Forum Discussion
Snowflake Key Pair Authentication
Hi Folks,
I recently discovered, that the new Snowflake connector now has Pair Authentication integrated.
I think this came somewhere with the October update.
I was hoping, that with the november release there will be some more information about this, but I could not find anything.
Is there any documentation on this explaining how to use it and how to use it in Power BI Service?
-The Power Query Snowflake connector documentation mentions Key Pair Auth, but Snowflake’s Partner Authentication Support page states that Power BI Cloud does not currently support key-pair authentication.
-On Microsoft Q&A, a Microsoft engineer recommended using Microsoft Entra ID (OAuth) with a Service Principal as the supported alternative for machine-to-machine authentication.
-Some users reported seeing Key Pair Auth in Power BI Desktop after the October update, but there’s no confirmation that it’s supported or fully enabled in Power BI Service / Fabric yet.
My suggestion:
1. Consider using Service Principal + OAuth for now, since it’s the officially supported method.
2. Keep an eye on upcoming release notes — the Key-Pair option may still be in preview or rolling out gradually.
3. If this is blocking your scenario, you might want to open a support ticket with Microsoft or Snowflake for confirmation on roadmap and
availability.
2 Replies
-The Power Query Snowflake connector documentation mentions Key Pair Auth, but Snowflake’s Partner Authentication Support page states that Power BI Cloud does not currently support key-pair authentication.
-On Microsoft Q&A, a Microsoft engineer recommended using Microsoft Entra ID (OAuth) with a Service Principal as the supported alternative for machine-to-machine authentication.
-Some users reported seeing Key Pair Auth in Power BI Desktop after the October update, but there’s no confirmation that it’s supported or fully enabled in Power BI Service / Fabric yet.
My suggestion:
1. Consider using Service Principal + OAuth for now, since it’s the officially supported method.
2. Keep an eye on upcoming release notes — the Key-Pair option may still be in preview or rolling out gradually.
3. If this is blocking your scenario, you might want to open a support ticket with Microsoft or Snowflake for confirmation on roadmap and
availability.
Seems that KeyPair authentication has been released and is available for use, but Microsoft hasn't issued any announcement saying it is generally available. It appears to be a quiet roll out at this stage.
Phil
