For an overview of how Snowflake identifies, audits, and governs agent sessions, see Agent identity.

To compare this return value against the BOOLEAN value TRUE or FALSE, cast the return value to BOOLEAN. For example:

SELECT SYS_CONTEXT('SNOWFLAKE$CURRENT', 'IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED')::BOOLEAN = TRUE;

2026_06 behavior change bundle

When the 2026_06 behavior change bundle is enabled in your account, when you call this function through SYS_CONTEXT, it returns BOOLEAN instead of the VARCHAR string 'TRUE' or 'FALSE'.

Existing casts, such as ::BOOLEAN or ::NUMBER, continue to work unchanged.

For the return type of every property and function by namespace, see SYS_CONTEXT return types.

Examples¶

The following example checks whether any agent is active in the current execution context:

SELECT SYS_CONTEXT('SNOWFLAKE$CURRENT', 'IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED');

Masking policy to restrict agent access¶

You can use IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED in a masking policy to mask sensitive data when an agent runs a query:

CREATE OR REPLACE MASKING POLICY mask_ssn_from_agents
  AS (val STRING) RETURNS STRING ->
  CASE
    WHEN SYS_CONTEXT('SNOWFLAKE$CURRENT', 'IS_AGENT_ACTIVATED') = 'TRUE'
      THEN '***-**-' || RIGHT(val, 4)
    ELSE val
  END;

ALTER TABLE hr.employees
  MODIFY COLUMN ssn
  SET MASKING POLICY mask_ssn_from_agents;

When an agent-initiated query accesses the ssn column, only the last four digits are visible. Direct user queries see the full value.