Synchronize outbound metadata to Snowflake

Synchronizing outbound metadata to Snowflake is the process of pushing enriched metadata from Collibra Platform to Snowflake. Once you have set up a mapping, outbound synchronization runs automatically every 5 minutes if there are outbound events to process.

Outbound synchronization sends attribute changes for Schema, Table, Database View, Semantic View, and Column assets.

  • Map a Collibra attribute to a Snowflake tag: The outbound integration applies tag values to Snowflake object tags. A tag is a schema-level object with a key, which is its name, and a string value that you associate with a Snowflake object. Each tag mapping sends one Collibra attribute value to one Snowflake tag key on the asset types you select.
  • Map the Description attribute to the Snowflake COMMENT field: The outbound integration applies the value to the COMMENT field on the matching Snowflake object.

Tag and property mappings work independently and can be configured together. If you map the Description attribute in Collibra to both a Snowflake tag and COMMENT for the same asset type, the integration applies the value to both.

The Snowflake outbound integration uses the Snowflake SQL API to apply tag values to existing Snowflake tags. It does not create tags in Snowflake. If a mapped tag does not exist, the synchronization returns an error that identifies the missing tag.

This is separate from the Snowflake JDBC connection used to ingest Snowflake metadata. Outbound synchronization uses that ingested metadata only to match Collibra assets to their Snowflake counterparts, not to apply tag values.

Note Description mapping is currently not supported for columns of database views and semantic views.

Prerequisites

In your Collibra environment:

  • You have Collibra 2026.06 or newer and Edge 2026.6.14 or newer.
  • When you created the Snowflake connection, you set the necessary permissions in Snowflake for outbound synchronization.
  • You have already ingested metadata from Snowflake into Collibra Platform using the Snowflake JDBC connector. The System asset you select in step 5 must be the one used by that ingestion.

Steps

Manually synchronize Snowflake outbound:

  1. On the main toolbar, click Products icon → Catalog.
    The Catalog homepage opens.
  2. Click Integrations.
    The Integrations page opens.
  3. Click the Integration configuration tab.
  4. In the Integration column, click the link for your Snowflake outbound integration.
    The integration settings page opens.
  5. On the General settings tab, select the System asset that contains the Snowflake assets ingested into Collibra using the Snowflake JDBC connector, and then click Save.
    Important The System asset that you select in this step must be the same System asset that the Snowflake JDBC connector used to ingest Snowflake assets. Outbound synchronization uses this System asset to identify which assets to sync. If the System assets don't match, outbound synchronization does not pick up any changes.
  6. Select the Metadata outbound tab and then click Add configuration.
  7. Complete the fields as needed.
    8. Field Action
    Tag mappings

    Configure a tag mapping to send a Collibra attribute value to a Snowflake tag.

    To add an outbound tag mapping:

    1. In the Tag mappings section, click Add Tag mapping to add a new mapping.
    2.  In the Asset field, select the supported asset type to which you want to apply the tag mapping. If you do not specify an asset type, the tag mapping applies to all applicable asset types by default.
    3.  In the Attribute field, select the attribute whose value you want to send to Snowflake.
    4. In the Tag key field, enter the fully qualified name of the Snowflake tag, in the following format database.schema.tag, so that Collibra can apply the tag across databases. The tag can reside in a different database from the asset you are tagging.

    For example, you map a Security Classification attribute to a security_classification tag in Snowflake. If you change the value from Sensitive to Confidential in Collibra, the next outbound synchronization updates the value of the tag in Snowflake.
    Collibra property to Snowflake property mappings (In preview)

    Configure a property mapping to send a Collibra property value to a native Snowflake object property. Only Description mapping to the Snowflake COMMENT property is currently supported.

    To add an outbound property mapping:

    1. In the Collibra property to Snowflake property mappings (In preview) section, click Add Collibra property to Snowflake property mapping to add a new property mapping.
    2. In the Asset field, select the supported asset type to which you want to apply the mapping. If you do not specify an asset type, the mapping applies to all applicable asset types by default.
    3. In the Collibra property field, select the attribute whose value you want to send to Snowflake. Currently, only Description is available.
    4. In the Snowflake property field, select the native Snowflake object property to receive the value. Currently, only comment is available.

    For example, your team maintains certified descriptions for finance tables in Collibra. You map the Description attribute on Snowflake Table assets to the corresponding Snowflake COMMENT property. When you update a Snowflake table's description in Collibra, the next outbound synchronization updates the COMMENT value on the table in Snowflake.
  8. Click Save.
    Outbound synchronization runs automatically every 5 minutes if there are outbound events to process.

What's next

The synchronization job synchronizes the Snowflake data.
After the synchronization: