Why can the association between a stage and its storage integration break when you recreate the storage integration?

• A. Because the stage name changed during CREATE OR REPLACE
• B. Because the stage links to a storage integration by a hidden ID, which changes when the integration is recreated
• C. Because Snowflake caches the mapping and requires a refresh
• D. Because the data itself is moved

Answer: (B)

The link between a stage and a storage integration is established via an internal identifier tied to the storage integration object. When you recreate the storage integration with CREATE OR REPLACE, Snowflake effectively creates a new integration object with a new internal ID. The stage’s existing binding points to the old internal ID, so after recreation the association breaks because the stage no longer references the updated integration. Rebinding the stage to the (new) integration name (for example, with ALTER STAGE ... STORAGE_INTEGRATION = 'your_integration') resolves the issue.