Helpful Looker Tutorials
September 28, 2026
The Looker extension for VS Code is now GA. Here is how to set it up, how its three-way sync with Development Mode and Git actually behaves, and how to wire an AI agent to it through the Looker-managed MCP server without wrecking production.
Read moreSeptember 21, 2026 · Vistelio
Retention grids usually escape the semantic layer and end up as one-off SQL. This tutorial models cohorts, period offsets, retention rate, rolling retention, and incomplete-period guardrails in LookML so analysts can slice them safely.
Read moreSeptember 21, 2026
Most runaway Looker queries are not a warehouse problem, they are a modeling problem. This tutorial shows how to use sql_always_where, always_filter, conditionally_filter, required_fields, and fill-in defaults to stop unbounded Explore queries before they reach your database.
Read moreSeptember 21, 2026 · Vistelio
Iceberg is becoming the default table format for the warehouses Looker sits on: BigLake managed tables in BigQuery, Iceberg tables in Snowflake, and Unity Catalog on Databricks. This tutorial covers how Iceberg reaches a Looker connection, how to model partitions and metadata columns in LookML, where PDTs and caching belong, and the cost traps that only show up on an open lakehouse.
Read moreSeptember 18, 2026 · Vistelio
Merged Results, cross-database joins, and modeled alternatives all promise to combine data from two Looker Explores or two warehouses. They behave very differently. This tutorial shows how each one actually executes, where the numbers go wrong, and a decision path for choosing between them.
Read more