How to Find Snowflake Server Name for Power BI

Connecting Power BI to your Snowflake data warehouse is a significant step, but finding the correct 'Server' name can sometimes be challenging. This tutorial will show you exactly where to find your Snowflake server name URL and how to use it in Power BI, so you can start building insightful reports right away.

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First, What Exactly Is a Snowflake Server Name?

Unlike a traditional on-premise database server with a simple IP address or server name like SQL-PROD-01, Snowflake’s server name is a unique URL. Think of it as the specific mailing address for your company's isolated data warehouse in the cloud.

Because Snowflake is a cloud-native platform, your instance is hosted on a major cloud provider (like AWS, Azure, or GCP) in a specific geographic region. The server name, also called an account identifier URL, includes all of this information to ensure Power BI connects to the right place.

The standard format generally looks like this:

<account_name>.<region>.<cloud>.snowflakecomputing.com

The parts you need to find are your unique account name and the region where it's hosted. Let's look at the easiest ways to find them.

How to Find Your Snowflake Server Name: 2 Simple Methods

There are two straightforward ways to find your server information: one by looking at the interface you already use, and another with a quick SQL command for a foolproof result.

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Method 1: Check the Snowflake Web Interface (Snowsight)

The quickest way to find your server identifier is by looking at the information already available in the Snowsight web UI after you log in.

Option A: Look at the URL in Your Browser

Once you are logged into Snowflake, glance up at your browser's address bar. The structure of that URL contains exactly what you need.

Your URL will likely follow this pattern:

https://app.snowflake.com/<region_code>/<account_locator>/

For example, if your URL is:

https://app.snowflake.com/us-east-1/xy12345/

• Your account locator is: xy12345
• Your region is: us-east-1

You can combine these pieces to build your server name. For the example above, the Snowflake server name would be:

xy12345.us-east-1.snowflakecomputing.com

That full URL is what you'll enter into the "Server" field in Power BI.

Option B: Use the Account Switcher Menu

Snowflake's interface also gives you this information directly, without you having to piece it together from a URL. This is often the most reliable way to find your official account details.

1. Log in to the Snowsight UI.
2. Look at the bottom-left corner of the screen. You will see your username and current role. Click on your profile name.
3. A menu will pop up. Hover over your account name at the top of this menu.
4. A small box will appear that shows your Organization, Account Name (your account locator), and Edition. Right below it, you'll see a copy icon.

When you click the copy icon, it copies your account identifier. Paste it into a text editor, and you'll generally see your locator and region in the correct format, like XY12345.US-EAST-1. All you need to do is add .snowflakecomputing.com to the end.

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Method 2: Run a Simple SQL Query

If you prefer a more direct, no-guesswork approach, you can find all the necessary components by running a simple SQL query right in a Snowflake worksheet. This method is especially helpful if your company uses custom 'vanity' URLs that might obscure the standard account locator and region format.

How to Run the Query:

1. Log in to Snowsight and open a new or existing worksheet.
2. Copy and paste the following SQL command into the worksheet:

SELECT
  CURRENT_ORGANIZATION_NAME(),
  CURRENT_ACCOUNT_NAME(),
  CURRENT_REGION(),

1. Press the "Run" button (or use the CMD/CTRL + Enter shortcut).

The results panel will display three columns with the exact information you need. For example, you might see:

• CURRENT_ORGANIZATION_NAME(): YOURCOMPANYINC
• CURRENT_ACCOUNT_NAME(): SALESDEPT
• CURRENT_REGION(): AWS_US_EAST_1

To construct your server name, you use a combination of your organization and account name, like:

yourcompanyinc-salesdept.snowflakecomputing.com

If you get an account locator (a random-looking set of letters and numbers) for the CURRENT_ACCOUNT_NAME(), you will also need the region. The region code from the query (e.g., AWS_US_EAST_1) needs to be formatted for a URL. Typically, this means making it lowercase and replacing underscores with hyphens. For instance, AWS_US_EAST_1 becomes us-east-1.

Common Mistakes When Connecting to Power BI

Getting the server name mostly right but just a little wrong can be frustrating. Here are a few common pitfalls to watch out for.

Mistake #1: Using Just the Account Locator

It’s easy to think the account locator (e.g., xy12345) is the server name. It isn't! Snowflake needs the full context, including the region, to locate your instance.

• Wrong: xy12345
• Right: xy12345.us-east-1.snowflakecomputing.com

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Mistake #2: Forgetting the ".snowflakecomputing.com" Suffix

You need to provide the fully qualified domain name. Without .snowflakecomputing.com at the end, Power BI won't know where to look.

• Wrong: xy12345.us-east-1
• Right: xy12345.us-east-1.snowflakecomputing.com

Mistake #3: Ignoring PrivateLink or Vanity URLs

Some organizations set up special URLs for security or branding. These URLs might look like mycompany.snowflakecomputing.com or mycompany.us-east-1.privatelink.snowflakecomputing.com. If you see URLs like this, that is often the literal server name you should use. When in doubt, ask your data team or IT administrator if a special URL is required.

Putting It All Together: Connecting Snowflake to Power BI

Once you have your full Snowflake server name, the final step is plugging it into Power BI.

1. Open Power BI Desktop.
2. Go to the Home tab and click Get Data. Select More... from the dropdown.
3. In the Get Data window, search for "Snowflake" and select the Snowflake connector. Click Connect.
4. A dialog box will appear. Here's what to enter:
5. Under Data Connectivity mode, choose either Import or DirectQuery. Import pulls a copy of the data into Power BI, which is fast for reporting but not always fresh. DirectQuery sends live queries to Snowflake every time, which is slower but provides real-time data.
6. Click OK. You'll be prompted to sign in with your Snowflake credentials. Once authenticated, you can begin selecting the tables and views you want to analyze.

Final Thoughts

Finding your Snowflake server name might seem like a small detail, but it's the critical handshake between your data warehouse and your visualization tool. With the correct identifier found either in the URL, the UI menu, or with a quick SQL query, you can easily bridge the two platforms and start unlocking insights.

Manually connecting data sources to BI tools is often just the beginning of a long reporting workflow. That's why we've focused on simplifying the entire analysis process with Graphed. We provide an easier way to connect to your platforms with a few clicks and build real-time dashboards just by describing what you want in plain English — allowing you to skip the manual setup and complex configurations altogether.