Model files define Explores and their relationships to other views.
In Looker, a model comprises a combination of related Explores and dashboards. Unlike other LookML elements, a model is not declared with a specific “model” parameter. Instead, any file placed in the Models section of the Looker IDE (also known as the Develop page) defines a model. The model name is taken from the filename and must be unique across your instance, even within different projects.
A model file typically contains any explore declarations, along with a number of model-level settings.
This page links to the model-level LookML parameters. They are typically written at the top of the model file and should not be nested within other parameters.
Example usage
Hover over a parameter name to see a quick description; click it to jump to that page.
When a parameter can be set to one of several specific options, the default value is listed first.
# STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS
explore: explore_name {
# Desired explore parameters (described on Explore Parameters page)
}
# Possibly more explore declarations
include: "filename_or_pattern"
# Possibly more include declarations
access_grant: access_grant_name {
user_attribute: user_attribute_name
allowed_values: ["value_1", "value_2", …]
}
# Possibly more access_grant declarations
test: test_name {
explore_source: explore_name { # Desired subparameters (described on
}
assert: assert_statement { expression: Looker expression ;; } # Possibly more assert declarations }
# Possibly more test declarations
# DISPLAY PARAMETERS
label: "desired label"
# FILTER PARAMETERS
case_sensitive: yes | no
# QUERY PARAMETERS
connection: "connection_name"
datagroup: datagroup_name {
label: "desired label"
description: "desired description"
max_cache_age: "N (minutes | hours | days)"
sql_trigger: SQL query ;;
}
# Possibly more datagroup declarations
fiscal_month_offset: N
persist_for: "N (seconds | minutes | hours)"
persist_with: datagroup_name
week_start_day: monday | tuesday | wednesday | thursday | friday | saturday | sunday
# VISUALIZATION AND FORMATTING PARAMETERS
map_layer: map_name {
extents_json_url: "URL to JSON extents file"
feature_key: "Name of TopoJSON object"
file: "TopoJSON filename" # or use the url subparameter
format: topojson | vector_tile_region
label: "desired label"
max_zoom_level: number indicating max zoom
min_zoom_level: number indicating min zoom
projection: Preferred geographic projection
property_key: "TopoJSON property"
property_label_key: "Label for TopoJSON property"
url: "URL that contains map file" # or use the file subparameter
}
# Possibly more map layer declarations
named_value_format: desired_name {
value_format: "excel formatting string"
strict_value_format: yes | no
}
# Possibly more named value format declarations
explore: explore_name {
# Desired explore parameters (described on Explore Parameters page)
}
# Possibly more explore declarations
include: "filename_or_pattern"
# Possibly more include declarations
access_grant: access_grant_name {
user_attribute: user_attribute_name
allowed_values: ["value_1", "value_2", …]
}
# Possibly more access_grant declarations
test: test_name {
explore_source: explore_name { # Desired subparameters (described on
test page)}
assert: assert_statement { expression: Looker expression ;; } # Possibly more assert declarations }
# Possibly more test declarations
# DISPLAY PARAMETERS
label: "desired label"
# FILTER PARAMETERS
case_sensitive: yes | no
# QUERY PARAMETERS
connection: "connection_name"
datagroup: datagroup_name {
label: "desired label"
description: "desired description"
max_cache_age: "N (minutes | hours | days)"
sql_trigger: SQL query ;;
}
# Possibly more datagroup declarations
fiscal_month_offset: N
persist_for: "N (seconds | minutes | hours)"
persist_with: datagroup_name
week_start_day: monday | tuesday | wednesday | thursday | friday | saturday | sunday
# VISUALIZATION AND FORMATTING PARAMETERS
map_layer: map_name {
extents_json_url: "URL to JSON extents file"
feature_key: "Name of TopoJSON object"
file: "TopoJSON filename" # or use the url subparameter
format: topojson | vector_tile_region
label: "desired label"
max_zoom_level: number indicating max zoom
min_zoom_level: number indicating min zoom
projection: Preferred geographic projection
property_key: "TopoJSON property"
property_label_key: "Label for TopoJSON property"
url: "URL that contains map file" # or use the file subparameter
}
# Possibly more map layer declarations
named_value_format: desired_name {
value_format: "excel formatting string"
strict_value_format: yes | no
}
# Possibly more named value format declarations
Parameter definitions
| Parameter Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Structural Parameters | |
access_grant |
ADDED6.0 Creates an access grant that limits access of LookML structures to only those users who are assigned an approved user attribute value. This parameter has the user_attribute and allowed_values subparameters. |
explore |
Exposes a view in the Explore menu. For more information about Explores and their parameters, see the Explore Parameter Reference page. |
include |
Adds files to a model |
test |
ADDED6.20 Creates a data test to verify your model’s logic. The project settings include an option to require data tests. When this is enabled for a project, developers on the project must run data tests before deploying their changes to production. This parameter has the explore_source and assert subparameters. |
| Display Parameters | |
label (for model) |
Changes the way a model appears in the Explore menu |
| Filter Parameters | |
case_sensitive (for model) |
Specifies whether filters are case-sensitive for a model |
| Query Parameters | |
connection |
Changes the database connection for a model |
datagroup |
Creates a datagroup-caching policy for a model. This parameter has the label, description, max_cache_age, and sql_trigger subparameters. |
fiscal_month_offset |
Specifies the month your fiscal year begins (if it differs from the calendar year) |
persist_for (for model) |
Changes the cache settings for a model |
persist_with (for model) |
Specifies the datagroup to use for the model’s caching policy |
week_start_day |
Specifies the day of the week on which week-related dimensions should start |
| Visualization and Formatting Parameters | |
map_layer (for model) |
Creates custom maps to be used with map_layer_name |
named_value_format |
Creates a custom value format to be used with value_format_name. This parameter has the value_format and strict_value_format subparameters. |
| Parameters to Avoid | |
scoping |
REMOVED3.52 No longer required |
template |
REMOVED3.30 No longer required |