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Accessing Map Metadata with SQL Queries ​

Overview ​

Honeycomb Maps stores all map data and metadata in Snowflake Hybrid Tables within your Snowflake account. These tables are accessible to admin users and support the application's enterprise-grade permissions system. Because metadata is stored in standard Snowflake tables, you can use SQL queries to access, analyze, and manage map information.

Benefits ​

Storing metadata in Snowflake Hybrid Tables provides several advantages:

  • Direct SQL access: Query map metadata using standard Snowflake SQL
  • Data portability: Copy tables for backup or integration purposes
  • Automation support: Populate or manage data using tools like dbt
  • Increased reliability: Data persists independently of the application
  • Integration capabilities: Connect map metadata to existing data workflows and reporting systems

Available Metadata Tables ​

Admin users can access the following tables:

MAPS Table ​

Contains metadata for all maps created in Honeycomb Maps.

USERS Table ​

Tracks all users who have accessed the application.

MAP_PERMISSIONS Table ​

Stores permission assignments that control map access and editing rights.

MAP_HISTORY Table ​

Tracks historical changes and modifications to maps.

Querying Metadata ​

Admin users can query these tables using standard SQL syntax through any Snowflake interface, including Snowsight, SnowSQL, or programmatic connections.

Example Queries ​

Note: Replace <HONEYCOMB_MAPS> with the application name you specified when installing Honeycomb Maps.

View all maps:

sql
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAPS;
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAPS;

View all users:

sql
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.USERS;
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.USERS;

View map permissions:

sql
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAP_PERMISSIONS;
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAP_PERMISSIONS;

View map history:

sql
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAP_HISTORY;
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAP_HISTORY;

Use Cases ​

Backup and Recovery ​

Create backups of map metadata by copying tables to another database or schema:

sql
CREATE TABLE BACKUP_DATABASE.BACKUP_SCHEMA.MAPS AS
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAPS;
CREATE TABLE BACKUP_DATABASE.BACKUP_SCHEMA.MAPS AS
SELECT * FROM <HONEYCOMB_MAPS>.CONFIG.MAPS;

Reporting and Analytics ​

Join metadata tables with other Snowflake data sources to create custom reports on the number of maps created, users who have accessed the app, and permission distribution.

Automation with dbt ​

Integrate Honeycomb Maps metadata into your dbt workflows to store map definitions as code in a version-control system (VCS) like GitHub.

Auditing ​

Query the metadata tables to audit map ownership and changes, as well as permissions and permission changes.

Permissions ​

Access to metadata tables is controlled by Honeycomb Maps application roles. Each role has specific permissions on the CONFIG schema tables:

HONEYCOMB_APP_ADMIN Role ​

Users with the HONEYCOMB_APP_ADMIN application role have full permissions on all metadata tables:

  • USERS: ALL privileges
  • MAPS: ALL privileges
  • MAP_PERMISSIONS: ALL privileges
  • MAP_HISTORY: ALL privileges

HONEYCOMB_APP_EDITOR Role ​

Users with the HONEYCOMB_APP_EDITOR application role have the following permissions:

  • USERS: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE
  • MAPS: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE
  • MAP_PERMISSIONS: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
  • MAP_HISTORY: SELECT

HONEYCOMB_APP_VIEWER Role ​

Users with the HONEYCOMB_APP_VIEWER application role have the following permissions:

  • USERS: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE (required for new user auto-enrollment)
  • MAPS: SELECT
  • MAP_PERMISSIONS: SELECT
  • MAP_HISTORY: SELECT

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