Looker SDK for Python

26.6.1 · active · verified Sun Mar 29

The `looker-sdk` is the official Python SDK for interacting with the Looker REST API. It provides a convenient, programmatic way to manage Looker instances, run queries, extract data, and automate workflows. Maintained by Google/Looker, it currently supports API 4.0 and requires Python 3.6+. It's actively developed with regular updates to support new Looker features and API versions.

Warnings

breaking API 3.x (3.0 and 3.1) has been completely removed in Looker v23.18 (August 2023). Any applications or scripts using `looker_sdk.init31()` or directly calling 3.x API endpoints will fail.
Fix: Migrate your code to use Looker API 4.0 and initialize the SDK with `looker_sdk.init40()`. Update any API endpoint calls to their 4.0 equivalents.
breaking Beginning with Looker 26.18 (expected October 2026), credentials for API login will *exclusively* be accepted in the HTTP request body. Passing credentials via URL query parameters will no longer be supported.
Fix: Upgrade your `looker-sdk` to version 26.4 or later as soon as possible. Modify any custom scripts or applications that manually pass credentials in URL query parameters to pass them in the HTTP request body.
gotcha Storing API credentials directly in a `looker.ini` file or environment variables without proper security measures is a risk. For production environments, consider more secure storage solutions.
Fix: While `looker.ini` or environment variables are convenient for development, ensure `looker.ini` is never committed to source control (e.g., add to `.gitignore`). For production, implement a secure configuration retrieval method (e.g., using a secrets manager) by subclassing `api_settings.ApiSettings` and overriding `read_config` or using secure environment variable management.
gotcha The base URL for your Looker instance can vary, especially between AWS and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) hosted instances, potentially requiring a port number.
Fix: For AWS-hosted Looker, the `LOOKERSDK_BASE_URL` might require `:19999` (e.g., `https://your.looker.com:19999`). For GCP instances (e.g., `your.cloud.looker.com`), the port is typically omitted. Verify the correct base URL for your specific Looker instance.
deprecated The `lookerapi` Python package (installed via `pip install lookerapi-deprecated`) is an unofficial, unsupported SDK that was fully removed by the end of 2020. It will not receive updates and may not work with newer Python versions or Looker API changes.
Fix: Migrate to the official `looker-sdk` package (`pip install looker-sdk`) for all new and existing projects.

Install

pip install looker-sdk Install latest version

Imports

looker_sdk
```
import looker_sdk
```
init40
```
sdk = looker_sdk.init40()
```
API 3.1 and 3.0 were removed in Looker v23.18+. Always use init40() for current Looker instances.
models
```
from looker_sdk import models
```
Provides access to Looker API models for creating or updating resources, e.g., models.WriteUser(). Alternatively, model-specific imports like from looker_sdk.models40 import WriteUser are also common.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to initialize the Looker SDK using environment variables (recommended for security) and make a basic API call to retrieve information about the current user. It highlights the use of `init40()` for API 4.0, which is the current stable version. Ensure you replace placeholder environment variables with your actual Looker instance details and API credentials.

import os
import looker_sdk

# --- Configuration using Environment Variables ---
# Set these environment variables before running:
# LOOKERSDK_BASE_URL: Your Looker instance URL (e.g., https://your.looker.com or https://your.looker.cloud.google.com)
#   Note: AWS-hosted instances may require ':19999' port (e.g., https://your.looker.com:19999), while GCP-hosted instances usually omit it.
# LOOKERSDK_API_VERSION: Should be '4.0'
# LOOKERSDK_VERIFY_SSL: 'true' or 'false'
# LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_ID: Your API3 Client ID
# LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_SECRET: Your API3 Client Secret
# LOOKERSDK_TIMEOUT: (Optional) Request timeout in seconds, default is 120.

# Example of setting environment variables (replace with your actual values):
os.environ['LOOKERSDK_BASE_URL'] = os.environ.get('LOOKERSDK_BASE_URL', 'https://your.looker.com')
os.environ['LOOKERSDK_API_VERSION'] = os.environ.get('LOOKERSDK_API_VERSION', '4.0')
os.environ['LOOKERSDK_VERIFY_SSL'] = os.environ.get('LOOKERSDK_VERIFY_SSL', 'true')
os.environ['LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_ID'] = os.environ.get('LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_ID', 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID')
os.environ['LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_SECRET'] = os.environ.get('LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_SECRET', 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET')

# Initialize the SDK for API 4.0
try:
    sdk = looker_sdk.init40()
    print("Looker SDK 4.0 initialized successfully.")

    # Make a simple API call to get the current user
    me = sdk.me()
    print(f"Hello, {me.first_name} {me.last_name} ({me.email})!")

    # Example of creating a user (requires appropriate permissions)
    # from looker_sdk import models
    # new_user_data = models.WriteUser(first_name="Test", last_name="User", email="test.user@example.com")
    # new_user = sdk.create_user(body=new_user_data)
    # print(f"Created new user: {new_user.first_name}")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error initializing SDK or making API call: {e}")
    print("Please ensure environment variables (LOOKERSDK_BASE_URL, LOOKERSDK_API_VERSION, CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET) are correctly set.")

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