Tableau MCP

What does a Tableau MCP server do?

A Tableau MCP server lets an AI assistant find Tableau content and answer questions from it. It lists data sources, runs VizQL queries and returns view data and images. It also reads Pulse metrics and covers admin work such as flows, extract refresh tasks and user roles. On the hosted service, every call runs as the signed-in user.

• Hosted or self-hosted: the hosted service runs on every Tableau Cloud pod. The open-source project runs on your own infrastructure through npx, Docker or a standalone executable.
• Tableau Desktop: a separate authoring build in the same repo runs locally over stdio and drives a running copy of Tableau Desktop. The npm package doesn't include it.
• Tableau Next: Salesforce's Tableau Next MCP Server connects Tableau Next analytics, metadata and semantic models to outside AI agents. A beta server adds tools that create, update and delete dashboards, semantic models, visualizations and alerts.

Is there an official Tableau MCP server?

Yes. Tableau's GitHub org publishes tableau/tableau-mcp and calls it "Tableau's official MCP Server". The repo is labelled Tableau Supported and uses the Apache-2.0 license. Tableau also runs the hosted service at https://mcp.tableau.com, and Claude's directory lists the connector as made by Tableau.

• Tableau Cloud: use the hosted service on any SKU, or self-host.
• Tableau Server: self-hosted only. OAuth needs Tableau Server 2025.3 or newer, and Pulse tools are left out because Pulse isn't on Tableau Server.

What is the Tableau MCP server URL, and how do you sign in?

The hosted URL is https://mcp.tableau.com, one address for every Tableau Cloud pod. You sign in with OAuth 2.1 as your own Tableau Cloud user, so your existing permissions apply. A self-hosted server defaults to http://localhost:3927/tableau-mcp and signs in with OAuth, a personal access token or Direct Trust.

• Tableau says to prefer OAuth for multi-user HTTP deployments, and it points personal access tokens at testing or prototyping.
• A personal access token needs SERVER, SITE_NAME, PAT_NAME and PAT_VALUE. By default it expires after 15 days of inactivity.
• Users need the API Access permission on each data source they query.

What can a Tableau MCP server read and change?

Tableau's tools page lists 48 tools in 15 groups. Most read data sources, workbooks, views, Pulse metrics and flows. Others publish or move content, run flows, change extract schedules, update user roles and delete content. Calls use the signed-in user's permissions, and site admins can block tool groups per site with EXCLUDE_TOOLS.

What it can read

• Data: list-datasources, get-datasource-metadata and query-datasource.
• Workbooks and views: list-workbooks, get-workbook, download-workbook, get-view-data and get-view-image, plus custom views.
• Pulse: metric definitions, metrics, subscriptions and insight bundles. Pulse Insight Briefs need Tableau+.
• Search: search-content looks across content types on a site.
• Admin: list-users returns site roles, emails and last login times.

What it can change

• Publishing: Publish Workbook and Move Workbook, plus Publish Data Source. overwrite defaults to false.
• Flows: Run Flow, Run Flow Task and Cancel Flow Run. Run Flow needs a two-phase confirmation.
• Admin: Update User changes site roles, and Update Cloud Extract Refresh Task changes refresh schedules.
• Deletes: delete-content is restricted to site administrators and needs a preview step first. Deleted workbooks and data sources go to the Tableau Cloud recycle bin. Extract refresh task deletes are permanent.
• Knowledge: Manage Knowledge Context creates, updates and deletes semantic context on Tableau+ sites.

How do you set up a Tableau MCP server in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor?

Tableau documents Claude and ChatGPT directly: Claude uses a directory connector and ChatGPT uses a plugin, and both sign in with OAuth. Tableau names no Cursor steps, so Cursor takes the generic route with the hosted URL. Tableau Server users run the server themselves, and Tableau's Claude Desktop extension covers the local route.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tableau": {
      "url": "https://mcp.tableau.com"
    }
  }
}

What can you ask a Tableau MCP server?

Start with read-only questions against a published data source, and name the metric and date range. These examples use query-datasource, get-view-image, search-content and the Pulse tools. The last prompt runs a flow, so it changes something, and Tableau requires a two-phase confirmation before the flow runs.

• Reads

  Find our published paid media data source, list its fields, then show spend and conversions by channel for last quarter.

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• Reads

  Show the Campaign Performance view as an image, then pull the data behind it and summarise the month-over-month change.

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• Reads

  Search this site for content about return on ad spend. List each item with its type and project.

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• Reads

  List the Pulse metrics I subscribe to and generate the insight bundle for the one tied to paid spend.

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• Writes

  Describe the Paid Media Refresh flow, then run it now. Show me what it outputs and wait for my confirmation first.

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What are the limits of a Tableau MCP server?

Tableau Server can't use the hosted service and has no Pulse tools. Some tools need Tableau+ or Data Management, and a call without the entitlement returns an error. Tableau hasn't published a rate limit for the hosted service. On a self-hosted server, MAX_RESULT_LIMIT is empty by default, so results have no cap until you set one.

• Site admins can't turn off the hosted service. They can block tool groups through EXCLUDE_TOOLS, a site setting that needs Tableau 2026.2 or higher.
• Publishing from Claude or ChatGPT needs your pod's S3 host on an allowlist. Staged uploads stop at 5 GB.
• Tableau says the hosted service doesn't store your Tableau data. It passes tool calls to your site's existing APIs.
• Self-hosted OAuth keeps refresh tokens in process memory, so clients reconnect after a restart.

How much does a Tableau MCP server cost?

Tableau lists no separate price for the server. The hosted service is available on any Tableau Cloud SKU, and the open-source project costs nothing to run beyond your own infrastructure. The plan underneath is the cost: Salesforce lists Tableau Cloud from $15 a user a month, billed annually.

• Pulse Insight Briefs and Tableau Knowledge need Tableau+, and the full Metadata API surface needs Data Management.
• Salesforce lists Tableau Next from $40 a user a month, billed annually.

What are the alternatives to a Tableau MCP server?

The main alternatives are another BI tool's server, your warehouse, or a reporting connector. If Tableau reads from Snowflake or BigQuery, a warehouse server can answer from the source tables. Marketing analytics MCP servers compares reporting connectors, direct platform servers and warehouses for marketing numbers.

• Power BI MCP: Microsoft's servers, if your reports live in Power BI.
• Looker MCP: The route for teams whose metrics live in Looker.
• Snowflake MCP: Asks the warehouse directly, if Tableau reads from Snowflake.
• BigQuery MCP: Asks the warehouse directly, if Tableau reads from BigQuery.

Which skill goes with a Tableau MCP server?

Use the free Agent write safety skill before you allow tools that publish, run flows or delete content, because those change live Tableau content. Use the Marketing context kit to write down your metric definitions and data source names once, so every answer starts from the same rules and the assistant guesses less.

• Agent write safety: Sets approvals before an agent can publish, run a flow or delete.
• Marketing context kit: Holds your metric definitions and data source names in one folder.