Semantic Layer Sync with Tableau

This page details the support for Tableau in Semantic Layer Sync.

Available on Enterprise plan.

Semantic Layer Sync works with Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop, and Tableau Server.

Configuration

To create a new sync, choose either Tableau Cloud, Tableau Desktop, or Tableau Server:

For Tableau Cloud and Tableau Server, data model is synchronized via the Tableau API which uses personal access tokens for authentication. You can create a new personal access token on the My Account Settings page.

Personal access tokens might be disabled in your Tableau site configuration. To enable them, navigate to the Settings page of your Tableau site and click Enable personal access tokens.

Personal access tokens expire if not used for 15 consecutive days. If used regularly, they expire after one year. You can customize the default expiration period in the Settings page of your Tableau site. Make sure to renew your personal access token before it expires.

Tableau Cloud

For Tableau Cloud, you need to specify a region and a site name. Consider the following URL of a Tableau Cloud site: https://10ax.online.tableau.com/#/site/cubedev/home. In this case, the region would be 10ax and the site name would be cubedev.

Example configuration for Tableau Cloud:

from cube import config
import os

@config('semantic_layer_sync')
def semantic_layer_sync(ctx: dict) -> list[dict]:
  return [
    {
      'type': 'tableau',
      'name': 'Tableau Cloud Sync',
      'config': {
        'region': '10ax',
        'site': 'mytableausite',
        'personalAccessToken': 'cube-cloud',
        'personalAccessTokenSecret': os.environ['CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET'],
        'database': 'Cube Cloud: production-deployment',
      },
    },
  ]

module.exports = {
  semanticLayerSync: ({ securityContext }) => {
    return [
      {
        type: "tableau",
        name: "Tableau Cloud Sync",
        config: {
          region: "10ax",
          site: "mytableausite",
          personalAccessToken: "cube-cloud",
          personalAccessTokenSecret: process.env.CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET,
          database: "Cube Cloud: production-deployment"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Tableau Server

For Tableau Server, you need to specify a hostname, site, and apiVersion.

To find your site name, look at your Tableau Server URL: the site name is the value that follows /site/ in the URL. If there is no /site/ segment in the URL, you are using the Default site — leave the site field blank in the Cube Cloud configuration.

Example configuration for Tableau Server:

from cube import config
import os

@config('semantic_layer_sync')
def semantic_layer_sync(ctx: dict) -> list[dict]:
  return [
    {
      'type': 'tableau',
      'name': 'Tableau Server Sync',
      'config': {
        'hostname': 'tableau.example.com',
        'site': '',
        'apiVersion': '3.19',
        'personalAccessToken': 'cube-cloud',
        'personalAccessTokenSecret': os.environ['CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET'],
        'database': 'Cube Cloud: production-deployment',
      },
    },
  ]

module.exports = {
  semanticLayerSync: ({ securityContext }) => {
    return [
      {
        type: "tableau",
        name: "Tableau Server Sync",
        config: {
          hostname: "tableau.example.com",
          site: "",
          apiVersion: "3.19",
          personalAccessToken: "cube-cloud",
          personalAccessTokenSecret: process.env.CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET,
          database: "Cube Cloud: production-deployment"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Store your personal access token secret in an environment variable rather than hardcoding it in your configuration. Create a new environment variable called CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET with your token secret as the value, then reference it using os.environ['CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET'] in Python or process.env.CUBEJS_TABLEAU_PAT_SECRET in JavaScript.

When connecting a Cube Cloud data source to your Tableau workbook, you will be prompted to enter the user name and password for Cube Cloud. You can find them at the SQL API Connection tab on the IDE → Integrations page in Cube Cloud.

Features

Syncs with Tableau Cloud and Tableau Server run automatically via the Tableau API.

Tableau Desktop

The recommended way to use Cube with Tableau Desktop is to connect to your Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server account from within Desktop and choose the synced data source from there. This ensures your data source stays up to date with any changes made through Semantic Layer Sync.

Alternatively, you can download a .tds file to get the data model into Tableau Desktop. Click Download .tds to download a Tableau data source file:

In the modal window, select one or more cubes or views and click Download all selected to download a ZIP archive with Tableau data source files, one per cube or view. You can open these files in Tableau to create data sources.