Use Tableau Connected Apps for Application Integration

Applies to: Tableau Cloud, Tableau Server

Beginning with Tableau Server 2022.1, Tableau connected apps enable a seamless and secure authentication experience by facilitating an explicit trust relationship between your Tableau Server site and external applications where Tableau content is embedded. , Tableau connected apps extended its capabilities to support REST API authorization. And as of October 2023, REST API authorization using connected apps is respected by the Tableau Metadata API.

Note: Tableau connected apps and Salesforce connected apps are different and offer different functionality. Today, Tableau connected apps are optimized for embedding Tableau views and metrics in external applications and used to authorize access to the Tableau REST API. (In October 2023, Tableau retired the ability to embed metrics in Tableau Cloud and Tableau Server version 2023.3.).

There are two types of connected apps you can configure: direct trust or OAuth 2.0 trust.

Direct trust

Using direct trust, you can:

  • Restrict access to which content can be embedded and where that content can be embedded

  • Provide users the ability to access embedded content using single sign-on (SSO) without having to integrate with an identity provider (IdP)

  • Provide users the ability to authenticate directly from your external application

  • Programmatically authorize access to the Tableau REST API and Tableau Metadata API (starting in Tableau Server October 2023) on users' behalf using JSON Web Token (JWT)

  • Scope Tableau REST API capabilities users or applications can perform

  • Enable additional features like:
    • Group assertions (beginning in Tableau Server 2024.2)

For more information about this connected app type, see Configure Connected Apps with Direct Trust.

OAuth 2.0 trust

Using OAuth 2.0 trust, you can:

  • Restrict access to which content can be embedded and where that content can be embedded

  • Provide users the ability to access embedded content using single sign-on (SSO) through your identity provider (IdP)

  • Provide access using standard OAuth 2.0 standard protocol

  • Programmatically authorize access to Tableau REST API (and the Metadata API starting in Tableau Server 2023) on users' behalf

  • Scope Tableau REST API capabilities users or applications can perform

  • Enable additional features like:
    • Group assertions (beginning in Tableau Server 2024.2)

For more information about this connected app type, see Configure Connected Apps with OAuth 2.0 Trust.

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