
## Table of Contents

- [Introduction](#introduction)
- [Create a Snowflake User](#create-a-snowflake-user)
- [Install SnowSQL](#install-snowsql)
- [Log in with SnowSQL](#log-in-with-snowsql)
- [Import Data into Snowflake by Using SnowSQL](#import-data-into-snowflake-by-using-snowsql)
- [Copy Data into the Snowflake Table](#copy-data-into-the-snowflake-table)
- [Query Data via SnowSQL](#query-data-via-snowsql)
- [Remove Database and Data Warehouse](#remove-database-and-data-warehouse)
- [Exit](#exit)
- [Conclusion](#conclusion)

## Introduction

Snowflake is designed for scalability with big data. This blog shows how to get started with Snowflake using SnowSQL, the command line client for interacting with Snowflake.

## Create a Snowflake User

Once you create a 30-day trial account, the role should be able to create a new user. For learning purposes, you can log in to the trial account, go to Admin > Users & Roles, and click **_User_** to create a new user.

![create snowflake user](/images/snowflake-how-to-use-snowsql-to-interact-with-snowflake/img1.png)

The sample data here is from the Snowflake documentation.

## Install SnowSQL

Follow the official documentation to download `SnowSQL`. This blog's tutorial is running on macOS; you can choose a different OS per your environment here:
https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/snowsql-install-config#installing-snowsql-on-macos-using-the-installer

Once SnowSQL is installed, try running the steps below to connect to Snowflake with SnowSQL.

```
snowsql -a <account_name> -u <login_name>
```

In case you have issues running `snowsql` on macOS, after installing `snowsql`, try the command below in the terminal.

```
/Applications/SnowSQL.app/Contents/MacOs/snowsql
```

If this still doesn't work, try updating Brew or reinstalling Brew. Once Brew is updated, try again with this command to install `snowsql` via Brew:

```
brew install --cask snowflake-snowsql
```

## Log in with SnowSQL

Start connecting to Snowflake with SnowSQL by typing the command below. The **_account_identifier_** is the one you received in the email — the \* part of https://\*\*\*.snowflakecomputing.com.

```
snowsql -a <account_identifier> -u <user_name>
```

Once you successfully start a terminal window with SnowSQL, you can begin typing SQL commands for DML or DDL.

This command will create a database called `sf_test`. By default, this will be created under the `public` schema.

```
CREATE or REPLACE DATABASE sf_test;
```

![create snowflake database](/images/snowflake-how-to-use-snowsql-to-interact-with-snowflake/img2.png)

This command will then create a table called `emp_basic`.

```
create or replace table emp_basic (
first_name STRING ,
last_name STRING ,
email STRING ,
streetaddress STRING ,
city STRING ,
start_date DATE
);

```

This command will create a warehouse.

```
CREATE OR REPLACE WAREHOUSE sf_test_wh WITH
   WAREHOUSE_SIZE='X-SMALL'
   AUTO_SUSPEND = 180
   AUTO_RESUME = TRUE
   INITIALLY_SUSPENDED=TRUE;
```

## Import Data into Snowflake by Using SnowSQL

Below is the command to upload the `employees01.csv` file into the Snowflake table:

```
PUT file:///Users/employees01.csv @sf_test.public.%emp_basic;
```

You can also type this to check the uploaded files:

```
LIST @sf_test.public.%emp_basic;
```

## Copy Data into the Snowflake Table

```SQL
COPY INTO emp_basic
  FROM @%emp_basic
  FILE_FORMAT = (type = csv field_optionally_enclosed_by='"')
  PATTERN = '.*employees0[1-5].csv.gz'
  ON_ERROR = 'skip_file';
```

## Query Data via SnowSQL

Now we can run regular SQL syntax to query data.

```SQL
select * from emp_basic;
-- or
select count(*) from emp_basic;
-- or
select city, count(*) from EMP_BASIC group by city order by city;
-- or
insert into EMP_BASIC values ('dd', 'yy', 'ddyy@ddyy.com', 'street', 'll', '2022-02-01');

```

## Remove Database and Data Warehouse

Once we finish our tutorial, we can run the commands below to remove the database and warehouse.

```SQL
drop database if exists sf_test;
drop WAREHOUSE if exists sf_test_wh;
```

## Exit

To exit SnowSQL, type `!exit` to exit the terminal.

## Conclusion

If you go back to the Snowflake console, you shouldn't see the database or warehouse anymore. Using SnowSQL is a very straightforward way to interact with Snowflake by typing SQL syntax from your terminal.


Snowflake is designed for scalability with big data. This blog shows how to get started with Snowflake using SnowSQL.

How to Use SnowSQL to Interact with Snowflake


## Table of Contents

- [Introduction](#introduction)
- [Get Free Trial Account](#get-free-trial-account)
- [What Snowflake Can Do](#what-snowflake-can-do)
- [What Languages Snowflake Supports](#what-languages-snowflake-supports)
- [Try Snowflake](#try-snowflake)
- [For Starters, List of Things to Try](#for-starters-list-of-things-to-try)
- [List of Terms](#list-of-terms)
- [Other Useful Tools](#other-useful-tools)
- [Conclusion](#conclusion)

## Introduction

Snowflake is designed for scalability with big data. This blog shows how to get started with Snowflake and lists resources to help you begin.

## Get Free Trial Account

- Use a personal email or company email.
- If it's personal, just enter your personal email.
- Choose the Snowflake edition as Standard, and choose a cloud provider: AWS, Azure, or Google.
- Once you choose your preferences, you should receive an email.
- Click the link in the email to set up your trial user ID and password.

## What Snowflake Can Do

- Use Snowflake as a data warehouse and data lake
- Run data analysis and build visualizations
- Load data, build data pipelines, or migrate an existing warehouse
- Build or train a machine learning model
- Build or distribute an application with Snowflake

## What Languages Snowflake Supports

- SQL
- Python
- Java
- Scala

## Try Snowflake

- Explore sample data
- Load data into Snowflake

## For Starters, List of Things to Try

- How to load data
- How to scale compute
- How to work with semi-structured data
- How to use the Snowflake Data Marketplace
- How to create data visualizations
- How to build and share dashboards
- How to use SnowSQL to connect with Snowflake via CLI
- Check the Snowflake demo: https://www.snowflake.com/live-demo/

## List of Terms

- **SnowSQL** - Command line tool for testing queries, loading/unloading bulk data.
- **Snowsight** - Next-generation SQL worksheet for advanced query development, data analysis, and visualization.
- **Snowpipe** - Data import and export; use Snowpipe for continuous micro-batch loading.
- **SnowCD** - Command line diagnostic tool for identifying and fixing client connectivity issues.
- **Snowflake SQL API** - REST API for accessing and updating data in a Snowflake database.
- **Snowpark** - Use Python, Java, and Scala for processing.
- **Streamlit in Snowflake** - Building, deploying, and sharing Streamlit apps on the Snowflake Data Cloud.

## Other Useful Tools

- Snowflake Extension for Visual Studio Code
  - https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/vscode-ext

## Conclusion

Snowflake provides a powerful platform for working with big data, supporting multiple languages and offering a wide range of tools. Start with a free trial account, explore the sample data, and use SnowSQL or Snowsight to interact with your data warehouse.


Snowflake is designed for scalability with big data. This blog shows how to get started with Snowflake and lists resources to help you begin.

Snowflake

How to Use SnowSQL to Interact with Snowflake

How to Get Started with Snowflake