Customer-hosted installation steps

This page explains how to install Looker for a customer-hosted Looker deployment. Looker also offers a hosted option.

Hosting the Looker application is independent of where your data resides; data always remains in-database and is not copied to the Looker instance.

Complete the following steps:

1. Install Looker:

   • Add Looker to your server.

   • Configure Looker startup options.

   • Configure your SSL certificate for proper HTTPS.

   • Consider port forwarding for a cleaner URL.

   • Allow Looker support to access your instance.

   • Set up Looker monitoring.

   • Set up a MySQL backend database.

   Note: We recommend that all new customer-hosted instances set up a MySQL backend database rather than use the default HyperSQL database. Support for HyperSQL as a Looker backend database will be deprecated in January 2024.

   • Set up Looker backups.

   • Ensure that Looker can access necessary services.

   • Install rendering software.

   • Determine if your Looker instance can accommodate the Looker Action Hub.

2. Enable secure database access.

3. Configure your database for Looker.

4. Connect Looker to your database.

5. Test your database connectivity.

6. Configure Looker sign-in options.

Once your instance is set up, you're ready to get started with development.