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How to use key pair authentication with Snowflake

Compared to the basic authentication using a username and password, the key pair authentication method offers an additional layer of security. 


For the key pair authentication, you need to provide a username, private key and optional passphrase. 

  • Username is the username to the Snowflake instance you want to connect to. The corresponding public key must be assigned to this username. The corresponding user must have sufficient permissions for the database. Note that using the account admin role isn't recommended. Learn more about Snowflake prerequisites and permissions
  • The private key is generated according to the instructions in Snowflake documentation. Copy the entire key, including the start and end tags, and paste it into the field.
    If the multiline value could not be copied, replace each new line character with a space character and copy the key as one huge line.
  • Optional passphrase. If the private key is encrypted, it has a passphrase. If the key doesn’t have a passphrase, leave the field blank.


Learn to generate the key pair (private and public key) and assign the key to a user with instructions in Snowflake documentation.


Instructions

Create a new Snowflake destination with key pair authentication
  1. Go to the Connect to data warehouse page on the Supermetrics Hub. 
  2. Click Create New, and select Snowflake Data Warehouse. Click Next.
  3. Fill in the connection details.
  4. In the authentication dropdown menu, select the key pair authentication method. 
  5. Insert the username, private key, and private key passphrase, if applicable.
  6. Click Test to test the connection to your destination. If the test is successful, click Save to store the destination.
Set up key pair authentication for an existing Snowflake destination
  1. Go to the Connect to data warehouse page on the Supermetrics Hub.
  2. Edit an existing Snowflake destination.
  3. In the authentication dropdown menu, select the key pair authentication method. 
  4. Insert the username, private key, and private key passphrase, if applicable.
  5. Click Test to test the connection to your destination. If the test is successful, click Save to store the destination.

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