Concepts Overview

EntryLayer is a Snowflake Native App for turning Snowflake-backed data into governed entry, review, correction, and approval workflows. The Concepts section explains the boundaries that make that model work: where the app runs, where data lives, how permissions are resolved, and how Cortex-assisted features stay inside the Snowflake-centered operating model.

Start with the job

Question	Start with	Then use
How does EntryLayer run inside Snowflake?	Architecture	Snowflake Integration
What privileges and roles does the Native App use?	Native App Security Model	SQL Procedures
What data leaves the customer account?	Data Boundary & Compliance	Source Objects & Semantic Views
Where are projects, drafts, submissions, and audit records stored?	Data Lifecycle & Storage	Form Design Model
Why does an admin seat not automatically grant record visibility?	Seat Types & Licensing	Permission Model
Why do source rows appear before app submissions exist?	Virtual Submissions	Workflow States
What can Cortex see or generate?	Cortex & AI Boundary	Cortex SQL API Skill

Human path

Most customer admins use this sequence:

Read the concept page that matches the decision.
Follow the linked guide for setup or day-to-day operation.
Use the Reference section for exact SQL, contracts, payloads, and troubleshooting.

For example, if a user has an admin seat but cannot open record data, start with Seat Types & Licensing, then check Permission Model.

Cortex and SQL-agent path

Concept pages help Cortex explain why EntryLayer behaves the way it does, but exact procedure calls should come from the SQL-discoverable API docs:

CALL ENTRYLAYER.API.HELP();
CALL ENTRYLAYER.API.HELP('CONTRACTS');
CALL ENTRYLAYER.API.HELP('SECURITY');
CALL ENTRYLAYER.API.AGENT_MANIFEST();

After every CALL, check status before reading data. On error, surface code and message instead of guessing.

Boundary in one minute

Area	EntryLayer posture
Runtime	Snowflake Native App on Snowpark Container Services in the customer Snowflake account.
Source data	Remains in customer-owned Snowflake objects and is accessed through customer-approved grants.
App state	Stored in Snowflake Hybrid Tables inside the installed app namespace.
Source discovery	Metadata-only unless a documented user workflow opens or materializes records.
Provider egress	No provider-owned external access integration or network rule in the current package.
AI	Uses Snowflake Cortex for supported AI-assisted features.
SQL API	Admin-only, documented through `HELP()` and `AGENT_MANIFEST()`.

Concept map

Snowflake Native App
  -> Security model: app roles, owner-rights procedures, caller rights
  -> Data boundary: source data, app state, billing, telemetry posture
  -> Data lifecycle: projects, drafts, forms, submissions, audit
  -> Access model: seats, project permissions, Snowflake grants
  -> User experience: virtual submissions, workflow, form design
  -> AI boundary: Cortex prompts, metadata context, safe generation