---
id: looker-sdk
version: "26.12.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# looker-sdk — Looker REST API

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 20.1M/mo

## What it is and what it does

looker_sdk is an auto-generated Python client for the Looker REST API. It wraps HTTP communication with requests and provides typed model classes for API requests and responses, allowing you to query Looker instances, manage users, and interact with dashboards and explores programmatically. The SDK uses a plug-in architecture for authentication (supporting both API key sessions and OAuth) and transport, and accepts both model instances and plain dictionaries for API method arguments.

The library is generated from Looker's API specification, so its methods and models track the API schema. It requires Python 3.6+ and is configured via environment variables, an .ini file, or a custom ApiSettings implementation. Common use cases include automating Looker administration, embedding analytics in applications, and building data pipelines that pull from Looker.

Use it for:

- Automate user and content management in Looker instances via the API
- Embed Looker dashboards or explore results into external applications
- Build data pipelines that query Looker explores and export results
- Programmatically manage Looker roles, permissions, and access controls
- Integrate Looker with CI/CD or data orchestration workflows

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides a Python client library for communicating with the Looker REST API, with support for multiple API versions and pluggable authentication and transport mechanisms.

Yes. The SDK is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and is widely used (top 5000 PyPI packages). Install it if you need to integrate with a Looker instance; the permissive MIT license and stable API make it a straightforward choice.

## Install

pip install looker-sdk
uv add looker-sdk
poetry add looker-sdk

## Installing looker-sdk

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution and four lightweight runtime dependencies (requests, typing-extensions, attrs, cattrs). Actively maintained with a release 32 days ago.

License in practice: MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects.

Quickstart:

pip install looker-sdk

import looker_sdk

sdk = looker_sdk.init40()
my_user = sdk.me()
print(my_user.first_name)

Requires Looker API credentials (client_id and client_secret) configured via environment variables, looker.ini file, or custom ApiSettings; Python 3.6 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the generated models and API methods cover all current Looker API 4.0 endpoints
- Performance characteristics when handling large result sets or concurrent requests
- Support status for Looker API versions older than 3.1

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 20.1M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

looker api client python, looker sdk python, looker rest api, looker integration python, looker api authentication, looker data access sdk, api-client, looker-integration

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