Tableau remote MCP connector

  • Updated

The Tableau remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector in Optimizely Opal brings analytics from Tableau Cloud into Opal. Opal explores your Tableau content and queries your data sources so you can answer questions and surface insights without leaving your workflow. The connector supports Tableau Cloud only and does not support Tableau Server.

The Tableau remote MCP connector is in beta.

The connector proxies requests to Tableau with your access token and respects your existing Tableau permissions. Use it to explore content, manage workbooks and views, and query data sources. It also provides Metadata API access, Pulse Insight Briefs, admin insights, and project, user, and task management.

The Tableau remote MCP is managed by Tableau. For details, see Hosted Tableau MCP in the Tableau documentation.

First, an Opal administrator must connect the Tableau remote MCP to Opal. After connecting the MCP server, individual Opal users and agent builders can log in to Tableau to access their information from Opal. Administrators only need to connect the Tableau remote MCP once.

Connect the Tableau remote MCP to Opal

The first person to connect a third-party service to Opal should be an administrator of that service. Administrator access installs the complete set of tools, so Opal adds every available tool. If a non-administrator connects the service first, Opal installs only the tools that account can access.

Opal administrators connect and grant access to Tableau from Opal. After granting access, administrators select which tools to enable in Opal and optionally customize their display names.

Add Tableau connection

As an Opal administrator, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to Connectors in Opal.
  2. (Optional) Enter Tableau in the search bar to filter the connectors list.

  3. Click Connect on the Tableau tile. 

  4. Log in to your Tableau account. 

A confirmation message displays and you can close the pop-up window.

Configure Opal tools

After adding the Tableau connection, Opal prompts you to select which tools to enable and optionally customize their display names.

As an Opal administrator, complete the following steps:

  1. Deselect any tools you do not want to add to Opal.
  2. (Optional) Update any tool's display name.

  3. Click Finish. 

The Tableau tile displays Connect on the Connectors tab for Opal users to authenticate with their personal accounts.

To update the available tools or names, see Update tools.

Authenticate with Tableau

Each Opal user and agent builder logs in to Tableau individually to access their Tableau data from Opal. User-level authentication ensures you access only the data your Tableau account is authorized to view.

Before you begin, confirm that an Opal administrator has connected the Tableau remote MCP to Opal. Until an administrator connects it, the Tableau tile displays Contact admin instead of Connect and you cannot select it.

To authenticate, complete the following steps in Opal:

  1. Go to Connectors.
  2. (Optional) Enter Tableau in the search bar to filter the connectors list.
  3. Click Connect on the Tableau tile. 
  4. Log in to Tableau.

After you connect to Tableau, the Tableau connector tools your administrator added become available in Opal Chat, agents, and workflows.

Tableau connector tools

The Tableau connector tools are available in Opal after an administrator connects the Tableau remote MCP to Opal and you log in to Tableau. The available tools depend on which tools your administrator enabled. Some tools require additional Tableau entitlements. For example, full Metadata API access requires Data Management. For a full list of available tools and actions, see Hosted Tableau MCP in the Tableau documentation.

Update tools

To rename, add, or remove tools, an Opal administrator must delete the Tableau tools registry and re-add it. To do so, complete the following steps:

  1. Follow the steps in Delete a tool registry.
  2. Add Tableau connection.
  3. Configure Opal tools.

If you use Opti ID, administrators can turn off generative AI in the Opti ID Admin Center. See Turn generative AI off across Optimizely applications.