How to Use Snowflake Tags

Snowflake supports tags on objects such as tables. Tags are schema-level objects you can attach to other objects. Optionally, you can specify a tag string value when assigning the tag to an object.

There are two steps to using tags within a DataOps project:

1. Creating the tag, typically by SOLE (Snowflake Object Lifecycle Engine).
2. Associating the tag with a Snowflake object.
   • Use the SOLE configuration to apply tags to objects created by SOLE.
   • Use the MATE object metadata to apply tags to tables and views created by MATE (Modelling and transformation Engine).

Creating the tag in SOLE

Tags are schema-level objects within SOLE. You can configure them under the schemas: key in the configuration file. below is a sample configuration:

database.template.yml

databases:
  "{{ env.DATAOPS_DATABASE }}":
    schemas:
      SAMPLE_SCHEMA:
        tags:
          EXAMPLE_TAG:
            grants:
              APPLY:
                - WRITER

This sample creates a tag called EXAMPLE_TAG in the SAMPLE_SCHEMA of the DataOps database. It also grants the WRITER role the APPLY privilege, which allows MATE to apply the tag to MATE objects.

You can apply several optional configuration parameters to tags as listed in the tags reference guide.

Applying tags to SOLE objects

Apply tags to SOLE objects using the with_tags key in the object definition.

For example, the following configuration creates a table and assigns it the EXAMPLE_TAG created in the above topic. If the tag is not in the same schema or database as the object, use the keys database: and schema:.

database.template.yml

databases:
  "{{ env.DATAOPS_DATABASE }}":
    schemas:
      SAMPLE_SCHEMA:
        tables:
          TEST_TABLE:
            with_tags:
              EXAMPLE_TAG:
                value: Example value

Applying tags to MATE objects

Tags are applied to MATE objects using the MATE governance macros. These macros rely on a configured post-hook. If you have used other methods to apply grants, such as custom macros, be careful when enabling the governance post-hook to ensure that the grants are correct. In particular, if you have used the meta: configuration of a MATE model, you must clear this before enabling the macros.

Once you have enabled the macros, use the meta: section of a MATE model configuration to configure tags. For example, you can use the configuration below in a MATE schema file (a .yml file in the model directory) to associate the EXAMPLE_TAG created in SOLE with the example_mate_model.

dbt_project.yml

version: 2
models:
  - name: example_mate_model
    meta:
      tags:
        SAMPLE_SCHEMA.EXAMPLE_TAG: Example value

The SAMPLE_SCHEMA at the start of the tag is required to ensure that the appropriate tag is selected.