Snowflake configuration for Posit Workbench and Posit Connect

To configure Posit Workbench and Posit Connect so that users can access Snowflake as a data source, you need to ensure users have appropriate tooling and a way to securely provide their connection credentials.

Tooling

R

The R connection patterns in this guide use ODBC to connect to Snowflake. Administrators must install and configure the necessary drivers on the Posit server.

Python

Python connections to Snowflake can also use an ODBC connection. However, the Python connection patterns in this guide use the snowflake-connector-python package to connect to Snowflake. Users can install this package within their environments, and it does not require system-level admin configuration on the Posit server.

Workbench configuration

Workbench includes a native integration for Managed Snowflake OAuth Credentials. This is the recommended approach to ensuring users have secure and low-friction access to Snowflake.

  • Users sign in to Snowflake directly when launching a Workbench session.
  • Tooling that supports Snowflake OAuth automatically uses these credentials.
  • Users do not need to take any action to set up credentials after signing in.
  • Workbench handles token refreshes in the background, preventing session timeouts.
  • See Integrate Workbench with Snowflake for setup steps.

Connect configuration

Connect features OAuth integrations with Snowflake so that content publishers can securely access short-lived OAuth access tokens with limited permissions to access Snowflake resources.

  • Content can run using the viewer’s identity or a service account.
  • Content publishers can securely access tokens, avoiding the need to embed long-lived credentials in their code.
  • Refer to the Connect Snowflake OAuth Integration section for detailed setup.