Semantic Layer Sync with Tableau

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

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.

If your Tableau Server instance is served with a certificate from a private or internal CA, the sync fails at the connection step with a SELF_SIGNED_CERT_IN_CHAIN / “self-signed certificate in certificate chain” error. Commit the CA certificate (PEM) to your data model’s Git repository, e.g., as certs/my-ca.pem, and set the NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS environment variable to its absolute path, e.g., /cube/conf/certs/my-ca.pem — the sync’s outbound requests run in Node.js, so this is what makes it trust the certificate. This doesn’t apply to Tableau Cloud, which Tableau itself serves with a publicly trusted certificate.

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

Least-privilege mode

By default, Semantic Layer Sync manages Tableau project permissions, which requires the personal access token to belong to a Site Administrator. Enable Least-privilege mode to run the sync without Site Administrator privileges. When enabled, Cube does not manage Tableau project permissions, so:

userNamesWithAccess and groupNamesWithAccess are ignored — manage access to the synced project in Tableau instead.
The top-level project must already exist, unless the personal access token has permission to create it.

You can enable it with the Least-privilege mode checkbox in the sync wizard, or by setting leastPrivilegeMode in your configuration:

'config': {
  # ...
  'leastPrivilegeMode': True,
},

config: {
  // ...
  leastPrivilegeMode: true
}

Features

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

Hierarchies and folders

Hierarchies defined in your data model are synced to Tableau as hierarchies, so users can drill down through their levels. Folders defined in views are synced as Tableau folders, including any hierarchies listed in them. Tableau doesn’t support nested folders, so they are flattened. Define hierarchies and folders in the data model rather than in Tableau. Each sync overwrites the published data source, so hierarchies or folders added to it in Tableau are lost on the next sync. To build a hierarchy on a calculation, define the calculation as a dimension in the data model and use that dimension as a level of the hierarchy.

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.

You must be logged in to Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud in your desktop environment when you open the .tds file.

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Semantic Layer Sync with Tableau

Configuration

Tableau Cloud

Tableau Server

Least-privilege mode

Features

Hierarchies and folders

Tableau Desktop

​Configuration

​Tableau Cloud

​Tableau Server

​Least-privilege mode

​Features

​Hierarchies and folders

​Tableau Desktop

Configuration

Tableau Cloud

Tableau Server

Least-privilege mode

Features

Hierarchies and folders

Tableau Desktop