# Snowflake Key Pair Authentication Support for Profiles

RudderStack now supports Snowflake's [key pair authentication](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/key-pair-auth) mechanism while setting up your [Profiles connection](https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/profiles/dev-docs/create-new-project/#grant-warehouse-permissions). You can now configure a key pair in Snowflake and use the private key for user authentication.

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Snowflake's key pair authentication mechanism leverages a 2048-bit RSA key pair and offers better security over basic authentication (username + password).
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To use this feature:

1. [Set up a key pair](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/key-pair-auth#configuring-key-pair-authentication) in Snowflake.
2. [Create a warehouse connection]() to allow Profiles Builder (PB) to access your data by running the `pb init connection` command. 
3. In the subsequent setup, enter **y** (yes) for **Do you want to use key-pair authentication**.
4. Enter the file path containing the private key.
5. If the private key is encrypted, specify the **Private Key Passphrase** used for encryption.
6. Continue with the rest of the warehouse connection setup.

See the [Profiles CLI Setup](https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/profiles/dev-docs/create-new-project/#grant-warehouse-permissions) guide for more information.