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Installation

Install the Snowflake connector: 
npm install @evidence-dev/snowflake

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Authentication Methods

Snowflake supports multiple authentication methods:
  1. Username/Password (default)
  2. JWT (Key Pair Authentication)
  3. External Browser (SSO)
  4. Okta

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Configuration

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Username/Password Authentication

name: snowflake
type: snowflake
options:
  account: abc12345.us-east-1
  username: ${SNOWFLAKE_USER}
  password: ${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}
  database: ANALYTICS
  warehouse: COMPUTE_WH
  role: ANALYST
  schema: PUBLIC
  authenticator: userpass

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JWT (Key Pair) Authentication

Use public/private key pair authentication for enhanced security.
connection.yaml
name: snowflake
type: snowflake
options:
  account: abc12345.us-east-1
  username: ${SNOWFLAKE_USER}
  database: ANALYTICS
  warehouse: COMPUTE_WH
  authenticator: snowflake_jwt
  private_key: ${SNOWFLAKE_PRIVATE_KEY}
  passphrase: ${SNOWFLAKE_PASSPHRASE}

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External Browser (SSO)

Use browser-based SSO authentication.
connection.yaml
name: snowflake
type: snowflake
options:
  account: abc12345.us-east-1
  username: ${SNOWFLAKE_USER}
  database: ANALYTICS
  warehouse: COMPUTE_WH
  authenticator: externalbrowser
  clientStoreTemporaryCredential: true

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Okta Authentication

connection.yaml
name: snowflake
type: snowflake
options:
  account: abc12345.us-east-1
  username: ${SNOWFLAKE_USER}
  password: ${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}
  database: ANALYTICS
  warehouse: COMPUTE_WH
  authenticator: okta
  okta_url: https://your-org.okta.com

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Configuration Parameters

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account
string
required
Snowflake account identifier (e.g., abc12345.us-east-1 or orgname-accountname)
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username
string
required
Snowflake username
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database
string
required
Database name to connect to
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warehouse
string
required
Warehouse name to use for queries
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role
string
Role to use for the session
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schema
string
Default schema to use
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authenticator
string
default:"userpass"
Authentication method: userpass, snowflake_jwt, externalbrowser, or okta
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resultPrefetch
number
default:2
Number of result batches to prefetch for improved performance

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Username/Password Parameters

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password
string
required
Snowflake password

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JWT Parameters

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private_key
string
required
Private key for JWT authentication (PEM format)
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passphrase
string
required
Passphrase for the encrypted private key

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External Browser Parameters

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clientStoreTemporaryCredential
boolean
default:false
Cache SSO token for faster subsequent connections

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Okta Parameters

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okta_url
string
required
Full Okta URL for authentication (e.g., https://your-org.okta.com)

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Proxy Configuration

Connect through an authenticated proxy server:
connection.yaml
name: snowflake
type: snowflake
options:
  account: abc12345.us-east-1
  username: ${SNOWFLAKE_USER}
  password: ${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}
  database: ANALYTICS
  warehouse: COMPUTE_WH
  proxy:
    host: proxy.company.com
    port: 8080
    username: ${PROXY_USER}
    password: ${PROXY_PASSWORD}
    protocol: http

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Proxy Parameters

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proxy.host
string
required
Proxy server hostname
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proxy.port
number
required
Proxy server port
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proxy.username
string
Proxy authentication username
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proxy.password
string
Proxy authentication password
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proxy.protocol
string
Proxy protocol (http or https)

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Features

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Type Mapping

Snowflake types are mapped to Evidence types:
  • Numbers: INTEGER, BIGINT, SMALLINT, NUMBER, DECIMAL, NUMERIC, FLOAT, DOUBLE, REAL
  • Strings: VARCHAR, CHAR, STRING, TEXT, TIME
  • Dates: TIMESTAMP, TIMESTAMP_LTZ, TIMESTAMP_NTZ, TIMESTAMP_TZ, DATE
  • Booleans: BOOLEAN

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Column Name Normalization

Snowflake returns column names in uppercase by default. The connector automatically converts them to lowercase for consistency with Evidence conventions.

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Streaming Results

Queries are executed with streaming enabled, processing results in batches for memory-efficient handling of large datasets.

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Example Query

Create a SQL file in your Evidence project:
queries/monthly_sales.sql
SELECT 
  DATE_TRUNC('month', order_date) as month,
  region,
  SUM(amount) as total_sales,
  COUNT(DISTINCT customer_id) as unique_customers
FROM sales.orders
WHERE order_date >= DATEADD(month, -12, CURRENT_DATE())
GROUP BY 1, 2
ORDER BY 1 DESC, 3 DESC

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Troubleshooting

Snowflake account identifiers can use different formats:
  • Legacy: abc12345.us-east-1
  • Organization: orgname-accountname
Check your Snowflake URL to determine the correct format.
Ensure the specified warehouse is running or has auto-resume enabled. Cold warehouse starts may cause initial query delays.
Private keys must be in PEM format. Generate key pairs using:
openssl genrsa 2048 | openssl pkcs8 -topk8 -inform PEM -out rsa_key.p8
openssl rsa -in rsa_key.p8 -pubout -out rsa_key.pub
Ensure the specified role has:
  • USAGE on the warehouse
  • USAGE on the database and schema
  • SELECT on required tables/views

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