Cortex Code Quick Reference

1

Getting Started

# Install curl -LsS https://ai.snowflake.com/static/cc-scripts/install.sh | sh # Start interactive REPL cortex # Non-interactive cortex -p "summarize README.md" # Use a specific connection cortex --connection my_prod # Resume last session cortex --resume last

Run /doctor to diagnose environment issues. List connections with cortex connections list.

2

AGENTS.md & Project Context

AGENTS.md is CoCo's persistent project memory — loaded automatically at session start. Part of the open agents.md framework.

# Project: DataPipeline Snowflake + dbt + Airflow ## Commands dbt build --select tag:daily ## Rules All SQL must use QUALIFY for dedup Never DROP without confirmation

File Priority (first wins)

.cortex/AGENTS.md	Project-level (shared via git)
.claude/CLAUDE.md	Compatibility with Claude Code
~/.snowflake/cortex/	Global — all projects

3

Special Input Syntax

@path	Include file as context
@path$10-50	Include specific line range
#DB.SCHEMA.TABLE	Auto-inject schema + sample rows
$skill-name	Invoke a skill
!command	Run shell cmd (output → agent)
/command	Slash command
?	Quick help overlay

#TABLE is a CoCo superpower — auto-injects column metadata, primary keys, and sample rows. No other coding assistant does this.

4

Snowflake-Native Tools

/sql SELECT ...	Execute SQL inline
/table	Fullscreen SQL results viewer
#TABLE	Inject column metadata + samples
cortex search object	Semantic object search
cortex search docs	Search Snowflake docs
cortex artifact create	Push to Snowflake Workspace

Cortex Analyst & Semantic Views

cortex analyst query "revenue by month" \ --view=ANALYTICS.CORE.REVENUE cortex semantic-views discover cortex semantic-views describe DB.SCHEMA.VIEW

Auth Methods

externalbrowser snowflake_jwt oauth PAT

5

Essential Shortcuts & Modes

Enter	Submit prompt
Ctrl+J	Newline in prompt
Shift+Tab	Cycle permission modes
Ctrl+P	Toggle plan mode
Ctrl+B	Background bash
Ctrl+T	SQL table results view
Ctrl+G	Web search results
Ctrl+O	Cycle display (compact/expanded)
Ctrl+R	Search prompt history
Escape	Cancel streaming

Permission Modes

Confirm Actions (default) — approve each tool • Plan (Ctrl+P) — review before executing • Bypass (/bypass) — auto-approve all. Shift+Tab cycles Confirm ↔ Bypass.

6

Slash Commands

Session

/new /fork /resume /rewind /compact /rename

Snowflake

/sql /table /connections

Config

/settings /mcp /skill /hooks /theme

Utilities

/diff /agents /fdbt /lineage /sh /sandbox

Info

/help /status /commands /doctor

7

Skills System

Skills are reusable markdown instruction sets. Invoke with $skill-name, manage with /skill.

--- name: my-skill description: "Purpose. Use when: X. Triggers: Y." tools: ["bash", "edit"] --- # Workflow 1. Step one ... 2. STOP — get user approval

Locations (priority order)

.cortex/skills/	Project-level
~/.snowflake/cortex/skills/	Global
Remote repos	Auto-cached from git
Bundled	Ships with CoCo

Skill Creator

$skill-development create • summarize • audit

analyzing-data streamlit semantic-view cortex-agent machine-learning data-governance

8

Data Ecosystem Workflows

Airflow

cortex airflow dags list cortex airflow dags explore <dag_id> cortex airflow runs trigger-wait <dag_id> cortex airflow tasks logs <dag> <task> <run>

$authoring-dags $testing-dags $debugging-dags $cosmos-dbt-core

dbt

cortex fdbt info # project overview cortex fdbt list # list models cortex fdbt lineage # trace dependencies

$dbt-verify agent validates beyond dbt build. Snowflake-native: snow dbt deploy/execute.

9

Agents & Subagents

general-purpose	Full tool access — research, code, multi-step
Explore	Fast read-only codebase search
Plan	Architecture design, no code changes
dbt-verify	dbt project validation
feedback	Collect & process user feedback

Custom Agents

Add .cortex/agents/<name>.md with YAML frontmatter (name, description, tools).

Parallel Work

Run agents in background, check with /agents. Worktree isolation: /worktree for parallel dev without conflicts.

Task Tracking

cortex ctx task add "Fix auth bug" cortex ctx step add "Read auth.ts" -t <id> cortex ctx step done <id>

10

MCP Integration

Model Context Protocol connects external tools & services to CoCo.

# Add a stdio server cortex mcp add <name> -- npx -y @scope/mcp-server # With env vars cortex mcp add <name> -e API_KEY=secret -- <cmd> # SSE remote server cortex mcp add <name> --transport sse https://... # With auth headers cortex mcp add <name> --transport sse \ -H "Authorization: Bearer token" https://...

Managing

cortex mcp list	Show configured servers
cortex mcp remove	Remove a server
/mcp	Interactive MCP manager
--no-mcp	Disable all MCP servers

Config: ~/.snowflake/cortex/mcp.json. Tool naming: mcp__<server>__<tool>. Transports: stdio, sse, http.

11

Hooks & Safety

Hooks add deterministic guardrails. Config: ~/.snowflake/cortex/hooks.json

PreToolUse PostToolUse SessionStart Stop UserPromptSubmit

"hooks": { "PreToolUse": [{ "matcher": "Bash", "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "scripts/validate.sh", "timeout": 5 }] }] }

Exit codes: 0 = allow • 2 = block (stderr → agent). Matchers: exact, regex (snowflake_.*), wildcard.

12

Configuration & Project Layout

~/.snowflake/ connections.toml # Snowflake connections cortex/ settings.json # Main config mcp.json # MCP servers hooks.json # Hook definitions skills.json # Skill preferences permissions.json # Auto-generated skills/ # Global skills agents/ # Custom agents your-project/ AGENTS.md # Project context .cortex/ skills/ # Project skills agents/ # Project agents commands/ # Custom slash cmds settings.json # Project settings

Config Priority

CLI flags > env vars > settings.json > defaults

Key Env Vars

SNOWFLAKE_CONNECTION	Default connection name
CORTEX_ENABLE_MEMORY	Enable persistent memory
CORTEX_CODE_STREAMING	Toggle streaming output
CORTEX_AGENT_ENABLE_SUBAGENTS	Enable subagents