Igloo MCP - Snowflake MCP Server for Agentic Native Workflows

Igloo MCP is a standalone MCP server for Snowflake operations, designed for agentic native workflows with AI assistants. Built from the ground up with SnowCLI integration for maximum simplicity and performance.

✨ Features

• 🛡️ SQL Safety: Blocks destructive operations (DELETE, DROP, TRUNCATE) with safe alternatives
• 🧠 Intelligent Errors: Compact mode (default) saves 70% tokens; verbose mode for debugging
• ⏱️ Agent-Controlled Timeouts: Configure query timeouts per-request (1-3600s)
• ✅ MCP Protocol Compliant: Standard exception-based error handling
• 🚀 Zero Vendoring: Imports from upstream, stays in sync

📖 See Release Notes for details.

Available MCP Tools

Igloo MCP Tools

• execute_query - Execute SQL queries with safety checks
• preview_table - Preview table contents with LIMIT support
• build_catalog - Build comprehensive metadata catalog from Snowflake INFORMATION_SCHEMA
• get_catalog_summary - Get catalog overview with object counts and statistics
• build_dependency_graph - Build dependency graph for data lineage analysis
• test_connection - Test Snowflake connection and profile validation
• health_check - Get system health status and configuration details

See MCP Documentation for details.

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Installation

For End Users (Recommended)

Install from PyPI for stable releases:

uv pip install igloo-mcp

⚡ 5-Minute Quickstart

Get igloo-mcp running with Cursor in under 5 minutes!

Who this is for: Users new to Snowflake and MCP who want to get started quickly.

Prerequisites Check (30 seconds)

# Check Python version (need 3.12+)
python --version

# Check if Snowflake CLI is installed
snow --version

# If not installed, install it:
pip install snowflake-cli-labs

What you'll need:

• Snowflake account with username/password (or ask your admin)
• Cursor installed
• Your Snowflake account identifier (looks like: mycompany-prod.us-east-1)

Step 1: Install igloo-mcp (1 minute)

# Install from PyPI
uv pip install igloo-mcp

# Verify installation
python -c "import igloo_mcp; print('igloo-mcp installed successfully')"
# Expected: igloo-mcp installed successfully

Note: igloo-mcp automatically installs snowflake-cli-labs as a dependency

Step 2: Create Snowflake Profile (2 minutes)

# Create a profile with password authentication (easiest for getting started)
snow connection add \
  --connection-name "quickstart" \
  --account "<your-account>.<region>" \
  --user "<your-username>" \
  --password \
  --warehouse "<your-warehouse>"

# Enter password when prompted
# Expected: "Connection 'quickstart' added successfully"

Finding your account identifier:

• Your Snowflake URL: https://abc12345.us-east-1.snowflakecomputing.com
• Your account identifier: abc12345.us-east-1 (remove .snowflakecomputing.com)

Finding your warehouse:

• Trial accounts: Usually COMPUTE_WH (default warehouse)
• Enterprise: Check Snowflake UI → Admin → Warehouses, or ask your admin
• Common names: COMPUTE_WH, WH_DEV, ANALYTICS_WH

Don't have these? Ask your Snowflake admin for:

• Account identifier
• Username & password
• Warehouse name

Step 3: Configure Cursor MCP (1 minute)

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "igloo-mcp": {
      "command": "igloo-mcp",
      "args": [
        "--profile",
        "quickstart"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SNOWFLAKE_PROFILE": "quickstart"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: No service_config.yml needed! igloo-mcp uses Snowflake CLI profiles directly.

Restart Cursor after configuring.

Step 4: Test Your Setup (30 seconds)

Verify Snowflake Connection

# Test your profile
snow sql -q "SELECT CURRENT_VERSION()" --connection quickstart

Verify MCP Server

# Start MCP server (should show help without errors)
igloo-mcp --profile quickstart --help

Step 5: Test It! (30 seconds)

In Cursor, try these prompts:

"Test my Snowflake connection"

Expected: ✅ Connection successful message

"Show me my Snowflake databases"

Expected: List of your databases

"What tables are in my database?"

Expected: List of tables (if you have access)

Success! 🎉

You've successfully:

• ✅ Installed igloo-mcp
• ✅ Configured Snowflake connection
• ✅ Connected Cursor to igloo-mcp
• ✅ Ran your first Snowflake queries via AI

Time taken: ~5 minutes

What's Next?

Explore MCP Tools

Try these prompts in Cursor:

"Build a catalog for MY_DATABASE"
→ Explores all tables, columns, views, functions, procedures, and metadata
→ Only includes user-defined functions (excludes built-in Snowflake functions)

"Show me lineage for USERS table"
→ Visualizes data dependencies

"Preview the CUSTOMERS table with 10 rows"
→ Shows sample data from tables

"Execute: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders WHERE created_at > CURRENT_DATE - 7"
→ Runs custom SQL queries

Improve Security

Replace password auth with key-pair authentication:

1. Generate keys:

mkdir -p ~/.snowflake
openssl genrsa -out ~/.snowflake/key.pem 2048
openssl rsa -in ~/.snowflake/key.pem -pubout -out ~/.snowflake/key.pub
chmod 400 ~/.snowflake/key.pem

2. Upload public key to Snowflake:

# Format key for Snowflake
cat ~/.snowflake/key.pub | grep -v "BEGIN\|END" | tr -d '\n'

# In Snowflake, run:
ALTER USER <your_username> SET RSA_PUBLIC_KEY='<paste_key_here>';

3. Update your profile:

snow connection add \
  --connection-name "quickstart" \
  --account "mycompany-prod.us-east-1" \
  --user "your-username" \
  --private-key-file "~/.snowflake/key.pem" \
  --warehouse "COMPUTE_WH"

Troubleshooting

"Profile not found"

Fix:

# List profiles
snow connection list

# Use exact name from list in your MCP config

"Connection failed"

Fix:

• Verify account format: org-account.region (not https://...)
• Check username/password are correct
• Ensure warehouse exists and you have access
• Try: snow sql -q "SELECT 1" --connection quickstart

"MCP tools not showing up"

Fix:

1. Verify igloo-mcp is installed: which igloo-mcp
2. Check MCP config JSON syntax is valid
3. Restart Cursor completely
4. Check Cursor logs for errors

"Permission denied"

Fix:

• Ensure you have USAGE on warehouse
• Check database/schema access: SHOW GRANTS TO USER <your_username>
• Contact your Snowflake admin for permissions

Still stuck?

• 💬 GitHub Discussions - Community help
• 🐛 GitHub Issues - Report bugs
• 📖 Full Documentation - Comprehensive guides

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Complete Setup Guide

For Cursor Users

# 1. Set up your Snowflake profile
snow connection add --connection-name "my-profile" \
  --account "your-account.region" --user "your-username" \
  --private-key-file "/path/to/key.p8" --database "DB" --warehouse "WH"

# 2. Configure Cursor MCP
# Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "igloo-mcp": {
      "command": "igloo-mcp",
      "args": [
        "--profile",
        "my-profile"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SNOWFLAKE_PROFILE": "my-profile"
      }
    }
  }
}

# 3. Restart Cursor and test
# Ask: "Test my Snowflake connection"

See Getting Started Guide for detailed setup instructions.

MCP Server (MCP-Only Interface)

Task	Command	Notes
Start MCP server	igloo-mcp	For AI assistant integration
Start with profile	igloo-mcp --profile PROF	Specify profile explicitly
Configure	igloo-mcp --configure	Interactive setup

🐻‍❄️ MCP-Only Architecture Igloo MCP is MCP-only. All functionality is available through MCP tools.

Profile Selection Options:

• Command flag: igloo-mcp --profile PROFILE_NAME (explicit)
• Environment variable: export SNOWFLAKE_PROFILE=PROFILE_NAME (session)
• Default profile: Set with snow connection set-default PROFILE_NAME (implicit)

Python API

from igloo_mcp import QueryService, CatalogService

# Execute query
query_service = QueryService(profile="my-profile")
result = query_service.execute("SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 10")

# Build catalog
catalog_service = CatalogService(profile="my-profile")
catalog = catalog_service.build_catalog(database="MY_DB")

Documentation

• Getting Started Guide - Recommended for all users
• MCP Server User Guide - Advanced MCP configuration
• Architecture Overview
• API Reference - All available MCP tools
• Migration Guide (CLI to MCP)
• Contributing Guide

Examples

Query Execution via MCP

# AI assistant sends query via MCP
{
  "tool": "execute_query",
  "arguments": {
    "statement": "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users WHERE created_at > CURRENT_DATE - 30",
    "timeout_seconds": 60
  }
}

Data Catalog Building

# Build comprehensive metadata catalog
{
  "tool": "build_catalog",
  "arguments": {
    "database": "MY_DATABASE",
    "output_dir": "./catalog",
    "account": false,
    "format": "json"
  }
}
# Returns: databases, schemas, tables, views, functions, procedures, columns, etc.
# Note: Only includes user-defined functions (excludes built-in Snowflake functions)

Data Lineage

# Query lineage for impact analysis
{
  "tool": "query_lineage",
  "arguments": {
    "object_name": "MY_TABLE",
    "direction": "both",
    "depth": 3
  }
}