Apache Iceberg on Snowflake got a lot simpler in 2026, and dbt's new catalog config is what makes it click
Blog post from dbt
Apache Iceberg use on Snowflake became substantially simpler in 2026 through Snowflake’s default Horizon catalog, native external-write support, and dbt’s new catalog configuration, reducing the need for separately managed catalog services or static cloud credentials. Consultant Jeff Skoldberg argued that these changes let teams store governed Iceberg data in their own object storage and query it through alternative engines such as DuckDB, potentially avoiding Snowflake warehouse compute costs while retaining row-level security and column masking. dbt’s compatibility updates, alongside an upstream DuckDB Iceberg-library contribution, enabled DuckDB to read Snowflake-managed Iceberg tables directly. Although DuckLake offers another open-table-format option, Skoldberg suggested that Snowflake users may prefer Horizon because it combines governance, cataloging, and Cortex AI tooling without requiring a separate Postgres-based catalog.
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