---
title: Snowflake - Data Connect
description: Instructions for setting up and using Data Connect with Snowflake
lastUpdated: 22 April 2026
source_url:
  html: https://docs.contentsquare.com/en/connect/snowflake/
  md: https://docs.contentsquare.com/en/connect/snowflake/index.md
---

> Documentation index: https://docs.contentsquare.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Snowflake is a cloud-based data platform that provides data warehouse-as-a-service designed for the cloud. The Data Connect integration with Snowflake allows you to automatically sync your Contentsquare data to Snowflake for advanced analysis and joining with other business data.

## Prerequisites

Before setting up the Snowflake integration, ensure you have:

* **A Snowflake account** with appropriate access

* **Snowflake user credentials** with a role that has the following privileges:

  * `USAGE` on database and schema
  * `CREATE TABLE` on schema
  * `SELECT`, `INSERT`, `UPDATE`, `DELETE` on tables
  * `CREATE VIEW` on schema (for `all_events` and other views)

## Snowflake setup

To get started, you need to have the following information about your Snowflake account:

* **Your Snowflake account name**: Your account name can be found in the URL used to access Snowflake: `<account_name>.snowflakecomputing.com`.

* **Your account region**: We currently support the following regions:

  **AWS**:

  * `us-west-2` (Oregon): region not included in snowflake URLs for this region only
  * `us-east-1` (N. Virginia)
  * `us-east-2` (Ohio)
  * `eu-west-1` (Ireland)
  * `eu-central-1` (Frankfurt)
  * `ap-southeast-2` (Sydney)
  * `ca-central-1` (Canada Central)

  **Azure**:

  * `east-us-2` (Virginia)
  * `west-us-2` (Washington)
  * `canada-central` (Toronto)
  * `west-europe` (Netherlands)
  * `australia-east` (New South Wales)
  * `north-europe` (Ireland)
  * `centralus` (Iowa)
  * `uksouth` (London)

  **GCP**:

  * `us-central1` (Iowa)
  * `europe-west4` (Netherlands)

If you are outside of these regions, let us know and we will work to add support for you.

To find this information in your Snowflake account, see the **Analysis Setup** > **Connect** > **Snowflake** page in Contentsquare. This page will only be available once Data Connect has been enabled for you by someone on our end.

## Configure Data Connect

Admin only

Configuration of this destination is only available to admin users in Contentsquare.

1. Log in to Contentsquare.

2. Navigate to **Analysis setup** > **Data Connect**.

3. Select **Connect** next to Snowflake.

4. Create a database in Snowflake by copying and running the generated snippet:

   ```sql
   CREATE DATABASE heap_<project_name>_<environment_name> FROM SHARE heap_uswest.share_<env_id>
   ```

5. Select **Next**.

6. [Enter your Snowflake hostname ↗](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/organizations-connect#connecting-with-a-url).

7. Select **Connect**.

## Advanced Features

### Data Sharing via Snowflake Shares

Contentsquare uses Snowflake's Secure Data Sharing feature to provide you with access to your data without copying or moving it.

**How Data Sharing Works:**

* Contentsquare creates a share containing your data
* You create a database from this share in your Snowflake account
* Data stays in Contentsquare's Snowflake account (no data transfer)
* You query the data as if it were in your account
* No compute costs for data storage on your end

**Benefits:**

* **Instant access**: No wait time for data copying
* **Always up-to-date**: See data as soon as syncs complete
* **No storage costs**: Data lives in Contentsquare's account
* **Secure**: Snowflake's secure sharing with access controls

**Managing Shared Data:**

```sql
-- View available shares
SHOW SHARES;


-- See databases created from shares
SHOW DATABASES LIKE '%heap%';


-- Check when data was last updated
SELECT
  table_name,
  last_altered
FROM heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>.information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema = 'PUBLIC'
ORDER BY last_altered DESC;
```

### Query Optimization for Shared Data

While Snowflake data shares are efficient, following these practices ensures optimal query speed:

**1. Use appropriate warehouse sizes:**

```sql
-- For light queries (< 10K rows)
USE WAREHOUSE small_wh;


-- For heavy analytics (millions of rows)
USE WAREHOUSE large_wh;
```

**2. Filter early and often:**

```sql
-- Good: Filter before joins
WITH recent_sessions AS (
  SELECT *
  FROM heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>.public.sessions
  WHERE time::date >= DATEADD('day', -30, CURRENT_DATE())
)
SELECT * FROM recent_sessions;
```

**3. Leverage clustering hints:**

```sql
-- Add clustering information for query optimizer
SELECT /*+ CLUSTER_BY(time) */ *
FROM heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>.public.all_events
WHERE time >= DATEADD('day', -7, CURRENT_DATE());
```

**4. Create materialized views for frequent queries:**

```sql
CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW my_database.my_schema.daily_sessions AS
SELECT
  time::date as session_date,
  device_type,
  COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) as session_count,
  COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) as user_count
FROM heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>.public.sessions
GROUP BY session_date, device_type;
```

### Integration with BI Tools

Snowflake's native integrations allow you to connect Data Connect data with popular BI tools:

**Tableau:**

* Use Snowflake connector
* Point to shared database: `heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>`
* Enable query pushdown for optimal performance

**Looker:**

* Configure Snowflake connection
* Use `heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>` as database
* Consider Looker Blocks (see below)

**Power BI:**

* Use Snowflake connector in Power BI Desktop
* Import mode recommended for smaller datasets
* DirectQuery for larger datasets

**Metabase:**

* Add Snowflake database connection
* Select `heap_<project_name>_<environment_name>` database
* Build dashboards directly on shared data