Snowflake Key Pair Authentication

[Lanceometer]

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?

[Nabha-Ahmed · Accepted solution]

-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.

[PhilipTreacy]

@Lanceometer 

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