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What is Metatate?

Metatate is a portable decision layer for data automation. It keeps business meaning, governance policies, and access rules attached to your data, so agents and the people guiding them can make governed decisions at the point of use.

The decision layer is exposed through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Any MCP-aware client can call a small set of structured tools to get governed context before reading, writing, or exporting data. Context layers are versioned, so policies can evolve over time and travel across platforms.

What ships today​

The first runtime is the Metatate Snowflake Native App. It installs into your Snowflake account, compiles your policies into governance tables, and exposes them through a Snowflake-managed MCP server. Three agent surfaces share that same decision layer:

  • Snowflake Intelligence uses the core.agent_* adapter wrappers.
  • Claude Code plugin connects through Snowflake OAuth to the managed MCP server.
  • Cortex Code plugin connects through a role-restricted PAT to the same managed MCP server.

Zero Egress on the Snowflake Runtime​

When Metatate runs as the Snowflake Native App, your governed data never leaves Snowflake. The Snowflake runtime executes inside Snowpark Container Services (SPCS) and uses Snowflake Cortex for all AI features:

  • No external API calls — AI runs via SNOWFLAKE.CORTEX.COMPLETE()
  • No External Access Integrations (EAIs) required
  • No network egress from the Snowflake runtime — everything stays inside your Snowflake account

This makes the Snowflake runtime suitable for regulated industries where data residency and security are non-negotiable.

Key Capabilities​

Policy Builder​

Define governance policies using natural language or YAML. Metatate's AI assistant (powered by Cortex) generates structured policy definitions from plain English descriptions.

Governance Pipeline​

Policies flow through a structured pipeline: define → compile → deploy → materialize → serve. The deployment process produces 6 governance tables that capture everything from column classifications to usage rules.

MCP Server + Agent Integrations​

Metatate registers a canonical MCP server (core.metatate_mcp) with seven governance tools and a Snowflake Intelligence adapter layer (core.agent_*). Snowflake Intelligence uses the wrappers, while the Claude Code and Cortex Code plugins connect directly to the Snowflake-managed MCP server.

Catalog Browser​

Browse your Snowflake tables, view column details, run AI-powered classification, and see which policies apply — all from within the app.

Architecture at a Glance​

What You Need​

RequirementDetails
Snowflake accountEnterprise edition or higher
Database roleSNOWFLAKE.CORTEX_USER for Cortex
ReferencesDATABASE_CATALOG (tables) + APP_WAREHOUSE (warehouse)
Compute pools2x CPU_X64_XS (created automatically)

Next Steps​