Tableau

Overview

The Tableau connector needs access to your Tableau instance so Glean can read permissions and metadata. In practice:

• Admin setup: A Tableau admin completes the first authentication using Tableau personal access token (PAT) authentication. After that, anyone who wants Tableau results in Glean signs in through their own Glean app settings (see Setup).
• Permissions: Glean applies Tableau access rules at query time, so people only see what they can access in Tableau.
• API version: Crawlers default to Tableau REST API 3.16. Other versions may be supported; contact your Glean representative to confirm compatibility.

info

Indexed data is stored in a GCP project in your organization’s cloud account. Content does not leave your environment.

Integration features

Glean indexes the following, including how permissions apply:

• Workbooks
• Data sources

note

Glean indexes metadata only (for example id, name, owner, description for workspaces, and created or updated timestamps). Glean does not index the full contents of workbooks or data sources.

The connector works with Tableau Cloud and Tableau Server (on-premises) deployments.

API usage

Glean uses the Tableau Server REST API as follows:

• Discover users, roles, and permissions for the Tableau site.
• Crawl workbooks and data sources using the admin credentials from the initial authentication.
• For each user who connects their own PAT, compute which workbooks and data sources that user may see.
• Enforce those policies in Glean so search matches Tableau.

Glean runs a full crawl about monthly and incremental crawls several times per hour to refresh content and permissions.

Setup

Prerequisites

A Tableau admin must complete the first authentication so Glean can call the Tableau Server REST API for your organization.

Installation process

The Glean deployment console walks you through setup.

1. Find your site URL

   • Sign in to Tableau and open the home page.
   • Copy the full URL from the address bar. It should look like https://<domain>/#/site/<site_content_URL>/home.
   • Enter the domain and site content URL in the matching fields on the setup page.
   • Confirm the webhook base URL field is populated and looks correct.

2. Create a personal access token (PAT)

   • In Tableau, go to My Account Settings → Settings → the Personal Access Tokens section.

   

   

   • Create a token and store the secret securely; Tableau shows it only once.
   • Enter the token name and token secret on the setup page in the deployment console.

3. Click Save in Glean.

To add more Tableau sites, contact the Glean engineer helping with your deployment.

Per-user authentication

Anyone who wants Tableau search results in Glean must connect their own credentials:

1. Sign in to Glean, open your profile (upper right), then choose Your Settings.
2. Under Your account, open Apps.
3. Open the Tableau tab and follow the prompts to add your PAT, then save.
4. You can remove saved credentials at any time to turn off Tableau access in Glean.
5. If you use multiple Tableau instances, you can add credentials for each on the same page.

Post-setup

You can limit which users receive Tableau search results. Ask your Glean representative how this is configured for your instance.

For help, open a ticket in the Glean support center.