Docs

Agents

Agents are Snowflake Cortex Agents. Gondola doesn't keep its own copy of them — the Agents page lists what Snowflake reports on each connection, and everything you create or edit applies directly to Snowflake.

Browse agents

Open Agents and pick a connection from the dropdown. The table lists the agents on it: name, database, schema, display name, and comment.

If the list fails to load, the page points you at the connection settings — the usual cause is a credential problem on the connection. See When a credential lapses.

Create an agent

Select a connection
Agents are created on a connection, so pick one on the Agents page first. The Create agent action appears for owners, admins, and builders.
Fill in the fields
Only database, schema, and agent name are required — everything else can be added now or edited in later. The full list is below.
Create agent
You land back on the list for that connection, with the agent now existing in Snowflake. It's ready to attach to a bot.

Fields

Field	What it is
Database / Schema / Agent name	Required. The agent's identity in Snowflake — how bots and the API refer to it. Fixed once the agent exists.
Display name	Optional. A friendlier label shown in lists alongside the technical name.
Comment	Optional free-text note stored on the agent.
Orchestration model	Optional. The model the agent orchestrates with — e.g. `llama3.1-70b`.
Response instructions	Optional. Instructions for how the agent phrases its answers.
Orchestration instructions	Optional. Instructions for how the agent plans and uses its tools.
Budget seconds / Budget tokens	Optional numeric budgets the agent's orchestration runs under, in seconds and tokens.
Tools (JSON)	Optional JSON array of tool definitions — e.g. `[{"tool_spec": {"type": "generic", "name": "..."}}]`. The form validates the JSON before submitting.
Tool resources (JSON)	Optional JSON object configuring the resources those tools use. Also validated before submitting.

Edit an agent

Click Editon a row. The form loads the agent's current definition from Snowflake, with its tools and tool resources rendered back as JSON you can adjust.

Database, schema, and agent name are read-only here — identity can't change in place. Everything else is editable, and Save changes writes straight back to Snowflake. To rename an agent, create a new one and delete the old.

Delete an agent

Delete on a row (owners, admins, and builders) asks for confirmation, then removes the agent from Snowflake. It cannot be undone. Check first that no bot is attached to the agent — bots reference agents by their database.schema.name identity.

For the full picture — Gondola roles plus the Snowflake privileges on the connection's service account — see Permissions required below.

Permissions required

Two layers decide whether an agent action succeeds: your Gondola role, and the Snowflake privileges on the connection's service account.

Action	Gondola role	Snowflake privilege on the service account
View agents	Everyone	`USAGE` on the agents (to list and invoke)
Create an agent	Owner, admin, or builder	`CREATE AGENT` on the schema
Update / delete an agent	Owner, admin, or builder	`OWNERSHIP` or `MODIFY` on the agent

The setup SQL for the service-account side — including both privilege tiers — is in Prepare Snowflake. If the connection was registered with a use-only (tier 1) service account, edit actions will fail at Snowflake with a permissions error — re-grant on the Snowflake side, or use a tier-2 connection.