---
id: tableaudocumentapi
version: "0.11"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# tableaudocumentapi — A Python module for working with Tableau files.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 88.1K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Tableaudocumentapi is a Python library for reading and modifying Tableau workbook and data source files by directly manipulating their XML structure. It lets you extract connection details (server, username, database, authentication type) and field metadata from TWB, TWBX, TDE, and TDSX files, and update connection information without opening Tableau Desktop. The package is explicitly unsupported by Tableau and does not support creating files from scratch, adding extracts, or modifying field definitions.

The library targets developers who have been hand-editing Tableau file XML and want a programmatic alternative. It carries high install friction because it ships as source-only and requires local compilation. Maintenance is active (recent commits in 2026), but the last release was in 2022, and Python version support is not formally declared.

Use it for:

- Bulk-update database server names or credentials across many Tableau workbooks in a deployment pipeline.
- Extract connection metadata from data sources to audit or migrate Tableau configurations.
- Automate field discovery across workbooks to catalog which sheets use which data source fields.
- Programmatically modify authentication settings in workbooks before publishing to a different Tableau Server.
- Build a Tableau file inventory tool that reads connection and field information without opening Tableau.

## Worth the install?

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

Reads and modifies Tableau workbook and data source files (TWB, TWBX, TDE, TDSX) by programmatically updating their internal XML, without creating files from scratch.

Yes, if you need to programmatically modify Tableau files and accept the unsupported status and high install friction. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and solves a real problem for Tableau automation. However, verify that it builds cleanly on your Python version before committing to it in production, and be aware that Tableau does not officially support this API.

## Install

pip install tableaudocumentapi
uv add tableaudocumentapi
poetry add tableaudocumentapi

## Installing tableaudocumentapi

Before you install: High install friction: distributed as a source tarball with no runtime dependencies listed, requiring local build. Last release was in 2022, over three years ago, though the repository remains active with recent commits.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install tableaudocumentapi

from tableaudocumentapi import Workbook

wb = Workbook('myfile.twbx')
for ds in wb.datasources:
    print(ds.name)

Requires local compilation from source tarball; Python version support is unspecified.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package actually builds and installs cleanly on modern Python versions despite unspecified version support.
- Whether high install friction reflects a genuine build requirement or merely packaging convention.
- Scope and stability of the 'unsupported' API—what breaking changes users should anticipate.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 88.1K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

tableau workbook xml editing, tableau file manipulation python, tableau connection update, tableau data source modification, tableau twbx parser, tableau field extraction, tableau metadata extraction, tableau-automation, xml-manipulation, file-format

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