Snowflake

Connect your Snowflake data warehouse to Memex for AI-powered analytics.

What is Snowflake?

Snowflake is a cloud-based data warehouse platform that provides data storage, processing, and analytic solutions. It's known for its unique architecture that separates storage and compute, allowing for flexible scaling and cost optimization. Once connected, Memex can query your Snowflake warehouses, explore schemas, and help you analyze your data through natural conversation.

What You'll Need

Credential	Description	Example
Account	Snowflake account identifier	xy12345.us-east-1
User	Snowflake username	MEMEX_USER
Password	Snowflake password	Your secure password
Role	Snowflake role (optional)	ANALYST
Warehouse	Compute warehouse (optional)	COMPUTE_WH
Database	Default database (optional)	ANALYTICS
Schema	Default schema (optional)	PUBLIC

Role, warehouse, database, and schema are optional. If not provided, Snowflake will use the defaults configured for your user.

Finding Your Credentials

Account Identifier

Your Snowflake account identifier is shown in your Snowflake URL:

• If your URL is https://xy12345.us-east-1.snowflakecomputing.com, your account identifier is xy12345.us-east-1

• The format is typically <account_locator>.<region> or <orgname>-<account_name>

Step 1: Log in to Snowflake

Go to your Snowflake account URL and log in with your credentials.

Step 2: Note Your Account Identifier

Look at your browser's address bar. The account identifier is the part before .snowflakecomputing.com.

Step 3: Gather User Credentials

Use the username and password you use to log in to Snowflake. If you need to create a dedicated user for Memex, work with your Snowflake administrator.

Step 4: Identify Role and Warehouse

1. In Snowflake, click your username in the top-right corner

2. Note your current Role and Warehouse

3. Or run SELECT CURRENT_ROLE(), CURRENT_WAREHOUSE(); in a worksheet

Connecting to Memex

1. Open the Memex Hub from the sidebar

2. Click on the Connectors tab

3. Find and click the Snowflake card

4. Enter your Account, User, Password, and optionally Role, Warehouse, Database, and Schema

5. Give your connection a memorable name (e.g., "Analytics Warehouse")

6. Click Add Connection

Verifying Your Connection

Once connected, try asking Memex:

List all databases in my Snowflake account

You should see a list of databases you have access to.

Using Your Connection

Here are some examples of what you can ask:

What tables are in the SALES schema of my ANALYTICS database?

Show me the top 10 customers by revenue from my Snowflake data

How many rows are in the TRANSACTIONS table and what's the date range?

Create a monthly summary of sales by region for 2024

Security Considerations

Role-Based Access Control

Snowflake uses roles to control access. Best practices:

• Create a dedicated role for Memex with read-only access

• Grant SELECT privileges only on the tables and views needed

• Use the principle of least privilege

Example role setup:

CREATE ROLE MEMEX_READER;
GRANT USAGE ON DATABASE ANALYTICS TO ROLE MEMEX_READER;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA ANALYTICS.PUBLIC TO ROLE MEMEX_READER;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA ANALYTICS.PUBLIC TO ROLE MEMEX_READER;

Warehouse Management

Warehouses incur costs when running. Consider:

• Using a smaller warehouse (X-SMALL) for Memex queries

• Setting up auto-suspend to pause the warehouse after inactivity

• Monitoring query costs through Snowflake's usage dashboard

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

If your Snowflake account requires MFA:

• You may need to use a service account without MFA for programmatic access

• Work with your administrator to configure appropriate authentication

Never share your primary user credentials. Create a dedicated service account for Memex with appropriate role assignments.

Troubleshooting

Invalid Account Identifier

• Verify the account identifier format matches your Snowflake URL

• Include the region identifier (e.g., us-east-1) if required

• Check for typos in the account identifier

Authentication Failed

• Double-check your username and password

• Ensure the user is not locked or disabled

• Verify the user has been granted the specified role

• Check if MFA is required and blocking programmatic access

Warehouse Not Found or Suspended

• Verify the warehouse name is correct

• Check if the warehouse exists and the role has USAGE permission

• If the warehouse is suspended, it will automatically resume when queries are run

Access Denied to Database/Schema

• Ensure the role has USAGE permission on the database and schema

• Verify SELECT permissions are granted on the tables

• Check that the role is correctly assigned to the user

Query Timeout

• Large queries may timeout—try adding filters or limits

• Consider using a larger warehouse for complex queries

• Check if the warehouse has sufficient credits/resources

Learn More

• Snowflake Documentation

• Snowflake Access Control

• Snowflake Warehouses