Definition

An access grant is a LookML structure that controls access to other LookML structures, specifically Explores, joins, views, and fields. The access_grant parameter defines an access grant.

access_grant takes the name of a user attribute with the user_attribute subparameter and a list of acceptable values for the user attribute with the allowed_values subparameter. Only those users who are assigned one of the allowed values in the specified user attribute can access structures to which the access grant is required.

Once defined, you can use the required_access_grants parameter at the Explore, join, view, or field level to require the access grant to access those structures.

For example, the LookML below creates an access grant called can_view_financial_data, which is based on the department user attribute. Only those users who are assigned the values "finance" or "executive" in the department user attribute are given access to the can_view_financial_data access grant:

You then associate the can_view_financial_data access grant with a LookML structure using the required_access_grants parameter:

In the example above, only users who have the proper user attribute value for the can_view_financial_data access grant will see the financial_data_field dimension.

You can define multiple access grants in a model, and you can assign multiple access grants to a LookML structure with the required_access_grants parameter. In that case, a user must have access to all of the specified access grants to have access to the LookML structure.

For example, the LookML below defines two different access grants:

Then in the view file below, the required_access_grants parameter specifies both access grants:

In this case, only users that have either the value "finance" or the value "executive" assigned to their department user attribute and have the value "yes" assigned to their view_payroll user attribute can access the view.

Examples

Define an access grant that requires users to have either the value "product_management" or the value "engineering" in the department user attribute to have access to the engineering access grant:

You can also define access grants with user attributes that take numeric or date/time data. To do this, you must enclose the allowed values in double quotes, just as you would with a string. For example, the following access grant references the id user attribute, which has a data type of number. Only users with the id value of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 will be granted access:

The following example references the user attribute start_date, which has the data type Date/Time. Only users who have the value 2020-01-01 in the user attribute will be granted access:

Things to consider

User-editable user attributes are not allowed with access grants

Access grants cannot accept user attributes that have a User Access level of Edit. Users can see and edit the values of user attributes that have a User Access level of Edit on their account page. For security purposes, only user attributes that have a User Access level of None or View are allowed with access_grant.

Values listed in allowed_values must match user attribute values exactly

access_grant will work with user attributes that have the String Filter (advanced), Number Filter (advanced), or Date/Time Filter (advanced) data type. But, in order to grant access, the values listed in the allowed_values parameter must match the value in the user attribute exactly.

For example, if you created a user attribute called numeric_range with the data type Number Filter (advanced), you could use a Looker filter expression to enter a range of numbers, such as [1, 20]. In that example, the Looker filter expression in the user attribute will return a range of numbers between 1 and 20, inclusive. Since access_grant requires an exact match, however, using the parameter allowed_values: ["10"] would not grant access. To grant access, you would have to use allowed_values: ["[1, 20]"].

This is also true for user attributes that have multiple values. For example, a user attribute with the data type Number Filter (advanced) given the value 1, 3, 5 would only match an access grant with the parameter allowed_values: ["1, 3, 5"]. Likewise, an access grant with the parameter allowed_values: ["1"] would not grant access to the user with multiple values in the user attribute. Nor would an access grant with the parameter allowed_values: ["1", "3", "5"] grant access to this user, because, while the allowed_values: [] parameter can accept multiple values, none of the three values in the allowed_values: ["1", "3", "5"] parameter matches the user attribute value 1, 3, 5 exactly. In this case, a user with a user attribute value of 1 or 3 or 5 would be granted access, since each of those values matches one of the options in the allowed_values: ["1", "3", "5"] parameter.

Similarly, access_grant requires an exact match with user attributes of data type String Filter (advanced). Unlike typical Looker filter expressions, using the parameter allowed_values: [ "Ca%" ] does not not match a user attribute with the values Canada or California. Only a user attribute value of exactly Ca% would be matched and granted access.

Users who are not granted access experience different behavior depending on LookML structure

A user who does not have access to an access grant will experience different behavior depending on which LookML structure they are trying to access. See the required_access_grants documentation pages at the Explore, join, view, or field level for information about how access to those structures is restricted.

Access grants at multiple levels are added together

If you nest access grants, the access grants are additive. For example, you can create required_access_grants for a view and create required_access_grants for a field inside the view. In order to see the field, a user must have access grants to both the field and the view. Likewise for joins: If you create required_access_grants for the views in a join and also create required_access_grants for the join of these two views, a user must have access grants to both views and the join in order to see the joined view.

Accessing structures that reference restricted structures

Users can have access to Looks or dashboards that contain LookML objects they don’t have access to. In these situations the Look or dashboard will display as if those LookML objects have been removed from the model.

Suppose we have an Explore A, which contains join A, view A, and field A. Next, we place an access restriction on Explore A. As expected, join A, view A, and field A will inherit that restriction, but only when users are interacting with Explore A. If join A, view A, or field A is used in a different Explore B, they will not necessarily have any access restrictions. Therefore, if you plan to re-use LookML elements, we suggest you apply access restrictions at the lowest level possible.