Looker Themes API

This skill enables agents to assist users in programmatically managing the visual appearance of Looker dashboards and reports using the Theme resource in the Looker API.

Overview

Looker themes allow you to control the styling of embedded and internal Looker content, including colors, fonts, and layout options. Using the API, you can:

• Create Themes: Define new visual styles for specific dashboards or the entire instance.
• Update Themes: Modify existing themes to reflect brand changes.
• Set Default Themes: Programmatically change the global default theme.
• Manage Color Collections: Associate custom color palettes with themes.

1. Prerequisites

• API Version: Use Looker API 4.0 for the most up-to-date theme features.
• Permissions: Requires admin or manage_themes permissions.
• Feature Flag: Custom themes must be enabled on the Looker instance.

2. Implementation Pattern (Python SDK)

Initializing the SDK

import looker_sdk
from looker_sdk import models40 as models

sdk = looker_sdk.init40()

Creating a New Theme

When creating a theme, you define a WriteTheme object containing ThemeSettings.

new_theme = sdk.create_theme(
    body=models.WriteTheme(
        name="corporate_brand_v1",
        settings=models.ThemeSettings(
            background_color="#F4F7F9",
            base_font_size="14px",
            color_collection_id="my_custom_palette_id",
            font_family="Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif",
            primary_button_color="#0052CC",
            show_filters_bar=True,
            show_title=True,
            tile_background_color="#FFFFFF",
            title_color="#172B4D",
            show_header=True
        )
    )
)
print(f"Created theme ID: {new_theme.id}")

Updating an Existing Theme

You can perform partial updates by passing only the fields you wish to change.

# Change to a dark mode background
sdk.update_theme(
    theme_id="123",
    body=models.WriteTheme(
        settings=models.ThemeSettings(
            background_color="#121212",
            tile_background_color="#1E1E1E",
            title_color="#FFFFFF"
        )
    )
)

Setting the Global Default Theme

The setdefaulttheme method takes the theme name, not the ID.

# The theme must be active and have no expiration date
sdk.set_default_theme(theme_name="corporate_brand_v1")

3. Theme Settings Reference

4. Applying Themes to Content

Via Embed URL

Append the theme parameter to the Looker embed URL. https://yourcompany.looker.com/embed/dashboards/1?theme=corporatebrand_v1

Via Embed SDK

LookerEmbedSDK.createDashboardWithId(1)
  .withParams({ theme: 'corporate_brand_v1' })
  .build()
  .connect()

5. Full Theme Payload Example

Here is a comprehensive JSON payload for creating a theme, including extended settings:

{
  "name": "full_featured_theme",
  "settings": {
    "background_color": "#f8fafc",
    "base_font_size": "16px",
    "color_collection_id": "",
    "font_color": "#334155",
    "font_family": "'Inter', system-ui, sans-serif",
    "font_source": "",
    "info_button_color": "#6366f1",
    "primary_button_color": "#6366f1",
    "show_filters_bar": true,
    "show_title": true,
    "text_tile_text_color": "#334155",
    "tile_background_color": "#ffffff",
    "text_tile_background_color": "#ffffff",
    "tile_text_color": "#334155",
    "title_color": "#0f172a",
    "warn_button_color": "#ef4444",
    "tile_title_alignment": "left",
    "tile_shadow": true,
    "show_last_updated_indicator": true,
    "show_reload_data_icon": true,
    "show_dashboard_menu": true,
    "show_filters_toggle": true,
    "show_dashboard_header": true,
    "center_dashboard_title": false,
    "dashboard_title_font_size": "2.5rem",
    "box_shadow": "0 1px 2px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05)",
    "page_margin_top": "1.5rem",
    "page_margin_bottom": "1.5rem",
    "page_margin_sides": "1.5rem",
    "show_explore_header": true,
    "show_explore_title": true,
    "show_explore_last_run": true,
    "show_explore_timezone": true,
    "show_explore_run_stop_button": true,
    "show_explore_actions_button": true,
    "show_look_header": true,
    "show_look_title": true,
    "show_look_last_run": true,
    "show_look_timezone": true,
    "show_look_run_stop_button": true,
    "show_look_actions_button": true,
    "tile_title_font_size": "1.25rem",
    "column_gap_size": "1rem",
    "row_gap_size": "1rem",
    "border_radius": "0.5rem"
  }
}

6. Troubleshooting & Best Practices

• Active Status: Only "active" themes can be set as defaults or used in embedding.
• Unique Names: Theme names must be unique across the instance.
• Color Collections: Ensure the colorcollectionid exists before associating it with a theme, otherwise it will fallback to the system default.
• Expiration: Themes with an endat value will automatically deactivate. For permanent themes, ensure endat is None or null.
• API Cache: When updating a theme, changes may take a few seconds to propagate to all cached dashboard views.