Navigating the Snowsight Web Interface
Snowsight is Snowflake's browser-based interface. You use it to write and run SQL queries, browse your databases and tables, monitor query performance, manage users and warehouses, and view your billing usage — all without installing any software. This topic gives you a complete map of every section of Snowsight so you can navigate confidently from your first day.
Snowflake replaced its older Classic Console interface with Snowsight. All current features live in Snowsight. Classic Console is still accessible through a legacy URL but receives no new features, so this course focuses entirely on Snowsight.
The Snowsight Layout: A Navigation Map
SNOWSIGHT INTERFACE MAP ======================== +--LEFT SIDEBAR--+------------------MAIN CONTENT AREA------------------+ | | | | [Search] | (Content changes based on what you click in sidebar)| | | | | MAIN SECTIONS: | | | | | | Worksheets | SQL editor, results grid, query history | | Projects | Dashboards and saved query collections | | Data | Databases, tables, schemas, columns browser | | Marketplace | Snowflake Data Marketplace listings | | Activity | Query history, copy history, task history | | Admin | Warehouses, users, roles, billing, policies | | | | | [YOUR NAME] | Switch role, preferences, sign out | | [ROLE: SYSADMIN] | +----------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
Worksheets: Your SQL Workspace
Worksheets are where you write and execute SQL. Click Worksheets in the left sidebar to open the worksheets panel. Click the plus icon (top right of the sidebar) to create a new worksheet. Each worksheet is a separate SQL editor tab that saves your work automatically.
Anatomy of a Worksheet
WORKSHEET INTERFACE ==================== +--CONTEXT SELECTOR--------------------------------------------+ | Role: SYSADMIN | Warehouse: COMPUTE_WH | Database: MYDB | | Schema: PUBLIC | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | SQL EDITOR (top half) | | | | SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'SHIPPED'; | | [cursor here] | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | [Run] [Run All] [Format] Query time: 0.42s | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | RESULTS PANEL (bottom half) | | | | ORDER_ID | CUSTOMER | STATUS | AMOUNT | ORDER_DATE | | ---------|----------|---------|--------|------------ | | 1001 | Alice | SHIPPED | 450.00 | 2024-03-15 | | 1002 | Bob | SHIPPED | 320.00 | 2024-03-16 | | | | [Download CSV] [Chart] 1,250 rows returned | +--------------------------------------------------------------+
The context selector at the top of each worksheet sets four important values: your active role, your active warehouse, your active database, and your active schema. These four settings determine what you can see and what your SQL commands target by default. You must configure the context before running queries — otherwise Snowflake does not know which database or warehouse to use.
Running Queries in a Worksheet
Place your cursor inside any SQL statement and press Ctrl+Enter (Windows) or Cmd+Enter (Mac) to run just that statement. Click Run All to execute every statement in the worksheet from top to bottom. Snowflake highlights the currently executing statement and shows a spinning indicator while the query runs.
The results panel at the bottom shows up to 10,000 rows by default. For larger result sets, use the Download button to export a CSV file. The Chart button converts the results into a basic bar, line, or pie chart directly in the browser — useful for quick visualisation without switching to another tool.
Keyboard Shortcuts Worth Memorising
ACTION WINDOWS/LINUX MAC ------ ------------- --- Run current statement Ctrl + Enter Cmd + Enter Run all statements Ctrl + Shift + Enter Cmd + Shift + Enter Format SQL Ctrl + Shift + F Cmd + Shift + F Toggle comment Ctrl + / Cmd + / Find and replace Ctrl + H Cmd + H Autocomplete Tab (after typing) Tab (after typing)
The Object Browser: Exploring Your Data
The left panel of every worksheet contains an Object Browser — a collapsible tree that shows all databases, schemas, tables, and views your current role can access. Click the database icon on the left edge of a worksheet to open it.
OBJECT BROWSER TREE
====================
▼ MYDB (database)
▼ PUBLIC (schema)
▼ Tables
ORDERS
CUSTOMERS
PRODUCTS
▼ Views
VW_MONTHLY_REVENUE
▼ Stages
MY_S3_STAGE
▼ ANALYTICS (schema)
▼ Tables
FACT_SALES
DIM_PRODUCT
Click any table name to see its column names and data types on the right side of the browser. Right-click a table to get quick options: preview the first 100 rows, copy the fully qualified table name (database.schema.table), or open the table detail page.
The Data Section: Full Database Browser
Click Data in the left sidebar to open the full database browser. This view is more detailed than the worksheet object browser. You see every database in your account with the number of schemas, tables, and views. Click into any object to see its complete definition, columns, data preview, table details, and grants (which roles can access it).
Table Detail View
Click any table name in the Data section to open its detail page. This page shows:
- Columns tab: Every column name, data type, nullable flag, and default value
- Data Preview tab: First 100 rows — lets you sanity-check data without writing a query
- Details tab: Row count, creation date, last modified date, owner role, table size in bytes, number of micro-partitions
- Grants tab: Which roles have SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE permissions on this table
- Lineage tab (Enterprise and above): Visual diagram showing which tables feed data into this table and which tables or views consume it
Activity Section: Query History and Monitoring
The Activity section gives you a complete log of every query run in your account. Click Activity in the sidebar, then Query History. You see a table of recent queries with their status, duration, warehouse used, and the user who ran them.
QUERY HISTORY COLUMNS ====================== Status | Running / Success / Failed / Queued Query ID | Unique identifier for the query (save for debugging) SQL Text | The first 100 characters of your SQL statement Duration | How long the query took to complete Rows | Number of rows returned or affected Warehouse | Which virtual warehouse executed the query User | Who submitted the query Start Time | When the query began executing
Click any row in the query history to open the full query detail. The detail view shows the complete SQL text, the execution plan (broken into stages), data scanned and spilled to disk, bytes read from cache, and a visual timeline of the query's phases. You use this detail view heavily when tuning slow queries.
Admin Section: Managing Your Snowflake Account
The Admin section appears in the sidebar only if your current role has the right permissions. SYSADMIN and ACCOUNTADMIN users see most of this section. It contains five sub-sections.
Warehouses
View all virtual warehouses, their current status (Running or Suspended), size, and auto-suspend settings. Create new warehouses, resize existing ones, and suspend or resume them with one click. This is the same as running ALTER WAREHOUSE commands in SQL, but visual.
Users and Roles
View, create, and edit users and roles. Assign roles to users. See which roles each user has. Reset passwords. This section requires USERADMIN or SECURITYADMIN role access.
Billing and Usage
The Billing section shows your current credit consumption broken down by warehouse, day, and week. You see a bar chart of daily credit usage so you can spot unexpected spikes. The Storage tab shows how many terabytes your databases, Time Travel data, and Fail-Safe copies occupy. This section requires ACCOUNTADMIN role.
BILLING DASHBOARD EXAMPLE =========================== This Month's Usage: Compute: 42.3 credits used Storage: 0.2 TB By Warehouse: COMPUTE_WH: 38.1 credits (ETL jobs) REPORTING_WH: 4.2 credits (dashboards) By Day: Mon: 8.2 credits |████████| Tue: 7.5 credits |███████ | Wed: 12.1 credits |████████████| (heavy processing day) Thu: 7.8 credits |███████ | Fri: 6.7 credits |██████ |
Security
Configure network policies (IP allowlists), session policies, authentication policies, and multi-factor authentication requirements. You can restrict Snowflake login to specific IP address ranges — useful in corporate environments where only your office or VPN IP should access the data platform.
Marketplace: Accessing External Data
The Marketplace section lists thousands of data products from third-party providers. You browse by category (financial, weather, geospatial, demographic) and subscribe to free or paid datasets. Subscribed datasets appear instantly in your account as a shared database. You query them with standard SQL just like your own tables — with no data download or ETL required.
Projects: Dashboards and Notebooks
The Projects section contains two tools. Dashboards let you arrange multiple query result charts onto a single visual page and share it with teammates. Snowflake Notebooks (a newer feature) provide a Jupyter-like interface where you mix SQL, Python, and markdown cells in one document — useful for data analysis and exploration workflows.
Switching Roles and Context
Your current role controls what you see and what you can do across all Snowsight sections. Click your name in the bottom-left corner of the sidebar. A menu appears with Switch Role at the top. Select any role assigned to your user. The entire interface refreshes to show only the objects and menus accessible to that role.
ROLE SWITCHING EFFECT ON SNOWSIGHT ==================================== ACCOUNTADMIN active: Admin section: Full access (all warehouses, all users, billing) Data section: Sees ALL databases in account SYSADMIN active: Admin section: Sees warehouses, but not security settings Data section: Sees only databases owned by SYSADMIN or below PUBLIC role active: Admin section: Hidden entirely Data section: Only sees PUBLIC-granted objects
Tips for Effective Snowsight Usage
Name your worksheets meaningfully. Instead of the default "Worksheet 1", click the name at the top and rename it "Customer Analysis Q2 2024" or "ETL Debug — Orders Table". Snowflake saves all worksheets permanently so they accumulate over time. Descriptive names save you from hunting through dozens of unnamed worksheets months later.
Use folders to organise worksheets. Right-click in the worksheet sidebar and create folders by project or team. Drag worksheets into folders the same way you organise files on your desktop.
Pin frequently used databases in the object browser. When you right-click a database and pin it, it stays at the top of the browser list even when other databases are added to the account.
Key Points
- Snowsight is the browser-based interface for all Snowflake operations — no software installation required
- The left sidebar contains six main sections: Worksheets, Projects, Data, Marketplace, Activity, and Admin
- Every worksheet has a context selector — set Role, Warehouse, Database, and Schema before running queries
- Query History in the Activity section shows every query run in your account with full execution details for performance tuning
- The Billing section (ACCOUNTADMIN only) shows credit consumption by warehouse and day — monitor it weekly during your trial
- Switch roles from the bottom-left corner to change what you can see and do across the entire interface