Overview of Looker connector requirements, limits, feature support, and troubleshooting

This page covers the following topics about the Looker connector in Looker Studio:

Looker instance requirements

To set up a Looker data source by using the Looker connector in Looker Studio, first verify that your Looker instance meets the following requirements:

Limits of the Looker connector

The Looker connector exhibits the following limitations, which may restrict the types of Looker instances and models that you can connect to:

  • The Looker connector cannot connect to customer-hosted Looker instances.
  • Exceptionally large Looker models (generally those that have more than 100 Explores) may cause long delays or timeouts during the data source creation process.
  • There is a 5-minute query timeout. Results from queries that are run on Looker data sources are limited to a maximum of 5,000 rows.
  • Data downloads are limited to 5,000 rows.

Support of Looker Studio features

Looker data sources may not support or may only partially support the following Looker Studio features:

  • Number of fields: You can include up to 100 dimensions and up to 100 metrics in a table visualization.
  • Data downloads, schedules, alerts, and exports:
    • Downloads, schedules, alerts, and data exports aren't supported for reports that are built using Looker data from a Looker (Google Cloud core) instance that uses a private IP network connection or that is configured to use a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) IP address. To learn more about Looker (Google Cloud core) instance networking, see the Looker (Google Cloud core) networking options documentation.
    • Downloads, schedules, alerts, and data exports aren't supported for reports that are built using Looker data from a Looker (original) instance that is configured to use an IP allowlist.
  • Calculated fields: Available in Preview, data sources that are created with the Looker connector support some Looker Studio functions for calculated fields. These functions can be applied on dimensions only.

    Supported functions for calculated fields

    Name Type Description Syntax
    ABS Arithmetic Returns the absolute value of number. Learn more. ABS(X)
    ACOS Arithmetic Returns the inverse of the cosine of X. Learn more. ACOS(X)
    ASIN Arithmetic Returns the inverse of the sine of X. Learn more. ASIN(X)
    ATAN Arithmetic Returns the inverse of the tangent of X. Learn more. ATAN(X)
    AVG Aggregation Returns the average of all values of X. Learn more. AVG(X)
    CASE (Simple) Conditional Compares input_expression to expression_to_match of each successive WHEN clause and returns the first result where this comparison returns true. Learn more. 
        CASE input_expression
    WHEN expression_to_match THEN result
    [WHEN expression_to_match THEN result]
    [...]
    [ELSE result]
    END
    CASE Conditional Evaluates the condition of each successive WHEN clause and returns the first result where the condition is true; any remaining WHEN and ELSE clauses are not evaluated. If all conditions are false or NULL, returns else_result if present; if not present, returns NULL. Learn more. 
        CASE
    WHEN condition THEN result
    [WHEN condition THEN result]
    [...]
    [ELSE else_result]
    END
    CAST Miscellaneous Cast field or expression into TYPE. Aggregated fields are not allowed inside CAST.TYPE can be NUMBER, TEXT, or DATETIME. Learn more. CAST(field_expression AS TYPE)
    CEIL Arithmetic Returns the nearest integer greater than X. For example, if the value of X is v, CEIL(X) is greater than or equal to v. Learn more. CEIL(X)
    COALESCE Conditional Returns the first non-missing value found in a list of fields. Learn more. COALESCE(field_expression[,field_expression, ...])
    CONCAT Text Returns a text that is the concatenation of X and Y. Learn more. CONCAT(X, Y)
    CONTAINS_TEXT Text Returns true if X contains text, otherwise returns false. Case-sensitive. Learn more. CONTAINS_TEXT(X, text)
    COS Arithmetic Returns the cosine of X. Learn more. COS(X)
    COUNT_DISTINCT Aggregation Returns the number of unique values of X. Learn more. COUNT_DISTINCT(X)
    CURRENT_DATE Date Returns the current date as of the default timezone. Learn more. CURRENT_DATE()
    CURRENT_DATETIME Date Returns the current date and time as of the default timezone. Learn more. CURRENT_DATETIME()
    DATE Date Constructs a Date field or value from numbers or from a Date & Time field or expression. Learn more. DATE(year, month, day)
    DATE_DIFF Date Returns the difference in days between X and Y (X - Y). Learn more. DATE_DIFF(X, Y)
    DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE Date Interprets an integer as the number of days since 1970-01-01. Learn more. DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE(integer)
    DATETIME Date Constructs a Date & Time field or value from numbers. Learn more. DATETIME(year, month, day, hour, minute, second)
    DATETIME_ADD Date Adds a specified time interval to a date. Accepted part values include SECOND, MINUTE, HOUR, DAY, MONTH, YEAR. Learn more. DATETIME_ADD(datetime_expression, INTERVAL integer part)
    DATETIME_DIFF Date Returns the number of part boundaries between two dates. Accepted part values include SECOND, MINUTE, HOUR, DAY, MONTH, YEAR. Learn more. DATETIME_DIFF(date_expression, date_expression, part)
    DATETIME_SUB Date Subtracts a specified time interval from a date. Accepted part values include SECOND, MINUTE, HOUR, DAY, MONTH, YEAR. Learn more. DATETIME_SUB(datetime_expression, INTERVAL integer part)
    DATETIME_TRUNC Date Truncates a date to the specified granularity. Accepted part values include SECOND, MINUTE, HOUR, DAY, MONTH, YEAR. Learn more. DATETIME_TRUNC(date_expression, part)
    DAY Date Returns the day of a Date or Date & Time. Learn more. Day(date_expression)
    EXTRACT Date Returns part of a date or date & time. Accepted part values include DAY, MONTH, YEAR. Learn more. EXTRACT(part FROM date_expression)
    FLOOR Arithmetic Returns the nearest integer less than X. For example, if the value X is v, FLOOR(X) is equal to or less than v. Learn more. FLOOR(X)
    HOUR Date Returns the hour of a date and time. Learn more. HOUR(datetime_expression)
    IF Conditional If condition is true, returns true_result, else returns false_result. false_result is not evaluated if condition is true. true_result is not evaluated if condition is false or NULL. Learn more. IF(condition, true_result, false_result)
    IFNULL Conditional Returns a result if the input is null, otherwise, returns the input. Learn more. IFNULL(input_expression, null_result)
    LEFT_TEXT  Text Returns a number of characters from the beginning of X. The number of characters is specified by length. Learn more. LEFT_TEXT(X, length)
    LENGTH Text Returns the number of characters in X. Learn more. LENGTH(X)
    LOG Arithmetic Returns the logarithm to base 2 of X. Learn more. LOG(X)
    LOG10 Arithmetic Returns the logarithm to base 10 of X. Learn more. LOG10(X)
    LOWER Text Converts X to lowercase. Learn more. LOWER(X)
    MAX Aggregation Returns the maximum value of X. Learn more. MAX(X)
    MEDIAN Aggregation Returns the median of all values of X. Learn more. MEDIAN(X)
    MIN Aggregation Returns the minimum value of X. Learn more. MIN(X)
    MINUTE Date Returns the minutes component of a given date and time. Learn more. MINUTE(datetime_expression)
    MONTH Date Returns the month from a Date & Time value. Learn more. MONTH(date_expression)
    NULLIF Conditional Returns NULL if the input matches an expression, otherwise returns the input. Learn more. NULLIF(input_expression, expression_to_match)
    POWER Arithmetic Returns result of raising X to the power Y. Learn more. POWER(X, Y)
    REPLACE Text Returns a copy of X with all occurrences of Y in X replaced by Z. Learn more. REPLACE(X, Y, Z)
    RIGHT_TEXT  Text Returns a number of characters from the end of X. The number of characters is specified by length. Learn more. RIGHT_TEXT(X, length)
    ROUND Arithmetic Returns X rounded to Y precision digits. Learn more. ROUND(X, Y)
    SECOND Date Returns the seconds component of a given date and time. Learn more. SECOND(datetime_expression)
    SIN Arithmetic Returns the sine of X. Learn more. SIN(X)
    SQRT Arithmetic Returns the square root of X. Note that X must be non-negative. Learn more. SQRT(X)
    SUBSTR Text Returns a text that is a substring of X. The substring begins at start index and is length characters long. Learn more. SUBSTR(X, start index, length)
    SUM Aggregation Returns the sum of all values of X. Learn more. SUM(X)
    TAN Arithmetic Returns the tangent of X. Learn more. TAN(X)
    TODAY Date Returns the current date as of the default timezone. Learn more. TODAY()
    UNIX_DATE Date Returns the number of days since 1970-01-01. Learn more. UNIX_DATE(date_expression)
    UPPER Text Converts X to uppercase. Learn more. UPPER(X)
    YEAR Date Returns the year of a given date. Learn more. YEAR(Date)

Troubleshooting

Issue Resolution
Looker Studio displays the following error message: Authorization Required Authorize the Looker connector to link any necessary accounts, as described in the View and interact with Looker data on a Looker Studio documentation.
Looker Studio displays an HTTP 400 error
Looker Studio displays the following error message: Cannot connect to a Looker instance
  • Confirm that the Looker instance URL is correct and that there are no trailing spaces.
  • The Looker connector is valid only for specific configurations and versions of Looker instances.
  • Looker (original) instances that have the Enable Allowlist feature enabled may require special setup — Contact Support.
  • Confirm that the API Host URL in the Looker instance is configured properly.
Looker Studio displays the following error message: No Explores found Select a different Looker model.
Existing report charts are broken
  • Confirm that the Looker Studio connector is enabled in the Looker instance.
  • Looker instances that have the Enable Allowlist feature enabled may require special setup — Contact Support.
  • Confirm that the API endpoint for the Looker instance is configured properly.
Looker Studio displays an error when trying to fetch Explore data Contact Support or visit the Looker Studio Community.
Charts don't render on a downloaded report Ask your Looker admin to grant you download_with_limit or download_without_limit permissions on the data source's (that is, the Looker Explore's) underlying LookML models. This permission is available only for Looker Studio Pro users.
Charts don't render in the exported file Ask your Looker admin to grant you download_with_limit or download_without_limit permissions on the data source's (that is, the Looker Explore's) underlying LookML models. This permission is available only for Looker Studio Pro users.
Charts don't render in the scheduled report delivery If you own the report delivery, you have insufficient Looker permissions to view at least one of the models that are referenced in the delivered report. Ask your Looker admin to grant you schedule_look_emails permissions on the data source's underlying LookML models. This permission is available only for Looker Studio Pro users.

If you are a report recipient and receive this message, notify the sender of the report.
Looker Studio displays the following error when downloading a report:

Due to lack of permissions, some charts using Looker models will not download. Ask your Looker admin to grant permissions.		 Ask your Looker admin to grant you download_with_limit or download_without_limit permissions on the report's underlying LookML models. This permission is available only for Looker Studio Pro users.
Looker Studio displays the following error when scheduling a report delivery:

Due to lack of permissions, some charts using Looker data will be missing from your scheduled report. Ask your Looker Admin to grant permissions. 		Ask your Looker admin to grant you schedule_look_emails permissions on the report's underlying LookML models. This permission is available only for Looker Studio Pro users.
Looker Studio displays the following error on the list of report schedules:

Some Looker data may be missing from your report deliveries. Ask your Looker admin to grant permissions to deliver all data in this report.		 Ask your Looker admin to grant you schedule_look_emails permissions on the report's underlying LookML models. This permission is available only for Looker Studio Pro users.

Report a problem

Report problems with the Looker connector to the Support team.

If you're a Looker Studio Pro customer and experience problems that are related to Looker Studio features other than the Looker connector, contact Cloud Customer Care.

If you're using the free version of Looker Studio, post your question or issue in the Looker Studio Community.