Using the SAML 2.0 standard, you can configure single sign-on (SSO) for a number of cloud apps. After you set up SSO, your users can use their Google Workspace credentials to sign in to an app using SSO.
Use SAML to set up SSO for Looker
You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.
Before you beginContact Looker support and ask them to provide a unique subdomain for your organization. When you receive the subdomain, go to https://{your-domain}.looker.com, replace {your-domain} with the subdomain provided by Looker, and create an administrator account.
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Sign in with a super administrator account to the Google Admin console.
If you aren’t using a super administrator account, you can’t complete these steps.
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Click Add app
Search for apps.
- For Enter app name, enter Looker.
- In the search results, point to Looker Web (SAML) and click Select.
- In the Google Identity Provider details window, for Option 1: Download IdP metadata, click Download Metadata.
- For Option 2: Copy the SSO URL, entity ID and certificate:
- Next to SSO URL, click Copy
and save the URL.
- Next to Entity ID, click Copy
and save the entity ID.
- Next to Certificate, click Download
and save the certificate.
You need these details to complete the setup in Looker.
- Next to SSO URL, click Copy
- Click Continue.
- On the Service provider details page, for ACS URL, replace {your‑domain} with the subdomain provided by Looker.
- Click Continue.
- In the Attribute Mapping window, click Select field and map the following Google directory attributes to their corresponding Looker attributes. The email, firstName, and lastName attributes are required.
Google directory attribute Looker attribute Basic Information > Primary email email Basic Information > First Name firstName Basic Information > Last Name lastName - (Optional) To add additional mappings, click Add Mapping and select the fields that you need to map.
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(Optional) To enter group names that are relevant for this app:
- For Group membership (optional), click Search for a group, enter one or more letters of the group name, and select the group name.
- Add additional groups as needed (maximum of 75 groups).
- For App attribute, enter the corresponding groups attribute name of the service provider.
Regardless of how many group names you enter, the SAML response includes only groups that a user is a member of (directly or indirectly). For more information, go to About group membership mapping.
- Click Finish.
- Open an Incognito browser window, go to https://www.{your-domain}.looker.com, replace {your-domain} with the subdomain provided by Looker, and sign in with your Looker administrator account.
- Click Admin
Authentication
SAML.
- Add your SAML configurations.
For details, go to Admin settings - SAML authentication. - Enter the following information:
- For IdP Metadata, paste the IDP metadata that you copied in Step 1.
- For IdP Issuer, paste the entity ID that you copied in Step 1.
- For IdP URL, paste the SSO URL that you copied in Step 1.
- For IdP Certificate, paste the certificate that you downloaded in Step 1.
Make sure that you include Begin Certificate and End Certificate. - For SP Entity, enter https://looker.com.
- Click Update Settings.
Before you begin: To turn a service on or off for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit (to control access by department) or add them to an access group (to allow access for users across or within departments).
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Sign in with a super administrator account to the Google Admin console.
If you aren’t using a super administrator account, you can’t complete these steps.
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- Click Looker.
- Click User access.
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To turn a service on or off for everyone in your organization, click On for everyone or Off for everyone, and then click Save.
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(Optional) To turn a service on or off for an organizational unit:
- At the left, select the organizational unit.
- To change the Service status, select On or Off.
- Choose one:
- If the Service status is set to Inherited and you want to keep the updated setting, even if the parent setting changes, click Override.
- If the Service status is set to Overridden, either click Inherit to revert to the same setting as its parent, or click Save to keep the new setting, even if the parent setting changes.
Note: Learn more about organizational structure.
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(Optional) To turn on a service for a set of users across or within organizational units, select an access group. For details, go to Use groups to customize service access.
- Ensure that your Looker user account email domains match the primary domain of your organization’s managed Google Account.
Looker supports both identity provider-initiated and service provider-initiated SSO.
Verify identity provider-initiated SSO
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Sign in with a super administrator account to the Google Admin console.
If you aren’t using a super administrator account, you can’t complete these steps.
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- Click Looker.
- In the Looker section, click Test SAML Login.
The app should open in a separate tab. If it doesn’t, troubleshoot the error message and try again. For details on troubleshooting, go to SAML app error messages.
Verify service provider-initiated SSO
- Close all browser windows.
- Go to https://{your-domain}.looker.com and replace {your-domain} with the subdomain provided by Looker.
- Click Authenticate.
You should be redirected to the Google sign-in page. - Select your account and enter your password.
After your credentials are authenticated, the app should open.
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