Limits of the Looker connector

This page describes the required configurations for each type of Looker instance and how the Looker connector supports various Looker Studio features.

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:

  • The instance must be Looker-hosted. The Looker Studio connector is not available for customer-hosted Looker instances.
  • The Looker Studio BI connector must be enabled in the Platform section of the Looker instance's Admin panel.
  • Looker (original) instances must have the Enable Allowlist setting disabled.
  • Looker (original) instances must meet the following version requirements:
Hosting provider Minimum Looker version
AWS, Azure 23.4
Google Cloud 22.16

Some tasks that are performed on reports that are built with the Looker connector require additional permissions that are granted within Looker. For more information, see Overview of Looker connector permissions.

Support of Looker Studio features

The Looker connector exhibits the following limitations:

  • 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.
  • You can include up to 100 dimensions and up to 100 metrics in a table visualization.
  • There is a 5-minute query timeout.
  • Data downloads are limited to 5,000 rows.
  • 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 lean 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.
  • Results from queries that are run on Looker data sources are limited to a maximum of 5,000 rows.
  • 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

Troubleshooting

Issue Resolution
HTTP 400 error in Looker Studio
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 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.
No Explores found Select a different Looker model.
Existing report charts break
  • 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 that are based on Looker data sources 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 based on Looker data sources 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 based on Looker data sources 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 or 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.