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dagster-snowflake integration reference

This reference page provides information for working with dagster-snowflake features that are not covered as part of the Snowflake & Dagster tutorials (resources, I/O managers).

Authenticating using a private key​

In addition to password-based authentication, you can authenticate with Snowflake using a key pair. To set up private key authentication for your Snowflake account, see the instructions in the Snowflake docs.

Currently, the Dagster's Snowflake integration only supports encrypted private keys. You can provide the private key directly to the Snowflake resource or I/O manager, or via a file containing the private key.

Directly to the resource


from dagster_snowflake import SnowflakeResource

from dagster import Definitions, EnvVar

defs = Definitions(
    assets=[iris_dataset],
    resources={
        "snowflake": SnowflakeResource(
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),
            private_key=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PK"),
            private_key_password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PK_PASSWORD"),
            database="FLOWERS",
        )
    },
)

Via a file


from dagster_snowflake import SnowflakeResource

from dagster import Definitions, EnvVar

defs = Definitions(
    assets=[iris_dataset],
    resources={
        "snowflake": SnowflakeResource(
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),
            private_key_path="/path/to/private/key/file.p8",
            private_key_password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PK_PASSWORD"),
            database="FLOWERS",
        )
    },
)

Using the Snowflake resource​

Executing custom SQL commands​

Using a Snowflake resource, you can execute custom SQL queries on a Snowflake database:

from dagster_snowflake import SnowflakeResource

from dagster import Definitions, EnvVar, asset

# this example executes a query against the IRIS_DATASET table created in Step 2 of the
# Using Dagster with Snowflake tutorial


@asset
def small_petals(snowflake: SnowflakeResource):
    query = """
        create or replace table iris.small_petals as (
            SELECT * 
            FROM iris.iris_dataset
            WHERE species = 'petal_length_cm' < 1 AND 'petal_width_cm' < 1
        );
    """

    with snowflake.get_connection() as conn:
        conn.cursor.execute(query)  # ty: ignore[unresolved-attribute]


defs = Definitions(
    assets=[small_petals],
    resources={
        "snowflake": SnowflakeResource(
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),
            password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD"),
            database="FLOWERS",
            schema="IRIS",
        )
    },
)

Let's review what's happening in this example:

For more information on the Snowflake resource, including additional configuration settings, see the SnowflakeResource API docs.

Using the Snowflake I/O manager​

Selecting specific columns in a downstream asset​

Sometimes you may not want to fetch an entire table as the input to a downstream asset. With the Snowflake I/O manager, you can select specific columns to load by supplying metadata on the downstream asset.

import pandas as pd

from dagster import AssetIn, asset

# this example uses the iris_dataset asset from Step 2 of the Using Dagster with Snowflake tutorial


@asset(
    ins={
        "iris_sepal": AssetIn(
            key="iris_dataset",
            metadata={"columns": ["sepal_length_cm", "sepal_width_cm"]},
        )
    }
)
def sepal_data(iris_sepal: pd.DataFrame) -> pd.DataFrame:
    iris_sepal["sepal_area_cm2"] = (
        iris_sepal["sepal_length_cm"] * iris_sepal["sepal_width_cm"]
    )
    return iris_sepal

In this example, we only use the columns containing sepal data from the IRIS_DATASET table created in Step 2 of the Snowflake I/O manager tutorial. Fetching the entire table would be unnecessarily costly, so to select specific columns, we can add metadata to the input asset. We do this in the metadata parameter of the AssetIn that loads the iris_dataset asset in the ins parameter. We supply the key columns with a list of names of the columns we want to fetch.

When Dagster materializes sepal_data and loads the iris_dataset asset using the Snowflake I/O manager, it will only fetch the sepal_length_cm and sepal_width_cm columns of the FLOWERS.IRIS.IRIS_DATASET table and pass them to sepal_data as a Pandas DataFrame.

Storing partitioned assets​

The Snowflake I/O manager supports storing and loading partitioned data. In order to correctly store and load data from the Snowflake table, the Snowflake I/O manager needs to know which column contains the data defining the partition bounds. The Snowflake I/O manager uses this information to construct the correct queries to select or replace the data. In the following sections, we describe how the I/O manager constructs these queries for different types of partitions.

To store statically-partitioned assets in Snowflake, specify partition_expr metadata on the asset to tell the Snowflake I/O manager which column contains the partition data:

import pandas as pd

from dagster import AssetExecutionContext, StaticPartitionsDefinition, asset


@asset(
    partitions_def=StaticPartitionsDefinition(
        ["Iris-setosa", "Iris-virginica", "Iris-versicolor"]
    ),
    metadata={"partition_expr": "SPECIES"},
)
def iris_dataset_partitioned(context: AssetExecutionContext) -> pd.DataFrame:
    species = context.partition_key

    full_df = pd.read_csv(
        "https://docs.dagster.io/assets/iris.csv",
        names=[
            "sepal_length_cm",
            "sepal_width_cm",
            "petal_length_cm",
            "petal_width_cm",
            "species",
        ],
    )

    return full_df[full_df["Species"] == species]


@asset
def iris_cleaned(iris_dataset_partitioned: pd.DataFrame):
    return iris_dataset_partitioned.dropna().drop_duplicates()

Dagster uses the partition_expr metadata to craft the SELECT statement when loading the partition in the downstream asset. When loading a static partition (or multiple static partitions), the following statement is used:

SELECT *
 WHERE [partition_expr] in ([selected partitions])

When the partition_expr value is injected into this statement, the resulting SQL query must follow Snowflake's SQL syntax. Refer to the Snowflake documentation for more information.

When materializing the above assets, a partition must be selected. In this example, the query used when materializing the Iris-setosa partition of the above assets would be:

SELECT *
 WHERE SPECIES in ('Iris-setosa')

Storing tables in multiple schemas​

If you want to have different assets stored in different Snowflake schemas, the Snowflake I/O manager allows you to specify the schema in a few ways.

You can specify the default schema where data will be stored as configuration to the I/O manager, like we did in Step 1 of the Snowflake I/O manager tutorial.

To store assets in different schemas, specify the schema as metadata:

    daffodil_dataset = AssetSpec(
        key=["daffodil_dataset"], metadata={"schema": "daffodil"}
    )

    @asset(metadata={"schema": "iris"})
    def iris_dataset() -> pd.DataFrame:
        return pd.read_csv(
            "https://docs.dagster.io/assets/iris.csv",
            names=[
                "sepal_length_cm",
                "sepal_width_cm",
                "petal_length_cm",
                "petal_width_cm",
                "species",
            ],
        )

You can also specify the schema as part of the asset's asset key:

    daffodil_dataset = AssetSpec(key=["daffodil", "daffodil_dataset"])

    @asset(key_prefix=["iris"])
    def iris_dataset() -> pd.DataFrame:
        return pd.read_csv(
            "https://docs.dagster.io/assets/iris.csv",
            names=[
                "sepal_length_cm",
                "sepal_width_cm",
                "petal_length_cm",
                "petal_width_cm",
                "species",
            ],
        )

In this example, the iris_dataset asset will be stored in the IRIS schema, and the daffodil_dataset asset will be found in the DAFFODIL schema.

note

The schema is determined in this order:

  1. If the schema is set via metadata, that schema will be used
  2. Otherwise, the schema set as configuration on the I/O manager will be used

  3. Otherwise, if there is a key_prefix, that schema will be used

  4. If none of the above are provided, the default schema will be PUBLIC

Storing timestamp data in Pandas DataFrames​

When storing a Pandas DataFrame with the Snowflake I/O manager, the I/O manager will check if timestamp data has a timezone attached, and if not, it will assign the UTC timezone. In Snowflake, you will see the timestamp data stored as the TIMESTAMP_NTZ(9) type, as this is the type assigned by the Snowflake Pandas connector.

note

Prior to dagster-snowflake version 0.19.0 the Snowflake I/O manager converted all timestamp data to strings before loading the data in Snowflake, and did the opposite conversion when fetching a DataFrame from Snowflake. If you have used a version of dagster-snowflake prior to version 0.19.0, see the Dagster version upgrade guide for information about migrating database tables.

Using the Snowflake I/O manager with other I/O managers​

You may have assets that you don't want to store in Snowflake. You can provide an I/O manager to each asset using the io_manager_key parameter in the asset decorator:


import pandas as pd
from dagster_aws.s3.io_manager import s3_pickle_io_manager
from dagster_snowflake_pandas import SnowflakePandasIOManager

from dagster import Definitions, EnvVar, asset


@asset(io_manager_key="warehouse_io_manager")
def iris_dataset() -> pd.DataFrame:
    return pd.read_csv(
        "https://docs.dagster.io/assets/iris.csv",
        names=[
            "sepal_length_cm",
            "sepal_width_cm",
            "petal_length_cm",
            "petal_width_cm",
            "species",
        ],
    )


@asset(io_manager_key="blob_io_manager")
def iris_plots(iris_dataset):
    # plot_data is a function we've defined somewhere else
    # that plots the data in a DataFrame
    return plot_data(iris_dataset)  # ty: ignore[call-non-callable]


defs = Definitions(
    assets=[iris_dataset, iris_plots],
    resources={
        "warehouse_io_manager": SnowflakePandasIOManager(
            database="FLOWERS",
            schema="IRIS",
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),
            password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD"),
        ),
        "blob_io_manager": s3_pickle_io_manager,
    },
)

In this example, the iris_dataset asset uses the I/O manager bound to the key warehouse_io_manager and iris_plots will use the I/O manager bound to the key blob_io_manager. In the Definitions object, we supply the I/O managers for those keys. When the assets are materialized, the iris_dataset will be stored in Snowflake, and iris_plots will be saved in Amazon S3.

Storing and loading PySpark DataFrames in Snowflake​

The Snowflake I/O manager also supports storing and loading PySpark DataFrames. To use the SnowflakePySparkIOManager, first install the package:

uv add dagster-snowflake-pyspark

Then you can use the SnowflakePySparkIOManager in your Definitions as in Step 1 of the Snowflake I/O manager tutorial.


from dagster_snowflake_pyspark import SnowflakePySparkIOManager

from dagster import Definitions, EnvVar

defs = Definitions(
    assets=[iris_dataset],
    resources={
        "io_manager": SnowflakePySparkIOManager(
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",  # required
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),  # required
            password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD"),  # password or private key required
            database="FLOWERS",  # required
            warehouse="PLANTS",  # required for PySpark
            role="writer",  # optional, defaults to the default role for the account
            schema="IRIS",  # optional, defaults to PUBLIC
        )
    },
)
note

When using the snowflake_pyspark_io_manager the warehouse configuration is required.

The SnowflakePySparkIOManager requires that a SparkSession be active and configured with the Snowflake connector for Spark. You can either create your own SparkSession or use the spark_resource.

from dagster_pyspark import pyspark_resource
from dagster_snowflake_pyspark import SnowflakePySparkIOManager
from pyspark import SparkFiles
from pyspark.sql import DataFrame
from pyspark.sql.types import DoubleType, StringType, StructField, StructType

from dagster import AssetExecutionContext, Definitions, EnvVar, asset

SNOWFLAKE_JARS = "net.snowflake:snowflake-jdbc:3.8.0,net.snowflake:spark-snowflake_2.12:2.8.2-spark_3.0"


@asset(required_resource_keys={"pyspark"})
def iris_dataset(context: AssetExecutionContext) -> DataFrame:
    spark = context.resources.pyspark.spark_session

    schema = StructType(
        [
            StructField("sepal_length_cm", DoubleType()),
            StructField("sepal_width_cm", DoubleType()),
            StructField("petal_length_cm", DoubleType()),
            StructField("petal_width_cm", DoubleType()),
            StructField("species", StringType()),
        ]
    )

    url = "https://docs.dagster.io/assets/iris.csv"
    spark.sparkContext.addFile(url)

    return spark.read.schema(schema).csv("file://" + SparkFiles.get("iris.csv"))


defs = Definitions(
    assets=[iris_dataset],
    resources={
        "io_manager": SnowflakePySparkIOManager(
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),
            password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD"),
            database="FLOWERS",
            warehouse="PLANTS",
            schema="IRIS",
        ),
        "pyspark": pyspark_resource.configured(
            {"spark_conf": {"spark.jars.packages": SNOWFLAKE_JARS}}
        ),
    },
)

Using Pandas and PySpark DataFrames with Snowflake​

If you work with both Pandas and PySpark DataFrames and want a single I/O manager to handle storing and loading these DataFrames in Snowflake, you can write a new I/O manager that handles both types. To do this, inherit from the SnowflakeIOManager base class and implement the type_handlers and default_load_type methods. The resulting I/O manager will inherit the configuration fields of the base SnowflakeIOManager.


import pandas as pd
from dagster_snowflake import SnowflakeIOManager
from dagster_snowflake_pandas import SnowflakePandasTypeHandler
from dagster_snowflake_pyspark import SnowflakePySparkTypeHandler

from dagster import Definitions, EnvVar


class SnowflakePandasPySparkIOManager(SnowflakeIOManager):
    @staticmethod
    def type_handlers():
        """type_handlers should return a list of the TypeHandlers that the I/O manager can use.
        Here we return the SnowflakePandasTypeHandler and SnowflakePySparkTypeHandler so that the I/O
        manager can store Pandas DataFrames and PySpark DataFrames.
        """
        return [SnowflakePandasTypeHandler(), SnowflakePySparkTypeHandler()]

    @staticmethod
    def default_load_type() -> type | None:
        """If an asset is not annotated with an return type, default_load_type will be used to
        determine which TypeHandler to use to store and load the output.
        In this case, unannotated assets will be stored and loaded as Pandas DataFrames.
        """
        return pd.DataFrame


defs = Definitions(
    assets=[iris_dataset, rose_dataset],
    resources={
        "io_manager": SnowflakePandasPySparkIOManager(
            account="abc1234.us-east-1",
            user=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_USER"),
            password=EnvVar("SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD"),
            database="FLOWERS",
            role="writer",
            warehouse="PLANTS",
            schema="IRIS",
        )
    },
)