## How to set up Snowflake in Atlan

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/apps/connectors/data-warehouses/snowflake/how-tos/set-up-snowflake

> Set up Snowflake for Atlan by creating a dedicated user, role, and permissions so Atlan can connect and crawl your Snowflake metadata.

Atlan connects to Snowflake with a dedicated user and role to crawl metadata and build lineage.

> **Warning: Who can do this?**
>
> You need your Snowflake administrator to run these commands—you may not have access yourself.

Create the Snowflake user and role that Atlan uses to connect, then configure network access. For the full SQL grants Atlan needs to crawl metadata, see the [Snowflake permissions reference](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/permissions/llms.txt).

## Prerequisites

Before you begin:

- You need `ACCOUNTADMIN` access in Snowflake to run these commands.
- [Choose how Atlan connects to Snowflake](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/choose-how-atlan-connects-to-snowflake/llms.txt): Decide whether to use public IP allowlisting, Private Link, or the self-deployed agent before touching any network configuration.
- Decide which [extraction method](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/permissions/llms.txt) you'll use (account usage or information schema). You'll grant the corresponding permissions after completing this setup.
- If you're using a private network link, complete that setup first:
 - [Set up AWS Private Network Link to Snowflake](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/set-up-an-aws-private-network-link-to-snowflake/llms.txt)
 - [Set up Azure Private Network Link to Snowflake](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/set-up-an-azure-private-network-link-to-snowflake/llms.txt)

## Create role in Snowflake

```sql
CREATE OR REPLACE ROLE atlan_user_role;
GRANT OPERATE, USAGE ON WAREHOUSE "<warehouse-name>" TO ROLE atlan_user_role;
```

Replace `<warehouse-name>` with the default warehouse to use when [running the Snowflake crawler](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/crawl-snowflake/llms.txt).

- `OPERATE` enables Atlan to start the virtual warehouse to fetch metadata if the warehouse has stopped.
- `USAGE` enables Atlan to show or list metadata from Snowflake, which lets the crawler run `SHOW` queries.

## Create user in Snowflake {#create-user}

Choose the authentication method you want to use for the Atlan service account:

### Key-pair

See [Snowflake's official guide](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/key-pair-auth.html) for generating an RSA key-pair. Replace `rsa_public_key` with your public key and `<warehouse-name>` with your warehouse:

```sql
CREATE USER atlan_user rsa_public_key='MIIBIjANBgkqh...' default_role=atlan_user_role default_warehouse='<warehouse-name>' display_name='Atlan'
TYPE = 'SERVICE'
```

Learn more about the `SERVICE` type in [Snowflake documentation](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/sql/create-user#optional-object-properties-objectproperties).

> **Info**
>
> Atlan only supports **AES-encrypted PKCS#8 private keys** with a non-empty passphrase—this is generally recommended as more secure. An empty passphrase results in workflow failures. DES-encrypted PKCS#8 keys fail at connection time with `InvalidKeyException: IOException: DER input, Integer tag error`.
>
> When generating the key with `openssl pkcs8`, specify an AES cipher (for example, `-v2 aes-256-cbc`). To convert an existing DES-encrypted key to AES:
>
> ```bash
> openssl pkcs8 -in des_encrypted_key.p8 -topk8 -v2 aes-256-cbc -out aes_encrypted_key.p8
> ```
>
> Refer to [Snowflake documentation](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/key-pair-auth) to learn more.

```sql
GRANT ROLE atlan_user_role TO USER atlan_user;
```

### Password

> **Info**
>
> Snowflake recommends transitioning away from basic authentication using username and password. Use key-pair authentication for enhanced security. For any existing Snowflake workflows, you can [modify the crawler configuration](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/catalog/connector-capabilities/manage-connectivity/llms.txt) to update the authentication method.

Replace `<password>` and `<warehouse-name>`:

```sql
CREATE USER atlan_user password='<password>' default_role=atlan_user_role default_warehouse='<warehouse-name>' display_name='Atlan'
TYPE = 'LEGACY_SERVICE'
```

Learn more about the `LEGACY_SERVICE` type in [Snowflake documentation](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/sql/create-user#optional-object-properties-objectproperties).

```sql
GRANT ROLE atlan_user_role TO USER atlan_user;
```

### IdP (Okta)

This option is only available if Okta is your identity provider. Snowflake supports [authenticating natively through Okta](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/admin-security-fed-auth-use#native-sso-okta-only):

- Create a user in your identity provider and [use federated authentication in Snowflake](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/admin-security-fed-auth-use.html#managing-snowflake-user-passwords).
- The password for this user must be maintained solely in the IdP and multi-factor authentication (MFA) must be disabled.

```sql
GRANT ROLE atlan_user_role TO USER atlan_user;
```

### Microsoft Entra ID (OAuth)

To use the OAuth client credentials flow with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD):

1. Follow [Snowflake's documentation](https://community.snowflake.com/s/article/Create-External-OAuth-Token-Using-Azure-AD-For-The-OAuth-Client-Itself) to:
 - Register a new application in Microsoft Entra ID
 - Collect the `client ID`, `tenant ID`, and `client secret`
 - Add the required API permissions

2. In Snowflake, create a security integration:

 ```sql
 CREATE SECURITY INTEGRATION external_oauth_azure_ad
 TYPE = external_oauth
 ENABLED = true
 EXTERNAL_OAUTH_TYPE = azure
 EXTERNAL_OAUTH_ISSUER = ''
 EXTERNAL_OAUTH_JWS_KEYS_URL = ''
 EXTERNAL_OAUTH_AUDIENCE_LIST = ('')
 EXTERNAL_OAUTH_TOKEN_USER_MAPPING_CLAIM = 'sub'
 EXTERNAL_OAUTH_SNOWFLAKE_USER_MAPPING_ATTRIBUTE = 'login_name';
 ```

Replace the placeholders with values from your Azure AD app:
 - ``: your tenant's OAuth 2.0 issuer URL
 - ``: Azure JWKs URI
 - ``: Application ID URI of the Azure app

3. Create a Snowflake user with a login name that exactly matches the Azure AD client object ID:

 ```sql
 CREATE USER oauth_svc_user
 WITH LOGIN_NAME = ''
 DEFAULT_ROLE = 
 DEFAULT_WAREHOUSE = ;
 ```

4. Grant the configured role to this user:

 ```sql
 GRANT ROLE TO USER oauth_svc_user;
 ```

## Next step

[Grant Snowflake permissions](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/permissions/llms.txt): Run the SQL grants for your chosen extraction method and any optional object types.

[Choose how Atlan connects to Snowflake](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/snowflake/choose-how-atlan-connects-to-snowflake/llms.txt): Compare public IP allowlisting, Private Link, and the self-deployed agent, and pick the right connectivity method.

_Last updated: 9 September 2026._

---

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