Snowflake MCP Claude Desktop

Snowflake Managed MCP + Claude Desktop Quickstart

Prerequisites

• Snowflake account with CREATE MCP SERVER privilege
• Claude Desktop installed
• Node.js installed (node --version to verify)
• A warehouse for SQL execution

Workflow

Step 1: Create MCP Server in Snowflake

Execute in Snowflake:

-- Set context
USE ROLE ACCOUNTADMIN;  -- or role with CREATE MCP SERVER privilege
USE DATABASE <database>;
USE SCHEMA <schema>;

-- Create MCP server with SQL execution tool
CREATE OR REPLACE MCP SERVER <mcp_server_name>
  FROM SPECIFICATION $$
    tools:
      - name: "sql-exec"
        type: "SYSTEM_EXECUTE_SQL"
        description: "Execute SQL queries against Snowflake"
        title: "SQL Execution"
  $$;

-- Verify creation
SHOW MCP SERVERS;
DESCRIBE MCP SERVER <mcp_server_name>;

Step 2: Create Role and Grant Permissions

-- Create dedicated role
CREATE ROLE IF NOT EXISTS <mcp_role>;

-- Grant MCP server usage
GRANT USAGE ON DATABASE <database> TO ROLE <mcp_role>;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA <database>.<schema> TO ROLE <mcp_role>;
GRANT USAGE ON MCP SERVER <database>.<schema>.<mcp_server_name> TO ROLE <mcp_role>;

-- Grant warehouse
GRANT USAGE ON WAREHOUSE <warehouse> TO ROLE <mcp_role>;

-- Grant data access (adjust as needed)
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA <database>.<schema> TO ROLE <mcp_role>;

-- Assign role to user
GRANT ROLE <mcp_role> TO USER <username>;

Step 3: Create Programmatic Access Token (PAT)

Option A - SQL:

ALTER USER <username> ADD PROGRAMMATIC_ACCESS_TOKEN 
  NAME = 'claude_desktop_pat'
  COMMENT = 'PAT for Claude Desktop MCP connection'
  DEFAULT_SECONDARY_ROLES = ()
  DAYS_TO_EXPIRY = 90;

Option B - Snowsight UI:

1. Click username (bottom-left)
2. Select My Profile
3. Go to Programmatic Access Tokens
4. Click + Add
5. Name: claude_desktop_pat, set expiry
6. Copy token immediately (shown only once)

STOP: Save the PAT token securely before proceeding.

Step 4: Configure Claude Desktop

Open config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

IMPORTANT: Claude Desktop requires mcp-remote bridge for remote MCP servers.

Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snowflake": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://<account>.<region>.snowflakecomputing.com/api/v2/databases/<DATABASE>/schemas/<SCHEMA>/mcp-servers/<MCP_SERVER_NAME>",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_PAT_TOKEN>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Placeholders:

Step 5: Restart and Test

1. Fully quit Claude Desktop
2. Reopen Claude Desktop
3. Look for tools icon - Snowflake tools should appear

Test prompts:

• "Show me the tables in my_schema"
• "Run: SELECT CURRENT_USER(), CURRENT_ROLE(), CURRENT_WAREHOUSE()"

Troubleshooting

Stopping Points

• After Step 3: Save PAT token before proceeding
• After Step 4: Verify JSON syntax before restarting

Output

Working Claude Desktop connected to Snowflake MCP server with SQL execution capability.