What is the passing score for the Snowflake SnowPro Core exam?

The SnowPro Core (COF-C03) certification exam passing score is 750 or higher on a scaled score range of 0 to 1000.

Is CloudPrep affiliated with Snowflake Inc.?

No. Snowflake® and SnowPro® are registered trademarks of Snowflake Inc. CloudPrep is an independent educational platform and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Snowflake Inc.

What is the primary benefit of Zero-Copy Cloning in Snowflake?

It creates a fast, metadata-only copy of a table, schema, or database without duplicating storage. — Zero-copy cloning creates a duplicate object entirely via metadata. It points to the original micro-partitions, meaning no data is copied and no extra storage costs are immediately incurred.

A developer clones a 10 TB production database to create a development database. They then add 100 GB of new data to the development database. How much storage is billed for the development database?

100 GB — Because of zero-copy cloning, the clone shares the original 10 TB of micro-partitions. The only new storage incurred by the clone is for the 100 GB of newly added data.

Which privilege is required on the source object to create a clone?

SELECT — To create a clone of a table, schema, or database, the role performing the cloning only needs the SELECT (or USAGE for schemas/databases) privilege on the source object.

Domain: Supplementary Concepts & Tools (Pro Study Module)

September 2026 · 430 words · 10 min read

Zero-Copy Cloning

Overview

Zero-Copy Cloning is a unique Snowflake feature that allows you to create a logical copy of a database, schema, or table without physically duplicating the underlying data. It is a massive time and storage saver, commonly tested on the exam.

Key Concepts

What can be cloned?

What is NOT cloned?

How It Works

Snowflake's architecture separates storage and compute. Because data is immutable (stored in read-only micro-partitions), a clone just references existing micro-partitions. When DML operations (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) occur on either the source or the clone, new micro-partitions are created and the metadata for the specific object is updated to point to the new files, diverging their storage.

SQL Examples

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