Labs

Labs Overview

Looker Labs features are new, in process features, whose details may change over time. They are split into two categories:

• Beta: These features are expected to remain in the product, and errors are expected to be resolved at some point. However, they may change in detail, and errors may not be fixed with the same speed as normal features.
• Experimental: These features may or may not remain in the product, and errors may or may not be corrected. They are intended to let you know what Looker is thinking about and to get your feedback.

You can choose to use these features or leave them disabled. You’ll see a list of these features in the Admin section’s Labs panel. The list of features varies by release but looks like this:

Each feature has a short description underneath it explaining the functionality that it adds or changes in Looker. If you would like more detail check out Discourse, which sometimes has more detailed descriptions, or reach out to Looker support.

Enabling and Disabling Labs Features

To enable or disable a feature, simply toggle the On / Off button.

Use caution when disabling a Labs feature. If users or developers have relied on the feature to create a certain behavior, disabling the feature will break that functionality.

Starting in Looker 5.0, Merged Results is an experimental Labs feature that must be set up by the Looker admin as described in this article. Admins can opt into the experimental beta group by creating and adding members to a Merged Results Beta Users group. Then the experimental feature appears and can be enabled.