Custom Viz installation overview (Community)

View the original community article here

Last tested: Jan 26, 2021
 

There are two main ways you can install a custom visualization:

1. Install an existing custom viz straight from marketplace
2. Write your own custom viz from scratch and host the code either
   1. Outside of Looker, in a git repo or a CDN, or
   2. Within Looker, in the LookML

Both of these approaches are overviewed here:

INSTALLING A CUSTOM VIZ FROM MARKETPLACE

Steps to install a viz from marketplace:

1. Search for the viz in marketplace and follow the installation instructions
2. The viz will now be visible in Admin>Platform>Visualizations and will be available to use in explores

What happens when you install a viz from marketplace?

In v. 6.24+ a project gets created on the instance (won't appear in the Dev drop down but you can find in “Manage LookML Projects”). The project will contain:

• -minified dist file (.js): allows for proper versioning and package management
• -configuration files (package.json, yarn.lock, .babelrc, webpack.config.js)
• -LICENSE: licensing
• -README: description
• manifest.lkml: defines the viz object + adds to instance, contains the source
• marketplace.json: configures the Marketplace listing

INSTALLING A CUSTOM VIZ THAT IS NOT IN MARKETPLACE

Let's say you've developed a custom viz from scratch and it's not in Marketplace. Then you can host the viz somewhere public (like a CDN or a git repo), or, directly in the LookML.

Steps to install a custom viz from a git repo or cdn:

1. Make the .js file publicly available in a git repo or a CDN
2. Make the .js file available to Looker by adding a manifest in Admin>Platforms>Visualizations

Steps to host a custom viz in the Lookml:

1. Recommended approach: create a manifest.lkml file in a new, blank LookML project
2. In the manifest file, create a visualization parameter
3. Drag .js file into project and set as “file”
4. Push to prod