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/snowflake-mcp-server.git
   cd snowflake-mcp-server
   

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

# Or you can be explicit about using stdio transport
uv run snowflake-mcp-stdio

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