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Tableau

Tableau is a visual analytics and business intelligence platform that lets teams explore, visualize, and share data through interactive dashboards and workbooks. This connector publishes Nexset data to a Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud site as a native data source. Nexla automatically converts each batch of records into the Tableau Hyper (extract) format and publishes it to the project you specify, so downstream workbooks and dashboards can query the data directly.

Tableau icon

Power end-to-end data operations for your Tableau API with Nexla. Our bi-directional Tableau connector is purpose-built for Tableau, making it simple to ingest data, sync it across systems, and deliver it anywhere — all with no coding required. Nexla turns API-sourced data into ready-to-use, reusable data products and makes it easy to send data to Tableau or any other destination. With comprehensive monitoring, lineage tracking, and access controls, Nexla keeps your Tableau workflows fast, secure, and fully governed.

Features

Type: API

SourceDestination

  • Seamless API Integration: Connect to any endpoint as source or destination without coding, with automatic data product creation
  • Visual Composition & Chaining: Build complex integrations using visual templates, chain API calls, and compose workflows with data validation and filtering
  • API Proxy: Expose curated slices of your data securely with a secure and customizable API proxy that validates and transforms data on the fly
  • Request optimization with intelligent batching, retry, and caching to minimize API calls and costs

Prerequisites​

Before creating a Tableau credential in Nexla, you need access to a Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud site and the details required to sign in to that site through the Tableau REST API. Nexla signs in to your site, converts the incoming Nexset data into the Tableau Hyper extract format, and publishes it to a project on that site.

Ensure the following before proceeding:

  • A Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud site — Note the server URL (for example, https://your-server.example.com for Tableau Server, or your Tableau Cloud pod URL) and the site's content URL. The content URL is the short site identifier that appears in the browser address bar after /site/ when you are signed in; the Default site uses an empty content URL.

  • A Tableau user with publishing rights — The account Nexla authenticates as must have permission to publish data sources to the target project on the site.

  • A target project — Identify the Tableau project (by name or ID) where the published data source should be created. You will supply this when configuring the destination.

  • Authentication credentials — Tableau REST API sign-in accepts either a username and password, or a Personal Access Token (PAT). A PAT is recommended because it is long-lived, can be revoked independently of the user account, and avoids storing a username and password.

Personal Access Tokens provide a more secure way to authenticate to the Tableau REST API than a username and password.

  1. Sign in to your Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud site.

  2. At the top of the browser, click your profile icon and select My Account Settings.

  3. Under Personal Access Tokens, enter a descriptive name for the token (for example, Nexla Integration), then click Create Token.

  4. Copy the token secret when it is displayed and store it securely. The secret is shown only once and cannot be retrieved again after you close the dialog.

Keep Your Token Secret Secure

The token name and secret together grant API access to your Tableau site. Store the secret securely and do not commit it to version control. A Personal Access Token expires after a period of inactivity (15 consecutive days) and, on Tableau Server, has a default maximum lifetime of one year, after which a new token must be created.

Personal Access Tokens must be enabled on your Tableau Server by a server administrator before users can create them. On Tableau Cloud, token availability depends on your site's authentication settings. For complete details, see the Personal Access Tokens documentation and the Tableau REST API Authentication documentation.

Authenticate​

Create a credential in Nexla​

  1. After selecting the destination type, click the Add Credential tile to open the Add New Credential overlay.

  2. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

  3. Enter the connection details for your Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud site, including the server URL and the site content URL, so that Nexla can reach the correct site.

  4. Provide your authentication details. Enter your Personal Access Token name and token secret, or, if you are authenticating with a username and password, enter those values instead. These credentials are used to sign in to the Tableau REST API on your behalf.

    A Personal Access Token is recommended over a username and password because it is long-lived and can be revoked independently of the user account. The token name and secret are obtained from the My Account Settings page in Tableau, as described in Prerequisites.

  5. Click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during destination creation and can be selected for use with a new destination.

Use as a destination​

Click the + icon on the Nexset that will be sent to the Tableau destination, and select the Send to Destination option from the menu. Select the Tableau connector from the list of available destination connectors, then select the credential that will be used to connect to the Tableau site, and click Next; or, create a new Tableau credential for use in this flow.

Endpoint templates​

Nexla publishes data to Tableau using a pre-built template that converts your Nexset into the Tableau Hyper extract format before publishing it to your site. Click on the template in the list below to expand it, and follow the instructions to configure the destination settings.

Insert Data to Tableau Server

Use this endpoint to push any data to your Tableau server. This connector automatically converts your data to the Tableau Hyper API format before publishing it to your Tableau server as a data source.

  • In the Tableau Project ID / Name field, enter the project on your Tableau site where this data will be stored. This determines the project under which the published data source is created.
  • In the Table Name field, enter the table name that will hold this data in Tableau. New records are appended to this table on each activation, so existing data is preserved.

Nexla generates a Tableau Hyper extract from the Nexset data and publishes it to the specified project. For details on the Hyper extract format used for publishing, see the Tableau Hyper API documentation.

Save & activate​

Once all endpoint settings have been configured, click the Done button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the destination. To publish the data to your Tableau site, open the destination resource menu, and select Activate.

The Nexset data will not be published to Tableau until the destination is activated. Destinations can be activated immediately or at a later time, providing full control over data movement.