Snowflake MCP servers: which one to use
Use Snowflake's managed MCP server if you can create one in your account. Use snowflake_mcp_server for a read-only server that runs on your laptop.
- Servers
- 9
- active
- Official
- 1
- by Snowflake
- Hosted
- 1
- nothing to install
- Local
- 6
- runs on your machine
- OAuth
- 1
- sign in, no key
Snowflake makes its own MCP server, and it runs inside your Snowflake account. You create it with a CREATE MCP SERVER statement, sign in with Snowflake OAuth, and grant access to each tool by role. If you would rather run a server on your own machine, pick one that blocks writes. snowflake_mcp_server is read-only, mcp-snowflake-server-nsp is read-only until you start it with --allow_write, and snowflake-mcp needs SNOWFLAKE_READONLY=true. The older Snowflake Labs server is deprecated, so skip it.
Good for
- Data teams who want Claude or Cursor to query Snowflake with their existing roles and permissions
- Admins who want one governed server with access granted tool by tool
- Analysts who want a read-only server on their laptop for ad hoc questions
- Engineers with several Snowflake environments who want one config file for all of them
Which Snowflake MCP server to use
Use Snowflake's managed server when your admin can create it. For a local server, snowflake_mcp_server is read-only by design, mcp-snowflake-server and mcp-snowflake-server-nsp are read-only until you pass an allow-write flag, and snowflake-mcp needs a setting changed.
| Server | Official | Runs | Sign-in | Read-only | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For Snowflake | |||||
| Snowflake Managed | Official | Hosted | Snowflake OAuth | Per-tool grants | – |
| snowflake_mcp_server | Community | Local | SSO or key pair | Always | 5 |
| mcp-snowflake-server-nsp | Community | Local | Several methods | Default | 2 |
| snowflake-mcp | Community | Local | Password or SSO | Env setting | 0 |
| Other tools for the same job | |||||
| mcp-snowflake-server | Community | Local | Password, key or SSO | Default | 184 |
All Snowflake MCP servers
9 active · 1 official · official first, then by GitHub stars
- Snowflake-managed MCP ServerOfficialHostedOAuth
Snowflake-hosted MCP server you create in your account with CREATE MCP SERVER. Exposes Cortex Agent, Cortex Search, Cortex Analyst, SQL and custom tools behind Snowflake OAuth and role grants.
GenPark Distributed ID Snowflake GeneratorLocal64-bit Twitter Snowflake-compatible distributed unique ID generator with clock backwards drift prote
7 GitHub stars- franken_snowflake
Clean-room, Rust-first, Asupersync-native Snowflake SQL API connector for coding agents: deterministic JSON envelopes, capability registry, MCP server, TUI. 14 crates on crates.io; live reads proven at the driver level, writes implemented but end-to-end live run still pending. No ODBC, JDBC, or Toki
6 GitHub stars - snowflake_mcp_serverLocal
Simple and clean Snowflake MCP with read-only permissions so that users can ask Natural Language questions against their Snowflake databases
5 GitHub stars - snowflake-generic-mcp
General-Purpose Snowflake MCP server for any type of SQL operation
3 GitHub stars - Snowflake MCP ServerLocal
A Snowflake MCP server — SQL queries, schema exploration, and data insights for AI assistants
2 GitHub stars 
snowflake-mcpLocalMCP server for executing Snowflake queries
0 GitHub stars- snowflake-mcp-serverLocal
Model Context Protocol server for Snowflake database integration
0 GitHub stars - @naganpm/snowflake-mcp-serverLocal
MCP Server for Snowflake — exposes Snowflake operations as MCP tools
48/wk downloads a week
Questions
Is there an official Snowflake MCP server?
Yes. Snowflake runs a managed MCP server inside your account. You create it with a CREATE MCP SERVER statement and expose Cortex Analyst, Cortex Search, Cortex Agents, SQL and your own functions as tools.
Is the Snowflake Labs MCP server still maintained?
No. Its README is marked deprecated and no longer maintained, and it points to the managed server in Snowflake's docs. Skip it for new setups.
How do I sign in to the Snowflake MCP server?
The managed server uses Snowflake OAuth by default, with optional External OAuth so your own identity provider can sign people in. Snowflake's docs recommend OAuth and warn that hardcoded tokens can leak. If you use a programmatic access token, give it the least-privileged role.
Can the Snowflake MCP server change or delete my data?
The managed server can run SQL if you add a SQL tool, and access is granted per tool through roles, so give the role only what it needs. Among local servers, snowflake_mcp_server validates every query as read-only. mcp-snowflake-server and mcp-snowflake-server-nsp keep their write tools off unless you start them with --allow_write. snowflake-mcp blocks writes only when SNOWFLAKE_READONLY is true.
Which Snowflake MCP server is read-only?
snowflake_mcp_server, by its README. mcp-snowflake-server and mcp-snowflake-server-nsp are read-only until you enable writes, and snowflake-mcp has a read-only setting that is off by default.
Which Snowflake servers have setup steps for Claude Code or Cursor?
snowflake_mcp_server has a paste-in setup for Claude Code, OpenCode and Cursor. mcp-snowflake-server-nsp covers Claude Code, VS Code and OpenCode, and snowflake-mcp shows a Cursor config. All three run on your machine.
Do I need a separate API key for Snowflake?
Not for the managed server, which uses Snowflake OAuth. The local servers sign in with your Snowflake account. snowflake_mcp_server and snowflake-mcp can open a browser for SSO, snowflake_mcp_server also supports key pairs, and mcp-snowflake-server takes a password, a private key path or browser authentication.
Why do hostnames matter when connecting to the managed server?
Snowflake's docs say to use hyphens instead of underscores in the hostname, because MCP servers have connection issues with underscores.