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MCP Server for Snowflake

by dynamike

Data/DatabasesSnowflakeClaudeData QueryRead-Only

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for performing read-only operations against Snowflake databases. This tool enables Claude to securely query Snowflake data without modifying any information.

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MCP Server for Snowflake

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for performing read-only operations against Snowflake databases. This tool enables Claude to securely query Snowflake data without modifying any information.

Features

  • Flexible authentication to Snowflake using either:
    • Service account authentication with private key
    • External browser authentication for interactive sessions
  • Connection pooling with automatic background refresh to maintain persistent connections
  • Support for querying multiple views and databases in a single session
  • Support for multiple SQL statement types (SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, WITH)
  • MCP-compatible handlers for querying Snowflake data
  • Read-only operations with security checks to prevent data modification
  • Support for Python 3.12+
  • Stdio-based MCP server for easy integration with Claude Desktop

Available Tools

The server provides the following tools for querying Snowflake:

  • list_databases: List all accessible Snowflake databases
  • list_views: List all views in a specified database and schema
  • describe_view: Get detailed information about a specific view including columns and SQL definition
  • query_view: Query data from a view with an optional row limit
  • execute_query: Execute custom read-only SQL queries (SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, WITH) with results formatted as markdown tables

Installation

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.12 or higher
  • A Snowflake account with either:
    • A configured service account (username + private key), or
    • A regular user account for browser-based authentication
  • uv package manager (recommended)

Steps

  1. Clone this repository:

    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/mcp-server-snowflake.git
cd mcp-server-snowflake

  2. Install the package:

    uv pip install -e .

  3. Create a .env file with your Snowflake credentials:

    Choose one of the provided example files based on your preferred authentication method:

    For private key authentication:

    cp .env.private_key.example .env

    Then edit the .env file to set your Snowflake account details and path to your private key.

    For external browser authentication:

    cp .env.browser.example .env

    Then edit the .env file to set your Snowflake account details.

Usage

Running with uv

After installing the package, you can run the server directly with:

uv run snowflake-mcp

This will start the stdio-based MCP server, which can be connected to Claude Desktop or any MCP client that supports stdio communication.

When using external browser authentication, a browser window will automatically open prompting you to log in to your Snowflake account.

Claude Desktop Integration

  1. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → MCP Servers
  2. Add a new server with the full path to your uv executable: 
    "snowflake-mcp-server": {
   "command": "uv",
   "args": [
      "--directory",
      "/<path-to-code>/mcp-server-snowflake",
      "run",
      "snowflake-mcp"
   ]
}
  3. You can find your uv path by running which uv in your terminal
  4. Save the server configuration

Example Queries

When using with Claude, you can ask questions like:

  • "Can you list all the databases in my Snowflake account?"
  • "List all views in the MARKETING database"
  • "Describe the structure of the CUSTOMER_ANALYTICS view in the SALES database"
  • "Show me sample data from the REVENUE_BY_REGION view in the FINANCE database"
  • "Run this SQL query: SELECT customer_id, SUM(order_total) as total_spend FROM SALES.ORDERS GROUP BY customer_id ORDER BY total_spend DESC LIMIT 10"
  • "Query the MARKETING database to find the top 5 performing campaigns by conversion rate"
  • "Compare data from views in different databases by querying SALES.CUSTOMER_METRICS and MARKETING.CAMPAIGN_RESULTS"

Configuration

Connection pooling behavior can be configured through environment variables:

  • SNOWFLAKE_CONN_REFRESH_HOURS: Time interval in hours between connection refreshes (default: 8)

Example .env configuration:

# Set connection to refresh every 4 hours
SNOWFLAKE_CONN_REFRESH_HOURS=4

Authentication Methods

Private Key Authentication

This method uses a service account and private key for non-interactive authentication, ideal for automated processes.

  1. Create a key pair for your Snowflake user following Snowflake documentation
  2. Set SNOWFLAKE_AUTH_TYPE=private_key in your .env file
  3. Provide the path to your private key in SNOWFLAKE_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH

External Browser Authentication

This method opens a browser window for interactive authentication.

  1. Set SNOWFLAKE_AUTH_TYPE=external_browser in your .env file
  2. When you start the server, a browser window will open asking you to log in
  3. After authentication, the session will remain active for the duration specified by your Snowflake account settings

Security Considerations

This server:

  • Enforces read-only operations (only SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, and WITH statements are allowed)
  • Automatically adds LIMIT clauses to prevent large result sets
  • Uses secure authentication methods for connections to Snowflake
  • Validates inputs to prevent SQL injection

⚠️ Important: Keep your .env file secure and never commit it to version control. The .gitignore file is configured to exclude it.

Development

Static Type Checking

mypy mcp_server_snowflake/

Linting

ruff check .

Formatting

ruff format .

Running Tests

pytest

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Technical Details

This project uses: