Integrate Tableau with a Slack Workspace
Beginning with version 2021.3, Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud support integration with the Tableau App for Slack, so your team can collaborate – share Tableau snapshots, search for Tableau content and receive notifications about Tableau data – right where they’re working in a Slack workspace.
The Tableau App for Slack lets you connect your Tableau site with a Slack workspace. After it’s enabled, Tableau users can:
- See notifications in Slack when team mates share content with them, when they're mentioned in a comment or when data meets a specified threshold in a data-driven alert. If a site administrator in Tableau Cloud or a server administrator in Tableau Server enables notifications on a site, users can control which notifications they receive in Slack by configuring their Account Settings(Link opens in a new window).
- See a preview of a viz when a Tableau URL is pasted into Slack, allowing users to share data-related content with context directly in Slack.
- Search for Tableau views or workbooks in Slack DMs and channels.
- Access Recents and Favourites from the Tableau App for Slack.
For more information, see Receive Notifications, Search and Share Using the Tableau App for Slack.
Note: Some notifications preferences might not be available if the features are turned off for your site. For example, if the User Visibility setting is set to Limited, notifications are turned off. For more information, see Site Settings Reference and Manage Site User Visibility.
To integrate Slack with your Tableau site, there are a few necessary configuration steps, including some in your Tableau site and some in the Slack workspace you want to connect. This overview outlines these steps for both Tableau site administrators on Tableau Cloud or a Tableau Server Administrator on Tableau Server and Slack workspace administrators.
Requirements
Enabling Tableau in Slack requires both a Slack workspace administrator and either a Tableau site administrator in Tableau Cloud or a Tableau server administrator in Tableau Server.
Connect a Tableau Server site to a Slack workspace
A Tableau Server administrator can connect a Slack workspace to one Tableau Server site. Connecting your Tableau site to a Slack workspace consists of three tasks:
- Slack workspace administrator: Create a private Slack application on the Slack API platform.
- Tableau server administrator: Use the app information to add an OAuth client.
- Tableau server administrator: Connect your Tableau site to Slack.
Each Tableau site can connect to one Slack workspace per Tableau site. For information about creating Slack apps, see Slack's Best practices and guidelines for Slack platform(Link opens in a new window).
Note: If using a proxy server, make sure you've followed proxy settings guidance in Configuring Proxies and Load Balancers for Tableau Server before you begin.
Additionally, for Windows:
- Make sure that the Windows environment variables already have
http_proxyandhttps_proxyspecified. For more information and instructions on specifying environment variables, see Configuring Proxies and Load Balancers for Tableau Server. - Add the Slack domains in this list to the allowlist. For more information, see Communicating with the Internet.
Step 1: Create a Tableau App for Slack
Slack workspace administrator:
- Go to Slack's API documentation(Link opens in a new window) and select Create New App
- Select From Scratch, then add an app name and the workspace for the app to exist within. Select Create New App.
- Give your app a name and select a Slack workspace.
- You'll be taken to the app's basic information settings. From here, you can modify the app's privileges, description and more.
- Select Bots from the Add features and functionality section, then select Review Scopes to Add.
- Under Bot Token Scopes, add these scopes:
chat:writefiles:writeusers:readusers:read.email
- Select OAuth & Permissions from the navigation menu.
Important: Opting in to token rotation for your Tableau App for Slack will cause notifications to stop working in Slack. Token rotation can't be removed after it's added. - Select Add New Redirect URL.
- Add a fully qualified URL
https://<Tableau Server URL>/auth/add_oauth_token - Select Basic Information from the navigation menu.
- Give the Client ID, Client Secret and Redirect URL to the Tableau server administrator.
- Add the Tableau App for Slack into the Slack workspace by selecting Basic Information from the Settings menu, then Install.
Note: Administrators can share their app with other Slack workspaces by activating a distribution option. For more information, see Manage Distribution(Link opens in a new window) in Slack's documentation.
Step 2: Add an OAuth client to the Tableau site
Tableau server administrator:
The Tableau server administrator will add the OAuth client from the Slack workspace administrator, then connect the Tableau site to Slack.
- Sign in to the site you’d like to connect to Slack. On the Settings page of your site, select the Integrations tab.
- Under Slack Connectivity, select Add OAuth Client.
- Add the Client ID, Client Secret and Redirect URL from the Slack workspace administrator, then select Add OAuth Client in the dialog.
- The connection type and Client ID will appear in the table.
Step 3: Finalise the connection
Tableau server administrator:
When the OAuth client is added under Slack Connectivity:
- Select Connect to Slack.
- Follow the prompt to sign in to your Slack workspace.
- Select Allow to give your Tableau site access to the Slack workspace.
The Tableau site and Slack workspace are now connected. In the Slack workspace, licensed Tableau users can receive Slack notifications when someone shares Tableau content, when a data-driven alert is triggered or when someone is @mentioned in a comment on a view or workbook.
Disconnect a Tableau site from Slack
As a site admin, you can disconnect a Tableau site from a Slack workspace by selecting Disconnect from Slack in the Integrations tab of site settings. Users continue to receive notifications for some time. The OAuth client information you added in Step 2 is retained and can be used to connect to a new workspace if needed.
As a Slack user, you can disconnect from Slack by selecting Disconnect from Tableau from the Home tab in the Tableau App for Slack.
Update your Tableau App for Slack
When a new version of the Tableau App for Slack is available, Tableau recommends updating the application to maintain app performance and use new features.
To update the Tableau App for Slack:
- From the Settings page of your site, select the Integrations tab.
- Under Slack Connectivity, select Connect to Slack.
- Select Update.
Note: App updates applied by any Tableau admin affect all Tableau sites connected to the same workspace.
Troubleshoot the Tableau App for Slack
It’s a best practice to Manage app approvals for your Slack workspace(Link opens in a new window). However, if your Slack workspace allows users who aren’t admins to remove apps, it’s possible that a user can remove the Tableau App for Slack for the site. In this scenario, other users will see the Tableau App for Slack, but its features won’t work as expected. To resolve this issue, have your Slack admin uninstall and reinstall the Tableau App for Slack. Then, have your admin follow the steps to connect Slack with your Tableau site.