Error: Creating Table on Shared Database Is Not Allowed

Issue

When Fivetran syncs tables without primary keys from a shared Snowflake database, the sync fails with the following error:

SQL execution error: Creating table on shared database is not allowed.

Environment

Connector: Snowflake

Resolution

To resolve this issue, configure your Snowflake connection to use a separate workspace for temporary tables:

1. In Fivetran, go to your Snowflake connection page.
2. Select the Settings tab.
3. Click Edit connection.
4. Set the Use working dataset for queries toggle to ON.
5. Enter the database and schema name for your query results tables.
   You must have SELECT, CREATE, and OWNERSHIP privileges on the database you use for query results.

6. Click Save & Test.

Alternatively, switch to the Time Travel incremental sync method if you can't provide a working dataset with the required privileges.

Cause

This issue occurs when Fivetran tries to create temporary tables in a shared, read-only Snowflake database. Fivetran uses temporary tables to process tables without primary keys, but shared databases don't allow write operations, including temporary table creation, unless you configure a separate workspace.

For more information, see Workspace for temporary Snowflake tables.