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Overview

To authenticate with Looker, you will need:
  1. Looker Instance Hostname - Your Looker instance hostname (e.g., mycompany.looker.com)
  2. Client ID - A unique identifier for your client.
  3. Client Secret - A confidential key used to authenticate the identity of the application (client).
This guide will walk you through finding your Looker Instance Hostname and obtaining your Client Credentials.

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Prerequisites:

  • You must have a Looker account with admin access

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Instructions:

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Step 1: Finding your Looker hostname

Your Looker instance hostname is the API URL for accessing your Looker instance’s API. The hostname format depends on your Looker instance configuration. Option 1: Check the API Host URL in Looker Admin (Recommended)
  1. Log into your Looker instance with admin access.
  2. Navigate to Admin > API.
  3. Check the API Host URL field. This shows your configured API path.
  4. If an API Host URL is specified, use that value as your hostname (without the https:// prefix).
  5. If the API Host URL field is not configured, you can use this field to assign an API path that is different from your Looker server machine name.

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Step 2: Obtaining your client credentials

To generate your Client ID and Client Secret:
  1. Log into your Looker instance with admin access.
  2. Navigate to Admin > Users and select your user account.
  3. Click the API section and select Create API3 Key.
  4. A new Client ID and Client Secret will be generated.

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Step 3: Enter credentials in the Connect UI

Once you have your Looker Instance Hostname, Client ID, and Client Secret:
  1. Open the form where you need to authenticate with Looker.
  2. Enter your Looker Instance Hostname, Client ID, and Client Secret in their respective fields.
  3. Submit the form, and you should be successfully authenticated.
You are now connected to Looker.