# Looker

This article outlines the integration with the Looker connector, enabling streamlined metadata management through features such as crawling, report preview, and lineage building (Auto & Manual). It also ensures secure authentication via Credential Manager.

<figure><img src="/files/QgUD8mMJUSngBtVyHPmb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Overview

### Connector Details

| Connector Category                                                         | Reporting Tools         |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Connector Version                                                          | Release6.3.x            |
| Releases Supported (Available from)                                        | Release6.3.x            |
| <p>Connectivity</p><p>\[How the connection is established with Looker]</p> | REST APIs               |
| Verified Looker Version                                                    | Looker API Version: 4.0 |

{% hint style="info" %}
The Looker connector validates with the listed “Verified Looker Version” and supports other compatible Looker versions. If there are any issues with validation or metadata crawling, please submit a support ticket for investigation and feedback.
{% endhint %}

### Connector Features

| Feature                                      | Availability |
| -------------------------------------------- | :----------: |
| Crawling                                     |       ✅      |
| Profiling                                    |      NA      |
| Query Sheet                                  |       ❌      |
| Report Preview                               |       ✅      |
| Auto Lineage                                 |       ✅      |
| Manual Lineage                               |       ✅      |
| Secure Authentication via Credential Manager |       ✅      |
| Data Quality                                 |       ❌      |
| DAM (Data Access Management)                 |       ❌      |
| Bridge                                       |       ✅      |

{% hint style="info" %}
'NA' indicates that the respective feature is 'Not Applicable.'
{% endhint %}

### Metadata Mapping

The following objects are crawled from Looker and mapped to the corresponding UI assets.

<table><thead><tr><th width="141.333251953125">Source Object</th><th width="161">Source Attribute</th><th width="146">OvalEdge Attribute</th><th width="135">OvalEdge Category</th><th>OvalEdge Type</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Folders</td><td>Folders</td><td>Report Group/Domain</td><td>Report Group/Domain</td><td>Report Group</td></tr><tr><td>Dashboard, Look</td><td>Dashboard, Look</td><td>Report</td><td>Report</td><td>Dashboard, Look</td></tr><tr><td>Dashboard Elements/Tiles (Various Types: Charts, Tables, Text, Merge Queries, etc.)</td><td>Dashboard Elements/Tiles (Various Types: Charts, Tables, Text, Merge Queries, etc.)</td><td>Report</td><td>Report</td><td>Dashboard Elements/Tiles</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Set up a Connection

### Prerequisites

The prerequisites to establish a connection:

#### **Whitelisting Ports**

Whitelist the inbound port to allow OvalEdge to connect to the Looker server.

{% hint style="warning" %}
When any port is configured, specify the port number during connection setup, whitelist the port, and establish proper communication between the system and the Looker Server.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
To enable embed functionality, ensure that Server IP whitelisting is configured under Admin > Server > IP Allowlist, and Domain whitelisting is configured under Admin > Embed Settings.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
To support report preview functionality, ensure that Embed URLs are enabled and the rHist server is allowlisted in the Looker source configuration.
{% endhint %}

#### Service Account User Permissions

{% hint style="warning" %}
It is recommended to use a separate service account to establish the connection to the data source, configured with the following minimum set of permissions.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**👨‍💻 Who can provide these permissions?** The Looker administrator grants these permissions, since users may not have sufficient access to assign them.
{% endhint %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="228.6666259765625">Objects</th><th>Permissions</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Connector Validation</td><td>Validation = API3 Credentials Only</td></tr><tr><td>Crawling</td><td><p>See_looks</p><p>See_user_dashboards</p><p>See_lookml_dashboards</p><p>Model Set Access</p><p>Connection Access</p><p>Folder Access</p></td></tr><tr><td>Folders/Dashboards/Looks/Dashboard childs</td><td><p>See_looks</p><p>See_user_dashboards</p><p>See_lookml_dashboards</p><p>Model Set Access</p><p>Connection Access</p><p>Folder Access</p></td></tr><tr><td>Views</td><td>Create_embed_url</td></tr></tbody></table>

### Connection Configuration Steps

{% hint style="warning" %}
Users must have the Connector Creator role to configure a new connection.
{% endhint %}

1. Log into OvalEdge, go to Administration > Connectors, click + **(New Connector)**, search for **Looker**, and enter the required parameters.

{% hint style="info" %}
Fields marked with an asterisk (\*) are mandatory for establishing a connection.
{% endhint %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="220.6666259765625">Field Name</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Connector Type</td><td>By default, "Looker" is displayed as the selected connector type.</td></tr><tr><td>Credential Manager*</td><td><p>Select the desired credentials manager from the drop-down list. Relevant parameters will be displayed based on the selection.</p><p>Supported Credential Managers:</p><ul><li>OE Credential Manager</li><li>AWS Secrets Manager</li><li>HashiCorp</li><li>Azure Key Vault</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>License Add-On</td><td><p><br></p><ul><li>Select the Auto Lineage Add-On checkbox to automatically build data lineage.</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Connector Name*</td><td><p>Enter a unique name for the Looker connection              </p><p>(Example: "Looker_Prod").</p></td></tr><tr><td>Connector Environment</td><td>Select the environment (Example: PROD, STG) configured for the connector.</td></tr><tr><td>Connector Description</td><td>Enter the description related to the connector.</td></tr><tr><td>Looker API Host Name* </td><td>Enter the Looker API Host Name.</td></tr><tr><td>Looker Host Name</td><td>Enter the Looker Host Name that should contain the base URL of the Looker instance without the protocol (for example, company.looker.com)</td></tr><tr><td>Client Id*</td><td>Enter the Looker Client ID generated from the Looker Admin → API3 settings. This value uniquely identifies the API client configured for the connector. </td></tr><tr><td>Client Secret*</td><td>Enter the OAuth client secret generated in the Looker admin console when creating the API credentials. </td></tr><tr><td>Port</td><td>Enter the required port number to connect with the Looker database.</td></tr><tr><td>Connection String* </td><td><p>Configure the connection string for the Looker server:</p><ul><li>Automatic Mode: The system generates a connection string based on the provided credentials.</li><li>Manual Mode: Enter a valid connection string manually.</li></ul><p>Replace placeholders with actual server details:</p><ul><li>{server} refers to the Looker host or Domain.</li></ul><p>Authentication Plugins:<br>https://{server}/api/4.0/</p><p>This is the default connection string used for connecting to the Looker API. </p></td></tr><tr><td>Proxy Enabled*</td><td>Select Yes to route the connection through a configured proxy, or No to connect directly without a proxy.</td></tr></tbody></table>

| Auto Lineage | Supported     |
| ------------ | ------------- |
| Data Quality | Not Supported |
| Data Access  | Not Supported |

**Default Governance Roles**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220.6666259765625"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Default Governance Roles*</td><td>Select the appropriate users or teams for each governance role from the drop-down list. All users and teams configured in OvalEdge Security are displayed for selection.</td></tr></tbody></table>

**Admin Roles**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220.6666259765625"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Admin Roles*</td><td>Select one or more users from the dropdown list for Integration Admin and Security &#x26; Governance Admin. All users configured in OvalEdge Security are available for selection.</td></tr></tbody></table>

**No of Archive Objects**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220.6666259765625"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>No Of Archive Objects*</td><td><p>This shows the number of recent metadata changes to a dataset at the source. By default, it is off. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and specify the number of objects to archive.</p><p>Example: Setting it to 4 retrieves the last four changes, displayed in the 'Version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

**Bridge**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220.6666259765625"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Select Bridge*</td><td><p>If applicable, select the bridge from the drop-down list.</p><p>The drop-down list displays all active bridges configured in OvalEdge. These bridges enable communication between data sources and OvalEdge without altering firewall rules.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

2. After entering all connection details, the following actions can be performed:
   1. Click **Validate** to verify the connection.
   2. Click **Save** to store the connection for future use.
   3. Click **Save & Configure** to apply additional settings before saving.
3. The saved connection will appear on the Connectors home page.

## Manage Connector Operations

### Crawl

{% hint style="warning" %}
To perform crawl operations, users must be assigned the Integration Admin role.
{% endhint %}

The **Crawl/Profile** button allows users to select one or more schemas for crawling.&#x20;

1. Navigate to the **Connectors** page and click **Crawl/Profile**.
2. Select the schemas to crawl.
3. Click **Run** to collect metadata from the connected source and load it into the Data Catalog.
4. After a successful crawl, the information appears in the **Data Catalog > Report / Report Column** tab.

The **Schedule** checkbox allows automated crawling for a selected timeframe, from a minute to a year.

1. Click the Schedule checkbox to enable the **Select Period** drop-down.
2. Select a time period for the operation from the drop-down menu.
3. Click **Schedule** to initiate metadata collection from the connected source.
4. The system will automatically execute the crawl operation at the scheduled time.

#### Other Operations

The **Connectors page** provides a centralized view of all configured connectors and their health status.

**Managing connectors includes:**

* **Connectors Health**: Displays the current status of each connector, with a **green** icon for active connections and a **red** icon for inactive connections, helping monitor connectivity to data sources.
* **Viewing**: Click the **Eye** icon next to the connector name to view connector details, including Reports, Report Columns, Sheets, Dashboards, Analyses, Datasets, and Visuals

**Nine Dots Menu Options:**

To view, edit, validate, build lineage, configure, or delete connectors, click on the Nine Dots menu.

* **Edit Connector**: Update and revalidate the data source.
* **Validate Connector**: Check the integrity of the connection.
* **Settings**: Modify connector settings.
  * **Crawler**: Configure data extraction.
  * **Access Instructions**: Add notes on how data can be accessed.
  * **Business Glossary Settings**: Manage term associations at the connector level.
  * **Lineage**: Select server dialects for parsing and setting connector priority for table lineage.
  * **Others**: Configure notification recipients for metadata changes.
* **Build Lineage**: Automatically build data lineage using source code parsing.
* **Delete Connector**: Remove a connector with confirmation.

### Connectivity Troubleshooting

If incorrect parameters are entered, error messages may appear. Ensure all inputs are accurate to resolve these issues. If issues persist, contact the assigned support team.

<table><thead><tr><th width="83.6666259765625">S.No.</th><th>Error Message(s)</th><th>Error Description &#x26; Resolution</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Error while validating LOOKER connection Error occurred while logging in to Looker</td><td><p>Error Description: The system could not validate the Looker connection because the login request failed. This occurs when authentication details, API credentials, or Looker server settings are incorrect or unreachable.</p><p>Resolution: Verify the Looker API credentials, host URL, and authentication method configured in the connector. Ensure the Looker instance is accessible and retry validation after correcting any incorrect settings.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

Copyright © 2025, OvalEdge LLC, Peachtree Corners, GA, USA.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ovaledge.com/release8.1/connectors/connector-repositories/reporting-tool/looker.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.