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Looker SSO Embed Skill

This skill allows agents to assist users in setting up, implementing, and troubleshooting Looker SSO (signed) and Cookieless embedding using the Looker Embed SDK.

Overview​

Looker embedding allows users to access private Looker content (Dashboards, Looks, Explores, Reports, etc.) within an external application.

  • SSO (Signed) Embedding: Authenticates users via a cryptographically signed URL generated by the parent application.
  • Cookieless Embedding: Uses short-lived tokens to mitigate third-party cookie blocking, available in Looker 22.20+.

The Looker JavaScript Embed SDK is the preferred way to implement embedding.

Installation & Initialization​

import { getEmbedSDK } from '@looker/embed-sdk'

// Initialize for SSO
getEmbedSDK().init('looker.example.com', '/auth')

// Initialize for Cookieless
getEmbedSDK().initCookieless(
  'looker.example.com',
  '/acquire-embed-session',
  '/generate-embed-tokens'
)

Basic Implementation (SDK 2.0.0+)​

SDK 2.0.0 introduces a unified connection that allows navigating between content types without recreating the iframe.

const connection = await getEmbedSDK()
  .createDashboardWithId('42')
  .appendTo('#embed-container')
  .on('dashboard:run:start', () => console.log('Running...'))
  .withDynamicIFrameHeight() // Automatically adjust height
  .build()
  .connect()

// Interacting with the connection
if (connection.getPageType() === 'dashboards') {
  connection.asDashboardConnection().run()
}

// Navigating without iframe recreation
connection.loadDashboard('43')
connection.loadUrl('/embed/dashboards/44?state=California')

2. Signed URL Construction (The /auth Endpoint)​

The backend /auth endpoint must generate a signed URL using the Looker Embed Secret.

Signature String Order (Concatenate with \n):​

  1. HOST + /login/embed/
  2. EMBED_URL (e.g., /embed/dashboards/1)
  3. nonce (JSON string)
  4. time (Integer)
  5. session_length (Integer)
  6. external_user_id (JSON string)
  7. permissions (JSON array)
  8. models (JSON array)
  9. group_ids (JSON array)
  10. external_group_id (JSON string)
  11. user_attributes (JSON object)
  12. access_filters (JSON object - {} if unused)

Example Python Utility (server_utils/auth_utils.py):​

import hmac, hashlib, json, base64, time, binascii

def create_signed_url(src, user, host, secret):
    json_time = json.dumps(int(time.time()))
    json_nonce = json.dumps(binascii.hexlify(os.urandom(16)).decode())
    
    path = '/login/embed/' + quote(src)
    
    # Values must be in EXACT order
    string_to_sign = "\n".join([
        host + "/login/embed/",
        path,
        json_nonce,
        json_time,
        json.dumps(user['session_length']),
        json.dumps(user['external_user_id']),
        json.dumps(user['permissions']),
        json.dumps(user['models']),
        json.dumps(user.get('group_ids', [])),
        json.dumps(user.get('external_group_id', "")),
        json.dumps(user.get('user_attributes', {})),
        json.dumps(user.get('access_filters', {}))
    ])

    signer = hmac.new(secret.encode('utf-8'), string_to_sign.encode('utf-8'), hashlib.sha1)
    signature = base64.b64encode(signer.digest()).decode('utf-8')
    # Final URL construction includes all params + signature

2.1 Alternate Approach: Using Looker API (create_sso_embed_url)​

Instead of manually constructing and signing the URL, you can use the Looker API endpoint create_sso_embed_url via the Looker Python SDK. This avoids manual signature generation errors.

Example Python Implementation:​

import looker_sdk
from looker_sdk import models40 as models

Initialize SDK (ensure LOOKERSDK_BASE_URL, LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_ID, LOOKERSDK_CLIENT_SECRET are set)

sdk = looker_sdk.init40()

def get_embed_url(src: str): base_url = os.environ.get("LOOKER_BASE_URL") target_url = f"{base_url}{src}"

try: response = sdk.create_sso_embed_url( body=models.EmbedSsoParams( target_url=target_url, session_length=3600, external_user_id="user_1", permissions=["access_data", "see_user_dashboards", "see_lookml_dashboards"], models=["basic_ecomm"], group_ids=["22"], external_group_id="", user_attributes={},

Note: access_filters might not be supported as a keyword argument in some SDK versions

force_logout_login=False, ) ) return response.url except Exception as e: print(f"Error: {e}") return None

3. Cookieless Embedding​

Cookieless embedding requires two backend endpoints to manage sessions and tokens.

  1. Acquire Session: Calls acquire_embed_cookieless_session API. Returns tokens (except session_reference_token which must be kept server-side).
  2. Generate Tokens: Calls generate_tokens_for_cookieless_session when existing tokens are near expiration.

4. Advanced SDK Features​

  • Dynamic Height: .withDynamicIFrameHeight() handles iframe resizing based on content.
  • Full Screen: .withAllowAttr('fullscreen') enables browser fullscreen mode for tiles.
  • Dialog Scroll: .withDialogScroll() ensures Looker dialogs (like drills) are positioned correctly relative to the host scroll.
  • Merged Query Flow: .withMergedQueryEditFlow() allows the host app to intercept and handle merged query editing.

5. Troubleshooting​

  • Invalid Signature: Most common issue. Verify parameter order, JSON stringification (especially empty objects/arrays), and encoding.
  • SDK Model Mismatch: EmbedSsoParams might not accept access_filters as a keyword argument in some SDK versions (e.g., EmbedSsoParams.__init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'access_filters'), even if documented. Try omitting it if it's empty.
  • Signature Quirks: In manual signing, the string /login/embed/ may need to appear in BOTH line 1 (Host + /login/embed/) and line 2 (Path) of the string to sign, depending on the example followed.
  • Third-Party Cookies: If using SSO without vanity domains, browsers like Safari will block cookies. Use Cookieless Embed or Vanity Domains to resolve.
  • Domain Allowlist: Ensure the host domain is in Admin > Embed > Embedded Domain Allowlist.
  • Whale/401 Errors: Check if the Looker user has the access_data permission and access to the specified models.
  • SDK Logging: Enable in browser console with localStorage.debug = 'looker:chatty:*'.