Model parameters

A model file specifies a database connection, defines the set of Explores that use that connection, and defines the Explores' relationships to other views. Unlike other LookML elements, a model is not declared with a specific "model" parameter. Instead, a LookML developer defines a model by creating a LookML project file that has the .model.lkml file extension. The model name is taken from the filename.

A model name must be unique across all projects on your instance. If your instance contains two .model.lkml files with the same name, it is likely that you will encounter errors, such as model configuration errors on the LookML Projectspage and rendering errors for LookML dashboard errors, since LookML dashboards use the model name in their URL format ( <hostname>/dashboard/model_name::<dashboard_name> ).

You can use the LookML Validator to verify if model names are duplicated across your instance. However, even if the LookML Validator detects duplicate model names on your instance, you can still push your code to production. Therefore, be sure to fix any duplicate model name errors before you deploy your LookML project to production.

A model file typically contains any explore declarations, along with a number of model-level settings.

This page links to the model-level LookML parameters. They are typically written at the top of the model file and shouldn't be nested within other parameters.

Example usage

Hold the pointer over a parameter name to see a quick description. Click a parameter to visit its reference page. When a parameter can be set to one of several specific options, the default value is listed first.

## STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS  include 
 
 : 
 "filename_or_pattern" 
## Possibly more include declarations  explore 
 
 : 
 explore_name 
 { 
  # Desired explore parameters (described on Explore Parameters 
page) } 
## Possibly more explore declarations  access_grant 
 
 : 
 access_grant_name 
 { 
  user_attribute 
 
 : 
 user_attribute_name 
  allowed_values 
 
 : [ 
 "value_1" 
 , 
 "value_2" 
 , ...] 
 } 
## Possibly more access_grant declarations  test 
 
 : 
 test_name 
 { 
  explore_source 
 
 : 
 explore_name 
 { 
    # Desired subparameters (described on  test 
 
page)
   } 
  assert 
 
 : 
 assert_statement 
 { 
  expression 
 
 : 
 Looker expression 
 ;; 
 } 
  # Possibly more assert declarations } 
## Possibly more test declarations

## DISPLAY PARAMETERS  label 
 
 : 
 "desired label" 
## FILTER PARAMETERS  case_sensitive 
 
 : 
 yes 
| no 
## QUERY PARAMETERS  connection 
 
 : 
 "connection_name" 
  datagroup 
 
 : 
 datagroup_name 
 { 
  label 
 
 : 
 "desired label" 
  description 
 
 : 
 "desired description" 
  max_cache_age 
 
 : 
 "N (minutes | hours | days)" 
  sql_trigger 
 
 : 
 SQL query ;; 
 } 
## Possibly more datagroup declarations  fiscal_month_offset 
 
 : 
 N 
  persist_for 
 
 : 
 "N (seconds | minutes | hours)" 
  persist_with 
 
 : 
 datagroup_name 
  week_start_day 
 
 : 
 monday 
| tuesday 
| wednesday 
| thursday 
| friday 
| saturday 
| sunday 
## VISUALIZATION AND FORMATTING PARAMETERS  map_layer 
 
 : 
 map_name 
 { 
  extents_json_url 
 
 : 
 "URL to JSON extents file" 
  feature_key 
 
 : 
 "Name of TopoJSON object" 
  file 
 
 : 
 "TopoJSON or GeoJSON filename" 
# or use the url subparameter
    format 
 
 : 
 topojson 
| vector_tile_region 
  label 
 
 : 
 "desired label" 
  max_zoom_level 
 
 : 
 number indicating max zoom 
  min_zoom_level 
 
 : 
 number indicating min zoom 
  projection 
 
 : 
 Preferred geographic projection 
  property_key 
 
 : 
 "TopoJSON property" 
  property_label_key 
 
 : 
 "Label for TopoJSON property" 
  url 
 
 : 
 "URL that contains map file" 
# or use the file subparameter } 
## Possibly more map layer declarations  named_value_format 
 
 : 
 desired_name 
 { 
  value_format 
 
 : 
 "excel formatting string" 
  strict_value_format 
 
 : 
 yes 
| no 
 } 
## Possibly more named value format declarations

Parameter definitions

Parameter Name

Description

Structural Parameters

access_grant

Creates an access grant that limits access of LookML structures to only those users who are assigned an approved user attribute value. This parameter has the user_attribute and allowed_values subparameters.

explore

Exposes a view in the Explore menu. For more information about Explores and their parameters, see the Explore Parameter Reference page.

include

Adds files to a model

test

Creates a data test to verify your model's logic. The project settings include an option to require data tests . When this is enabled for a project, developers on the project must run data tests before deploying their changes to production. This parameter has the explore_source and assert subparameters.

Display Parameters

label (for model)

Changes the way a model appears in the Explore menu

Filter Parameters

case_sensitive (for model)

Specifies whether filters are case-sensitive for a model

Query Parameters

connection

Changes the database connection for a model

datagroup

Creates a datagroup-caching policy for a model. This parameter has the label , description , max_cache_age , and sql_trigger subparameters.

fiscal_month_offset