Snowflake Semantic Views

One-Time Setup

• Verify Snowflake CLI installation by opening a new terminal and running snow --help.
• If Snowflake CLI is missing or the user cannot install it, direct them to https://docs.snowflake.com/en/developer-guide/snowflake-cli/installation/installation.
• Configure a Snowflake connection with snow connection add per https://docs.snowflake.com/en/developer-guide/snowflake-cli/connecting/configure-connections#add-a-connection.
• Use the configured connection for all validation and execution steps.

Workflow For Each Semantic View Request

• Confirm the target database, schema, role, warehouse, and final semantic view name.
• Confirm the model follows a star schema (facts with conformed dimensions).
• Draft the semantic view DDL using the official syntax:

- https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/sql/create-semantic-view

• Populate synonyms and comments for each dimension, fact, and metric:

- Read Snowflake table/view/column comments first (preferred source):

- https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/sql/comment

- If comments or synonyms are missing, ask whether you can create them, whether the user wants to provide text, or whether you should draft suggestions for approval.

• Create a temporary validation name (for example, append __tmp_validate) while keeping the same database and schema.
• Always validate by sending the DDL to Snowflake via Snowflake CLI before finalizing:

- Use snow sql to execute the statement with the configured connection.

- If flags differ by version, check snow sql --help and use the connection option shown there.

• If validation fails, iterate on the DDL and re-run the validation step until it succeeds.
• Apply the final DDL (create or alter) using the real semantic view name.
• Clean up any temporary semantic view created during validation.

Synonyms And Comments (Required)

• Use the semantic view syntax for synonyms and comments:

WITH SYNONYMS [ = ] ( 'synonym' [ , ... ] )
COMMENT = 'comment_about_dim_fact_or_metric'

• Treat synonyms as informational only; do not use them to reference dimensions, facts, or metrics elsewhere.
• Use Snowflake comments as the preferred and first source for synonyms and comments:

- https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/sql/comment

• If Snowflake comments are missing, ask whether you can create them, whether the user wants to provide text, or whether you should draft suggestions for approval.
• Do not invent synonyms or comments without user approval.

Validation Pattern (Required)

• Never skip validation. Always execute the DDL against Snowflake with Snowflake CLI before presenting it as final.
• Prefer a temporary name for validation to avoid clobbering the real view.

Example CLI Validation (Template)

# Replace placeholders with real values.
snow sql -q "<CREATE OR ALTER SEMANTIC VIEW ...>" --connection <connection_name>

If the CLI uses a different connection flag in your version, run:

snow sql --help

Notes

• Treat installation and connection setup as one-time steps, but confirm they are done before the first validation.
• Keep the final semantic view definition identical to the validated temporary definition except for the name.
• Do not omit synonyms or comments; consider them required for completeness even if optional in syntax.