Use R and Python scripts in your flow

Starting in version 2019.3.1, you can use R and Python scripts to perform more complex cleaning operations or incorporate predictive modelling data into your flow. Data is passed from the flow as input through the R or Python script step, then returned as output data that you can continue cleaning using the features and functions of Tableau Prep Builder.

Note: Connecting to scripts as an input step for your flow is not yet supported. Also, script steps are not yet supported for flows authored or published to Tableau Cloud.

Configure your Rserve server or Tableau Python (TabPy) server and add a script step to your flow. Tableau Prep passes the data to Rserve for R or Tableau Python server (TabPy) for Python and returns the resulting data back to the flow in the form of a table. You can continue to apply cleaning operations to the results and generate your output for analysis.

When you create your script, you will need to include a function that specifies a data frame as an argument of the function. If you want to return different fields than what you input, you'll need to include a getOutputSchema function in your script that defines the output and data types. Otherwise, the output will use the fields from the input data.

If you author or edit flows in Tableau Server (version 2020.4.1 and later) that include script steps, Tableau Server must also have a connection to an Rserve or TabPy server to run script steps. For information about how to configure R or Python to use in your flows and how to create your scripts, see Use R (Rserve) scripts in your flow(Link opens in a new window) or Use Python scripts in your flow(Link opens in a new window).

Thanks for your feedback!Your feedback has been successfully submitted. Thank you!