This page assumes that you have created a project or are working with an existing project. This page explains how to rename a project and make changes to a project.
The LookML Projects page includes the following basic categories:
- Projects that are listed in the top section are projects that have been created, possibly including generated model and view files. If you are a Looker admin, or if you have
developpermission for at least one model in a project, you can see the project in the Develop menu and in the top section of the LookML Projects page. - Projects that are listed in the Pending Projects section are projects where the Looker admin has configured the allowed connections for a model but the Looker developers have not yet generated the project and modeling. If you have
developpermission, you can see these projects. - Projects that are listed in the Marketplace Projects section are projects that were created when an application, a block, or a plug-in was installed using the Looker Marketplace.
Accessing project files
You can access project files from the Develop menu and from various other parts of the Looker UI, as described in the following sections of this page.
The Looker IDE displays project files in the File Browser side panel of the Looker IDE. LookML developers can customize the file organization to match your project, as described on the Working with folders in the IDE documentation page.
You must be in Development Mode to edit files.
Accessing project files from the Develop menu
You can access project files by going to the Develop navigation menu and selecting the project you would like to view. The projects you see in the Develop menu depend on the following:
- Your permissions: To see a project, you must have the
developpermission for at least one model in the project. - Your current mode: You may see additional entries on the Develop menu when you are in Development Mode versus Production Mode. For example, if you created a new project in Development Mode that you have not yet pushed to production, then that project would be visible in the menu only when you are in Development Mode.
- Click Develop to open the Develop menu.
- From the Develop menu, click the name of the project that you want to access.
When you open a LookML project from the Develop menu, the Looker IDE opens the project to one of the LookML files in that project:
- If the project contains a document file named
readme.md, the IDE will open that file. - If there’s no
readme.mddocument file, the IDE will open the first alphabetical document file. - If there are no document files in the project, the IDE will open the first alphabetical model file.
- If there are no model files in the project, the IDE will open the first alphabetical file of any type.
To open a different project file, click on the filename in the side panel of the Looker IDE. See the Working with folders in the IDE documentation page for more information about the organization of the Looker IDE.
Search for and jump to LookML objects or project files
In the Looker IDE, you can do a quick search to navigate directly to LookML objects and project files. Use the keyboard shortcut Command-J (Mac) or Ctrl+J (Windows) or click the Jump to object or file icon from the file browser or the object browser:
A text field opens where you can enter a search term, which can be a word or any part of a word. As you type, the search results show all matching objects and files:
The results show all files and objects whose names include your search term:
- For LookML objects, the search results show the project file where the object is defined.
- For project files, the search results show the IDE folder where the file is contained.
Click on a file to open the file, or click on an object to navigate to the object’s definition. In this case, the users Explore is selected:
Accessing LookML from an Explore
You can also directly access the LookML for an Explore or a field from an Explore.
- To see the LookML for an Explore, click on the Looker icon near the Explore name.
- To see the LookML for a field in the field picker, open the field’s gear menu in the field picker and select Go to LookML.
- To see the LookML for a field in the results table, open the field’s gear menu in the table header and select Go to LookML.
After selecting a field, you are taken directly to the field definition in the corresponding LookML file.
Accessing LookML from the object browser panel
You can use the object browser panel to view all the objects in your project or to navigate to the LookML for a specific object. To use the object browser panel, select the object browser icon below the folder icon in the Looker IDE. You can then navigate to the LookML for an object by selecting the name of the object in the object browser panel. When you select an object, the IDE displays the file in which the object is defined and positions your cursor on the first line of the object’s declaration:
For more information, see the Navigating projects with the object browser panel documentation page.
Existing projects and their models
To view existing projects on the LookML Projects page, click the Develop menu and choose Manage LookML Projects.
In the top section of the LookML Projects page, you can see certain existing projects. In Production Mode, you see projects that have been generated and pushed to production. In Development Mode, you see projects that you have pulled from production or generated yourself in your Development Mode.
To see a project, you must have the manage_models permission, or have the develop permission for at least one model in the project.
If you have the manage_models permission, you can add or edit the configuration for any model listed under the projects.
To specify a new project or a new model for an existing project, see the Creating a new LookML project documentation page.
Viewing the listing for a project
Here is an example of the project listings on the LookML Projects page. Each element of a project listing is described.
Project name
This is the name of the project. Each project may have one or more models listed next to it. You can click on the project name to navigate to the LookML for that project. If the project uses the older YAML-based LookML, that is indicated next to the project name.
Models
This is the set of LookML model files for the given project.
If your Development Mode environment differs from production, this list can change between Development Mode and Production Mode. For example, you might have created a new model in Development Mode that you have not yet pushed to production.
Configuration issues
If there is a problem with a model, the model shows a status indicating the problem with the configuration.
| Issue | Explanation |
|---|---|
| LookML model file doesn’t exist yet | You see this issue if someone configured a model on this page but has not yet created a corresponding LookML file for it. |
| Configuration required for use | You see this issue if someone created a new LookML model file in an existing project, but has not configured it on this page yet. |
| Connection ‘x’ does not exist | The connection declared in the model file does not exist (such as if someone misspelled it or has not created it yet). |
| Model ‘x’ is not allowed to use connection ‘y’ | The connection declared in the model file is not permitted according to the configuration on this page. |
| A model named ‘x’ is already configured in project ‘y’ | Model names must be unique within your Looker instance, even if they are in different projects. |
Configure button
If the Configure button is available next to the project’s listing, you can add or edit the project’s model configuration.
Viewing the listing for a Marketplace project
The Marketplace Projects section of the LookML Projects page lists projects that were created during the installation of a Marketplace application, block, or plug-in. The listing for each Marketplace project includes the following elements:
- Listing: A link to the listing for the application, block, or plug-in in the Looker Marketplace.
- Project: The name of the project. You can click on the name of the project to view or edit its LookML.
- View LookML or Edit LookML button: You can navigate to a Marketplace project by selecting the View LookML button for a Marketplace block’s read-only core project, or the Edit LookML for its config project, the latter of which can be customized. For more information on customizing Marketplace blocks, see the Customizing Looker Marketplace Blocks documentation page.
- Models: The set of LookML model files for the given project.
- Configure button: If the Configure button is available next to the project’s listing, then you can add or edit the project’s model configuration.
Adding and editing configurations
If the Configure button is available next to the project’s listing, you can add or edit the project’s model configuration.
If the model does not have a configuration, when you click Configure, Looker displays the Configure a Model page. On the Configure a Model page, you can specify the model name, the project name, and which connections are available to the model:
If the model has a configuration, when you click Configure, Looker displays the Edit Model Configuration page. On the Edit Model Configuration page, you can change which connections are available to the model:
You can view the model name but you cannot rename it. Models are named according to the filenames that you use in the Models section of the Looker IDE.
In the Project field, you can specify that the model should be associated with a different project. For example, if you created a new project including a model with the same name, you can transition the model configuration to be associated with the new project’s model.
In the Allowed Connections field, you can limit the model to use a list of specific connections, or you can allow the model to use any connection (all current and future connections).
Renaming a project
If you are a Looker admin, you can change your project name using the project’s Project Settings page.
Looker developers who are not admins can view the Project Settings page but cannot change the options there.
- Verify that you have Development Mode turned on.
- In your project, select the settings icon in the IDE navigation bar to open the project settings panel.
- Select Configuration in the project settings panel.
- Use the Name field under Project Configuration to edit the name of your project.
- Scroll down in the Project Configuration page and click Save Project Configuration to save the new project name.
Deleting a project
If you are a Looker admin, you can delete an existing project. Clicking the Delete Project button removes all LookML from the project, in all development and production environments across your Looker instance.
Be certain that you want to delete a project before doing so. It cannot be undone and is difficult and laborious to recover.
A deleted project no longer appears in the Projects section of the LookML Projects page, but still appears in the Configured Projects section.
To remove the project configuration, which removes the project from your development environment completely:
- In your project, select the settings icon in the IDE navigation bar to open the Project Settings panel.
- In the project settings panel, choose Configuration to see the project configuration.
- Under Project Configuration, select Delete Project.
In the Delete Project window, verify the warnings and the unsynced changes that are lost if the project is deleted.
Click your browser’s Back button to cancel the operation and navigate back to your project.
If you are sure the project should be deleted, type the project’s name in the text box.
- Click the Permanently Delete <project name> button.
Projects with only a configuration
The Pending Projects section contains models that are configured with a project name, but not yet generated.
Thus, the Pending Projects section contains projects and models that are only configured, that do not yet have any LookML.
Configuring models before the project exists is useful if you have developers who have not been given the manage_models permission. Because the model has already been configured, those developers can run queries as soon as they create the project and that model. When the project is generated, then the listing for that project moves to the top section of the LookML Projects page.
Viewing the listing for a project
Here is an example of the Pending Projects section. The elements of this section are also described.
Project name
This section lists projects that are configured but not yet generated. The project name in this field is the intended name of the project. Click the project name to display the New Project page where you can generate that project. You must be in Development Mode to reach the New Project page.
Models
This is the model name that was specified when creating the model configuration.
Allowed connections
The column to the right of the model name shows the connections that were allowed for this model when creating the model configuration.
Editing a configuration
The Configuration button lets you change the project name and the connections that are permitted for this model. Click it to edit the model configuration.
On the Edit Model Configuration page, you can change which connections are available to the model. You can view the model name but not rename it.
You can also specify that the model should be associated with a different project. For example, if you created a new project including a model with the same name, you can transition the model configuration to be associated with the new project’s model.
Adding LookML to a project
The Add LookML button opens the New Project page for that project, letting you use the LookML generator to automatically generate LookML based on a set of tables in your database.