Installs Snowflake CLI and Cortex Code CLI when missing. Detects OS, checks for conflicts with existing Snowflake MCP servers, and runs the bundled installer.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/snowflake-cortex-code:cortex-setupThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Install Snowflake CLI (`snow`) and Cortex Code CLI (`cortex`) using the appropriate installer for the current OS.
Install Snowflake CLI (snow) and Cortex Code CLI (cortex) using the appropriate installer for the current OS.
Before doing ANYTHING else in this skill, you MUST run this check. This is not optional. Do not skip it even if the CLIs are already installed.
cat ~/.claude/settings.json 2>/dev/null | python3 -c "
import sys, json
try:
settings = json.load(sys.stdin)
servers = settings.get('mcpServers', {})
for name, cfg in servers.items():
cmd = cfg.get('command', '') + ' ' + ' '.join(cfg.get('args', []))
if 'snowflake' in name.lower() or 'snowflake' in cmd.lower():
print(f'CONFLICT: {name}')
sys.exit(1)
except: pass
print('OK: No Snowflake MCP server found')
"
If exit code is 1 (conflict found), STOP IMMEDIATELY and tell the user:
⚠️ Snowflake MCP Server detected. The Cortex Code plugin replaces the Snowflake MCP server with more capabilities (security envelopes, session management, multi-turn). Please disable the MCP server before continuing:
- Open
~/.claude/settings.json- Remove the Snowflake MCP server entry from
"mcpServers"- Restart Claude Code
Then re-run this setup.
Do NOT proceed. Do NOT check CLI versions. Do NOT install anything. STOP HERE.
cortex binary is missingimport platform
print(platform.system()) # "Windows", "Darwin", or "Linux"
Windows (Command Prompt or PowerShell):
where cortex 2>nul && cortex --version || echo "cortex not installed"
where snow 2>nul && snow --version || echo "snow not installed"
macOS / Linux:
which cortex 2>/dev/null && cortex --version || echo "cortex not installed"
which snow 2>/dev/null && snow --version || echo "snow not installed"
The installer is bundled with the snowflake-ai-kit repo. Find and run it:
Step 3a — Find the installer:
macOS / Linux:
find ~ -maxdepth 4 -name "install.sh" -path "*/snowflake-ai-kit/*" 2>/dev/null | head -1
Windows (PowerShell):
Get-ChildItem -Path $HOME -Recurse -Depth 4 -Filter "install.ps1" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.FullName -match "snowflake-ai-kit" } | Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty FullName
Step 3b — Run the installer:
If found (macOS/Linux):
bash /path/to/snowflake-ai-kit/install.sh
If found (Windows — look for install.ps1 in the same directory):
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File /path/to/snowflake-ai-kit/install.ps1
If NOT found, install Cortex Code CLI directly:
curl -fsSL https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/cortex-code/cortex-code-cli | bash
Or follow the official install guide: https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/cortex-code/cortex-code-cli
The installer handles Snowflake CLI, Cortex Code CLI, and connection verification.
Windows:
where cortex && cortex --version
where snow && snow --version
macOS / Linux:
which cortex && cortex --version
which snow && snow --version
Both commands should return version numbers.
Check if a connection exists:
snow connection list
If no connections exist, prompt the user to create one:
snow connection add
This is interactive — the user will need to provide their Snowflake account URL, username, and authentication method.
After setup, the cortex-router skill should work. Tell the user to try their original Snowflake prompt again.
pip install snowflake-cortex-code or similar — that package does not existbash is not available, use the PowerShell (install.ps1) or npx methodnpx claudepluginhub snowflake-labs/snowflake-ai-kit --plugin snowflake-cortex-codeDispatches a user prompt to Cortex Code CLI, bypassing auto-routing. Useful for explicit Snowflake operations via /cortex-run.
Assists with Snowflake SQL best practices, data pipelines (Dynamic Tables, Streams, Tasks, Snowpipe), Cortex AI, Snowpark Python, dbt, performance tuning, and security hardening.
Installs Snowflake SDKs and configures authentication (password, key pair, OAuth, SSO) for Node.js and Python database connections.