---
title: "Snowflake"
type: docs
weight: 2
description: >
How to get started running Toolbox with MCP Inspector and Snowflake as the source.
---
## Overview
[Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) is an open protocol
that standardizes how applications provide context to LLMs. Check out this page
on how to [connect to Toolbox via MCP](../../how-to/connect_via_mcp.md).
## Before you begin
This guide assumes you have already done the following:
1. [Create a Snowflake account](https://signup.snowflake.com/).
1. Connect to the instance using [SnowSQL](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/snowsql), or any other Snowflake client.
## Step 1: Set up your environment
Copy the environment template and update it with your Snowflake credentials:
```bash
cp examples/snowflake-env.sh my-snowflake-env.sh
```
Edit `my-snowflake-env.sh` with your actual Snowflake connection details:
```bash
export SNOWFLAKE_ACCOUNT="your-account-identifier"
export SNOWFLAKE_USER="your-username"
export SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD="your-password"
export SNOWFLAKE_DATABASE="your-database"
export SNOWFLAKE_SCHEMA="your-schema"
export SNOWFLAKE_WAREHOUSE="COMPUTE_WH"
export SNOWFLAKE_ROLE="ACCOUNTADMIN"
```
## Step 2: Install Toolbox
In this section, we will download and install the Toolbox binary.
1. Download the latest version of Toolbox as a binary:
{{< notice tip >}}
Select the
[correct binary](https://github.com/googleapis/genai-toolbox/releases)
corresponding to your OS and CPU architecture.
{{< /notice >}}
<!-- {x-release-please-start-version} -->
```bash
export OS="linux/amd64" # one of linux/amd64, darwin/arm64, darwin/amd64, or windows/amd64
export VERSION="0.10.0"
curl -O https://storage.googleapis.com/genai-toolbox/v$VERSION/$OS/toolbox
```
<!-- {x-release-please-end} -->
1. Make the binary executable:
```bash
chmod +x toolbox
```
## Step 3: Configure the tools
You have two options:
#### Option A: Use the prebuilt configuration
```bash
./toolbox --prebuilt snowflake
```
#### Option B: Use the custom configuration
Create a `tools.yaml` file and add the following content. You must replace the placeholders with your actual Snowflake configuration.
```yaml
sources:
snowflake-source:
kind: snowflake
account: ${SNOWFLAKE_ACCOUNT}
user: ${SNOWFLAKE_USER}
password: ${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}
database: ${SNOWFLAKE_DATABASE}
schema: ${SNOWFLAKE_SCHEMA}
warehouse: ${SNOWFLAKE_WAREHOUSE}
role: ${SNOWFLAKE_ROLE}
tools:
execute_sql:
kind: snowflake-execute-sql
source: snowflake-source
description: Use this tool to execute SQL.
list_tables:
kind: snowflake-sql
source: snowflake-source
description: "Lists detailed schema information for user-created tables."
statement: |
SELECT table_name, table_type
FROM information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema = current_schema()
ORDER BY table_name;
```
For more info on tools, check out the
[Tools](../../resources/tools/) section.
## Step 4: Run the Toolbox server
Run the Toolbox server, pointing to the `tools.yaml` file created earlier:
```bash
./toolbox --tools-file "tools.yaml"
```
## Step 5: Connect to MCP Inspector
1. Run the MCP Inspector:
```bash
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
```
1. Type `y` when it asks to install the inspector package.
1. It should show the following when the MCP Inspector is up and running (please take note of `<YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN>`):
```bash
Starting MCP inspector...
⚙️ Proxy server listening on localhost:6277
🔑 Session token: <YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN>
Use this token to authenticate requests or set DANGEROUSLY_OMIT_AUTH=true to disable auth
🚀 MCP Inspector is up and running at:
http://localhost:6274/?MCP_PROXY_AUTH_TOKEN=<YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN>
```
1. Open the above link in your browser.
1. For `Transport Type`, select `Streamable HTTP`.
1. For `URL`, type in `http://127.0.0.1:5000/mcp`.
1. For `Configuration` -> `Proxy Session Token`, make sure `<YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN>` is present.
1. Click Connect.
1. Select `List Tools`, you will see a list of tools configured in `tools.yaml`.
1. Test out your tools here!
## What's next
- Learn more about [MCP Inspector](../../how-to/connect_via_mcp.md).
- Learn more about [Toolbox Resources](../../resources/).
- Learn more about [Toolbox How-to guides](../../how-to/).
