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With the Snowflake® JDBC connector, you can use commands in a chain to perform structured query language (SQL) operations in Snowflake databases. For example, with this connector, you can:

• Execute SQL commands, including a CREATE or UPDATE statement or SELECT query
• Retrieve details about a table in Snowflake
• Insert records into a Snowflake database

Note: This connector is built by Workiva and connects to a third-party system. While our Support team can help configure this connector within your workspace, we are unable to troubleshoot or otherwise assist with any issues that originate outside of the Workiva platform.

Prerequisites

To enable the connection to the Snowflake, an org security administrator must first enable it from Configuration.

The connector itself uses Java database connectivity (JDBC), secured with either basic or key-pair authentication. To set up the connector, you'll need:

• A designated integration user created in Snowflake for the connector, plus the integration user's username and password.
  

  Note: Basic auth will no longer be supported as of November 2025. We recommend using key-pair authentication instead. Learn more.

• (Optional) A private key file to enable key-pair authentication.
• The JDBC connection's URL, such as jdbc:snowflake://[accountName].snowflakecomputing.com/?[options]
• To connect to an on-premise Snowflake database, a GroundRunner for the connection. (To connect to a cloud instance of Snowflake, use the default CloudRunner.)

Set up the Snowflake connector

1. From Chain Builder, click Connections  compare_arrows, and then Create at the top right.
2. Under Connector Connection, select Snowflake JDBC and the runner to use with the connection.
   
3. Under Basic Info, enter a unique name and description to help identify the connection.
4. (Optional) Under Resources, upload your private key file. You'll need to enter this exact file name into the "Private key file" field in the next step.
5. Under Properties, enter the connector's details:
   
   

   Property	Details
   Username	Enter the username to authenticate with. If a private key file is provided below, it will automatically authenticate to this username.
   Password	Enter the password for the Username property. If a private key file is provided below, enter the password here. Note: Leave blank for unencrypted key files.
   Connection URL	Enter the URL for the JDBC connection, such as jdbc:snowflake://[accountName].snowflakecomputing.com/. To include optional properties for the connection, append them as a query string. For example, to automatically timeout a login if it fails to connect in a minute, append ?loginTimeout=60.
   Private key file	(Optional) Used for authentication with the server's public key. The username and password should be entered in the fields above. Learn more: Key-pair authentication and key-pair rotation Note: The filename must match a file uploaded as a connection resource.

   Note: All sensitive credentials are automatically encrypted and stored at Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)-256 encryption. For security purposes, avoid including user credentials as optional properties within the Connection URL property.

6. Select the environments to use with the connection, and click Save.
7. To test the connection, create and run a chain with the connector's Get Table Definition command, and verify it returns a valid output.

Troubleshooting

If the connection to Snowflake fails:

• Verify the authentication credentials.
• If using key-pair auth, ensure the filename uploaded through Resources matches the filename entered in the Private Key File field.
• Check the URL for the JDBC connection, including its account name.
• If connecting to an on-premise database, check the GroundRunner selected for the connector.

If the connection fails to perform a command, verify its inputs—such as its SQL syntax or table—are valid.