> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.truefoundry.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up Looker MCP Server

> Connect Google's MCP Toolbox for Databases to TrueFoundry so agents can query Looker through the MCP Gateway.

Google's [MCP Toolbox for Databases](https://googleapis.github.io/genai-toolbox/) can expose your Looker semantic layer to agents. Use this guide to create Looker API credentials, run the toolbox server, and register it in the TrueFoundry MCP Gateway.

## Prerequisites

* A TrueFoundry account with permission to add MCP servers.
* A Looker instance, either Looker Original or Looker Google Cloud Core.
* A Looker user or service account with the minimum API permissions required by the tools you expose.

## Create Looker API Credentials

For Looker Original, open your Looker instance, go to **Admin** > **Users**, edit the service account user, and create a new **API 4.0 Key**. For Looker Google Cloud Core, enable API credential management, open your **Account** page, and generate a new **API 4.0 Key**.

Copy these values:

| Value                                       | Environment variable   |
| ------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| Looker instance URL, without trailing slash | `LOOKER_BASE_URL`      |
| API 4.0 client ID                           | `LOOKER_CLIENT_ID`     |
| API 4.0 client secret                       | `LOOKER_CLIENT_SECRET` |
| SSL verification flag, optional             | `LOOKER_VERIFY_SSL`    |

If your Looker instance uses port `19999`, include it in `LOOKER_BASE_URL`, for example `https://looker.example.com:19999`.

## Run the MCP Server

Deploy MCP Toolbox for Databases in your own environment or on TrueFoundry as a service. Configure the process to run:

```bash theme={"dark"}
toolbox --stdio --prebuilt looker
```

Set the Looker environment variables from the previous section. Use a shared service account for team-wide read access, or per-user credentials when each user should bring their own Looker API key.

<Note>
  To enable Looker's Conversational Analytics tools, run `toolbox --stdio --prebuilt looker-conversational-analytics` and also set `LOOKER_PROJECT` and `LOOKER_LOCATION`.
</Note>

## Register in TrueFoundry

If the server is exposed over HTTP, open **MCP Gateway**, click **Add MCP Server**, and select **Connect any Remote MCP Server**. Enter the MCP URL for your deployed toolbox server, add collaborators, and choose the outbound authentication mode that matches your deployment.

If you run it as a CLI-style process, select **Hosted Stdio-based MCP Server** and configure:

| Field                     | Value                                                                                       |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Command**               | `toolbox`                                                                                   |
| **Arguments**             | `--stdio --prebuilt looker`                                                                 |
| **Environment variables** | `LOOKER_BASE_URL`, `LOOKER_CLIENT_ID`, `LOOKER_CLIENT_SECRET`, optional `LOOKER_VERIFY_SSL` |

Use [Auth Overrides](/docs/ai-gateway/mcp/mcp-server-auth-overrides) when users provide their own Looker credentials.

## Verify and Secure

After the server is registered, confirm that tools are visible in the **Tools** section and then try them from the **Agent Playground**. Use a dedicated Looker service account with limited API access, keep `LOOKER_CLIENT_SECRET` in a secret store, and set `LOOKER_VERIFY_SSL=false` only for internal instances with trusted self-signed certificates.