A personal PAT on the Ask Sidecar tab applies only to that person. The PAT
on the MCP tab is shared by Agent Console jobs. Use a service user for the
Agent Console credential.
Before you start
You need:- Account Admin permissions in Sidecar
- A connected Snowflake integration
- A verified Snowflake MCP server, following the admin steps in Ask Sidecar with Snowflake query execution
- A Snowflake service user whose role can query only the warehouses, databases, and schemas agents need
SIDECARMCPSERVER in the PUBLIC schema of your
selected Sidecar database. It exposes one executesql tool with Snowflake’s
read_only option enabled. See Snowflake’s
CREATE MCP SERVER reference
for the underlying object and tool specification.
Create the organization PAT
You can reuse theSIDECAR_USER service user from the Snowflake integration
setup,
or create a separate service user with narrower data access.
The following example creates a 90-day PAT for the existing Sidecar service
user and restricts it to SIDECAR_ROLE:
token_secret value from the result. Snowflake shows it only once.
Change the expiration to comply with your authentication policy.
Snowflake requires a role restriction for service-user PATs by default. Your
network and authentication policies must also permit the token. See Snowflake’s
programmatic access token guide
for policy requirements, token generation, and rotation.
Enable Snowflake MCP in Sidecar
- In Sidecar, select Integrations.
- Open Snowflake, then select the MCP tab.
- Click Enable MCP.
- Paste the service user’s PAT into Service account PAT (organization-wide).
- Click Add server.
Finish agent setup
Registering the server does not give it to an agent automatically. Grant the Snowflake MCP server to an agent and select it for jobs. Rotate the PAT before it expires. In Integrations → MCP Servers, open the Snowflake row and select Replace token.Troubleshooting
The MCP tab says to set up the Snowflake MCP server first
The MCP tab says to set up the Snowflake MCP server first
Complete the Snowflake MCP admin setup
on the Ask Sidecar tab. Run the generated SQL, then click Verify MCP
Server before returning to the MCP tab.
The PAT is rejected
The PAT is rejected
Confirm that the token belongs to a service user, its role restriction names a
role granted to that user, and the token has not expired. If Snowflake applies
a network policy, it must allow requests from Sidecar’s infrastructure.
Queries fail with access errors
Queries fail with access errors
The PAT’s restricted role controls data access. Grant that role
USAGE on the
required warehouse, database, and schemas, plus SELECT on the required
tables and views. Do not grant broader access than the agents need.