Connecting Your Favorite BI Tool to Weld: A Comprehensive Guide

At Weld, we strive to make your data journey seamless. You can effortlessly sync your centralized and transformed data from Weld to a wide range of powerful Business Intelligence tools, better known as BI tools. In this post, we'll guide you through the updated processes to connect Weld to popular BI platforms including Looker, Looker Studio, Metabase, Mode, Power BI, and Tableau.

In general, connecting your BI tool to Weld involves configuring the data source within the BI tool to point to your preferred data warehouse or database, which typically requires providing the necessary connection details. In this article we will show you how to connect your favorite BI tool to two of the most common data warehouses: Google BigQuery or Snowflake.

However, in many of these BI Tools, you can also connect to your preferred PostgreSQL database, or other destinations such as Databricks or Amazon Redshift.

Whether you’re looking to build interactive dashboards, generate rich reports, or perform deep data analysis, Weld has you covered.

Looker

Looker is a modern BI and data analytics platform that lets you explore, analyze, and share real-time business insights with ease.

Connecting Looker to Google BigQuery

  1. Create a BigQuery project in Google Cloud Console (note your Project ID).
  2. Enable BigQuery API for the project.
  3. Create a Service Account with appropriate permissions (BigQuery Data Viewer, BigQuery Job User). You can do this in IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
  4. Generate a JSON key for your service account and securely save it.
  5. In Looker Admin, go to Connections > click New Connection:
    • Name: Choose a memorable name.
    • Dialect: Select Google BigQuery Standard SQL.
    • Project ID: Enter your BigQuery Project ID.
    • JSON Keyfile: Upload your service account JSON key.
    • Optionally specify your default database.
  6. Click Test These Settings to validate, then Add Connection.

Connecting Looker to Snowflake

  1. Gather your Snowflake details: account name (the portion before .snowflakecomputing.com), username, password, database, warehouse, and schema.
  2. In Looker Admin > Connections > New Connection:
    • Name: Choose a descriptive name.
    • Dialect: Select Snowflake.
    • Fill in your Snowflake Host (format: <account_name>.snowflakecomputing.com), username, password, database, schema, and warehouse.
  3. Test and save your connection.

Looker connection established! You can now leverage LookML to build dashboards and analyze your Weld-synced data.

Read more in the Looker and Looker Studio documentation.

Looker Studio

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) is Google's free, easy-to-use reporting and visualization tool.

Connecting Looker Studio to Google BigQuery

  1. Open Looker Studio and log into your Google account.
  2. Click Create > Report, then Add Data Source.
  3. Select the BigQuery connector.
  4. Choose your project from My Projects, Shared Projects, or Public Datasets.
  5. Select your dataset and table, or write a custom SQL query.
  6. Authorize the connection and click Connect.
  7. Your data schema will load—select the fields you want and design your report.

Connecting Looker Studio to Snowflake

  1. Log into Looker Studio and add a new Data Source.
  2. In Partner Connectors, select the Snowflake connector.
  3. Enter your Snowflake credentials: username, password, account URL, role, warehouse, database, and schema.
  4. Optionally provide an SQL query (without a trailing semicolon).
  5. Click Connect, review the fields, and start creating your reports.

Read more in the Looker and Looker Studio documentation.

Metabase

Metabase is an open-source BI tool that makes data exploration and visualization simple without needing SQL expertise.

Connecting Metabase to Google BigQuery

  1. Create a Google Cloud service account for Metabase with the roles:
    • BigQuery Data Viewer
    • BigQuery Metadata Viewer
    • BigQuery Job User
  2. Enable the Cloud Resource Manager API.
  3. Download the service account JSON key.
  4. In Metabase, go to Admin > Databases > Add a database.
  5. Fill in:
    • Display Name — a friendly name.
    • Project ID - omit any prefix. For example, if your ID is project_name:project_id, only enter project_id.
    • Upload your Service Account JSON file.
    • Choose datasets to sync (all or selected schemas).
  6. Save and connect.

Connecting Metabase to Snowflake

  1. In Metabase Admin > Databases > Add a database:
    • Enter Display Name.
    • Provide Snowflake Account Name (include region and cloud platform as needed, for example: xy12345.europe-west4.gcp).
    • Input your Username and Password.
    • Upload RSA private key if required.
    • Specify Warehouse, Database Name (case-sensitive), and optionally schemas.
  2. Save and connect for instant data access.

Read more in the Metabase documentation.

Mode Analytics

Mode is designed for analysts and data scientists to explore, visualize, and share data insights collaboratively.

Connecting Mode to Google BigQuery

  1. Log into Google Developers Console and select your BigQuery project.
  2. Create a service account with roles:
    • BigQuery Job User
    • BigQuery Data Viewer
  3. Generate and download a JSON key for the service account.
  4. In Mode Analytics, under Settings > Database Connections, click + New Database and select BigQuery.
  5. Provide:
    • A connection Name.
    • Your BigQuery Project ID.
    • The service account Email.
    • Upload the JSON Keyfile.
  6. Click Connect.

Connecting Mode to Snowflake

  1. Log into Mode and navigate to Database Connections.
  2. Add a new connection, select Snowflake, fill in:
    • Connection Name.
    • Username and Password.
    • Account identifier (e.g., xy12345.europe-west4.gcp).
    • Role, Warehouse, Database, and Schema.
  3. Test and save the connection.

Read more in the Mode help center.

Power BI

Power BI by Microsoft offers robust business analytics with easy report and dashboard creation.

Connecting Power BI to Google BigQuery

  1. Launch Power BI Desktop.
  2. Select Get Data > More... and search for Google BigQuery.
  3. Click Connect and sign in with your Google account.
  4. Allow permissions.
  5. Select your BigQuery project and dataset.
  6. Choose to Load or Edit data in Power Query.
  7. Your data is ready for reporting.

Service Account Authentication:

  • Use a service account JSON key for enhanced security under the authentication options.
  • Upload the key file during sign-in.

Connecting Power BI to Snowflake

  1. Open Power BI Desktop, choose Get Data.
  2. Select Database > Snowflake.
  3. Enter Snowflake server details: [account_name].[region].snowflakecomputing.com, database, warehouse, role, and schema.
  4. Choose import mode (Import or DirectQuery).
  5. Enter username and password credentials.
  6. Select data tables or views to load.
  7. Build your reports with the loaded Snowflake data.

Read more in the Power BI documentation.

Tableau

Tableau is a leading BI platform well known for its powerful visual analytics capabilities.

Connecting Tableau to Google BigQuery

  1. Open Tableau Desktop.
  2. Click Connect > To a Server > Google BigQuery.
  3. Authenticate with your Google account.
  4. Select your BigQuery project, dataset, and tables.
  5. Drag desired tables to the canvas to start visualizing.
  6. Use Tableau’s interface to create dashboards.

Connecting Tableau to Snowflake

  1. Open Tableau Desktop.
  2. Choose Connect > To a Server > Snowflake.
  3. Enter Snowflake server name, username, and password.
  4. Specify the warehouse, database, and schema.
  5. Connect and load data for immediate analysis.
  6. Build and share your visualizations.

Read more in the Tableau help section.


Each BI tool connection follows a streamlined process: configure access permissions, authenticate securely (using service accounts or user credentials), and select your Weld-synced data sources. With your data flowing smoothly into these BI platforms, you can unlock richer insights and actionable business intelligence faster than ever.

Explore your data in the BI tool that best fits your workflow!

If you require assistance for any specific tool, feel free to reach out!

Happy analyzing! 🚀