MAX OVER in Snowflake

This page is a quick reference checkpoint for MAX OVER in Snowflake: behavior, syntax rules, edge cases, and a minimal example; plus the official vendor documentation.


Function Details

MAX OVER returns the largest value in the window frame.

When used as a window function: NULL values are ignored unless all rows are NULL; the default window frame (when ORDER BY is present and no frame is specified) is RANGE BETWEEN UNBOUNDED PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW.

Warning: DISTINCT has no effect in aggregate form; no additional warnings are listed.

If this behavior feels unintuitive, the tutorial below explains the underlying pattern step-by-step.

MAX( <expr> ) [ OVER ( [ PARTITION BY <expr1> ] [ ORDER BY <expr2> [ <window_frame> ] ] ) ]

SELECT region, amount, MAX(amount) OVER (PARTITION_BY region ORDER BY amount) AS max_over_region FROM sales;

What should you do next?

If you came here to confirm syntax, you’re done. If you came here to get better at window functions, choose your next step.

Understand the pattern

MAX OVER is part of a bigger window-function pattern. If you want the “why”, start here: Aggregate Window Functions

Prove it with a real query

Reading docs is useful. Writing the query correctly under pressure is the skill.

The Galactic Max Order Hunt

Support Status

  • Supported: yes
  • Minimum Version: Snowflake runs on a continuously deployed, versionless engine, so minimum version information does not apply.

Official Documentation

For the authoritative spec, use the vendor docs. This page is the fast “sanity check”.

View Snowflake Documentation →

Looking for more functions across all SQL dialects? Visit the full SQL Dialects & Window Functions Documentation.