
Snowflake MCP Server (Snowflake Labs)
OfficialSnowflake Labs server for Cortex AI, object management, and SQL orchestration over Snowflake.
Add to your client
Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.
uvx snowflake-labs-mcp --service-config-file tools_config.yaml --connection-name defaultPaste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"snowflake-mcp-server-snowflake-labs": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"snowflake-labs-mcp",
"--service-config-file",
"/absolute/path/to/tools_config.yaml",
"--connection-name",
"default"
],
"env": {
"SNOWFLAKE_USER": "<your-user>",
"SNOWFLAKE_ACCOUNT": "<your-account-identifier>",
"SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD": "<your-password-or-pat>"
}
}
}
}Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.
Before you start
- Python with the uv package manager (run via `uvx snowflake-labs-mcp`), or Docker
- A Snowflake account and user with appropriate roles/warehouse access
- Snowflake credentials supplied via CLI flags or environment variables: SNOWFLAKE_ACCOUNT, SNOWFLAKE_USER, plus one of SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD, key-pair (SNOWFLAKE_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE), OAuth, SSO, or MFA via --authenticator
- A `configuration.yaml` (service config) file declaring which Cortex services and managers to enable
- For Cortex Search/Analyst/Agent: pre-created service instances and semantic models in your Snowflake account
About Snowflake MCP Server (Snowflake Labs)
The Snowflake Labs MCP server (snowflake-labs-mcp) is a single gateway that exposes Snowflake's Cortex AI services and core data-platform operations to MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other agents. It bundles Cortex Search (RAG over unstructured data), Cortex Analyst (text-to-answer over structured semantic models), and Cortex Agent (agentic orchestration) alongside object management, SQL execution, and Semantic View querying.
Which capabilities are active is driven by a configuration.yaml (a.k.a. service config) file: you declare your Cortex Search/Analyst/Agent service instances and toggle the object manager, query manager, and semantic manager. A sql_statement_permissions block lets you allow or deny specific SQL statement types (e.g. permit SELECT but block DROP), which is important because the server can run LLM-generated SQL.
Note: as of mid-2026 the community Snowflake-Labs/mcp repo is marked DEPRECATED and points users to the official Snowflake-supported MCP server documented under Snowflake Cortex (cortex-agents-mcp). The snowflake-labs-mcp PyPI package still installs and runs, but expect long-term support to move to the vendor-hosted offering.
Tools & capabilities (6)
Cortex SearchQuery unstructured data for RAG over configured search service instances
Cortex AnalystAnswer questions over structured data using a semantic model
Cortex AgentAgentic orchestration across data retrieval and tools
Object ManagerCreate, drop, alter, describe, and list databases, schemas, tables, views, warehouses, compute pools, roles, stages, users, and image repositories
Query ManagerExecute LLM-generated SQL with configurable allow/deny statement permissions
Semantic ManagerDiscover and query Snowflake Semantic Views, including their metrics and dimensions
When to use it
- Use it when you want an AI agent to answer business questions over governed Snowflake data via Cortex Analyst and semantic models
- Use it when building RAG over documents already indexed in Snowflake Cortex Search
- Use it when you need agents to create/describe/list Snowflake objects (databases, schemas, warehouses, stages) conversationally
- Use it when you want to run ad-hoc SQL from an assistant but gate dangerous statements via permission controls
- Use it when you want one server to expose Cortex AI plus SQL plus object admin instead of stitching together multiple tools
Quick setup
- 1Create a `configuration.yaml` declaring your Cortex search/analyst/agent services and enabling object/query/semantic managers
- 2Set Snowflake credentials as environment variables or CLI flags (account, user, and password/key-pair/OAuth)
- 3Add the server to your MCP client config: command `uvx`, args `snowflake-labs-mcp --service-config-file config.yaml`
- 4Restart the MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.) so it loads the server
- 5Verify by asking the agent to list databases or run a simple Cortex Analyst question
- 6For new projects, evaluate migrating to the official Snowflake Cortex MCP server referenced in the deprecation notice
Security notes
The README flags this Labs project as deprecated in favor of the newer official Snowflake MCP server, so evaluate migration. Scope the service config and Snowflake role tightly, since object-management tools can create and drop database objects.
Snowflake MCP Server (Snowflake Labs) FAQ
Is this the official Snowflake MCP server?
It is published by Snowflake Labs, but the GitHub repo is now marked deprecated and redirects to Snowflake's officially supported Cortex Agents MCP server in the Snowflake docs. Use the official one for new, long-lived deployments.
How do I authenticate?
It supports every method in the Snowflake Python connector: username/password, key-pair, OAuth, SSO, and MFA, passed via CLI flags (--account, --user, --private-key-file, --authenticator) or SNOWFLAKE_* environment variables.
Can I stop the agent from running destructive SQL?
Yes. The `sql_statement_permissions` section of configuration.yaml lets you allow or deny specific SQL statement types, so you can permit SELECT while blocking DROP/DELETE.
Does it run remotely or only locally?
It runs locally over stdio by default but can also be deployed via Docker/Docker Compose and exposed over HTTP/SSE for remote clients.
How do I install and run it?
Run `uvx snowflake-labs-mcp --service-config-file config.yaml` with the uv package manager, or use the provided Docker image.
Alternatives to Snowflake MCP Server (Snowflake Labs)
Google's official MCP server with prebuilt BigQuery tools, querying datasets via Application Default Credentials.
Read/write Postgres access plus index tuning, EXPLAIN plans, and database health analysis for AI agents.
Official Supabase server: manage tables, run SQL, branches, configs and edge functions from your AI client.
Compare Snowflake MCP Server (Snowflake Labs) with: