Integrate with Tableau

The Samsara OData Connector enables you to bring Samsara datasets and custom reports you built within Samsara into Tableau for use in advanced data visualizations and further analysis.

Requirements

Tableau: Explorer or Creator license on the email alias you use with Tableau.

Samsara: API access with Read permissions

Deployment

Samsara built the integration and will assist with deployments as needed. Follow the steps below to get started. If there are any issues, please contact Samsara Support.

Generate the API token from Samsara:
1. Sign in to your Samsara dashboard.
2. Select the Settings icon ( ) at the bottom of your Fleet menu and then click Apps.
3. Click Beta Code in the upper right hand corner.
4. For the Input code, type in tableau-beta , then click Install.
5. Agree to the terms and conditions and then Generate Token.
6. Copy the generated API token.
  
  This API token will be used to authenticate the Tableau Connector. If you lose the token, you can't retrieve it and you would need to regenerate a new token.
Generate OData URL and credentials.
Connect to Tableau.

OData URL and Credentials

Reports and data range scope are generated in OData through the connection URL, not through a date picker like other connection protocols.

To generate an OData URL, perform the following workflow:

Collect the following information:
- Your organization’s region.
  
  You can identify it by checking the domain in your dashboard URL (for example, cloud.samsara.com, cloud.ca.samsara.com, or cloud.eu.samsara.com).
- The date range for the data you want to work with.
  
  Make sure the range falls within the maximum allowed for the dataset; otherwise, the extract will not run.
- Your Org ID.
- Your API token.
  
  If you don’t have one yet, see Deployment.
Create the URL connection using this template as reference:

https://<connector_domain>/data-connectors/odata/v4/<start_date>/<end_date>/
1. Replace <connector_domain> with the regional data connector domain assigned to your organization:
  - data-connector.samsara.com
  - data-connector.ca.samsara.com
  - data-connector.eu.samsara.com
2. Replace <start_date> with the start date of the date range, in YYYY-MM-DD format.
3. Replace <end_date> with the end date of the date range, in YYYY-MM-DD format.
For example, an organization assigned the EU regional data connector domain with a date range from January 1, 2025, through January 31, 2025, would use the following URL: https://data-connector.eu.samsara.com/data-connectors/odata/v4/2025-01-01/2025-01-31/.

The parameters must be edited in the URL, the date cannot be edited after the fact.

Samsara recommends no more than 1 year maximum date range on any dataset. For more information, see Performance and Date Ranges.
Keep your organization ID and API token to use as credentials when you Connect to Tableau.

Your username is your organization ID. Your password is your API token.

Performance and Date Ranges

Dataset time range limits are in place for both Power BI and Tableau connectors. Samsara recommends no more than a 1 year maximum range on any dataset. Particularly large and complex data pulls, such as the ones listed in the following table, can time out if you make requests longer than the suggested maximum range. When entering a range of data in your URL, consider the following:

Dataset	Recommended Maximum Date Range
Asset Activities	6 months
Asset Diagnostics	6 months
Assets	1 year
Drivers	1 year
DVIRs	3 months
Form Submissions	6 months
Hours of Service Logs	3 months
Hours of Service Unassigned Segments	3 months
Hours of Service Violations	3 months
Idle Events	3 months
Issues	6 months
Odometer Jumps	6 months
Reversing Events	1 week
Safety Events	6 months
Speeding Intervals	3 months
Tachograph Logs	3 months
Training	6 months
Trips	3 months

Date selection is done through URL parameters, not through a date selector in the user interface. For more information on how to generate your date range scope, see OData URL and Credentials.

If you are using a custom report as a data source, the URL date range you provide when generating your OData URL overrides the range you set in the custom report. You will only be able to see data for the date range you set in the OData URL. This date range can still time out if you request a date range larger than the datatset is able to support.

Connect to Tableau

After you generate the API token, generate your OData URL and have your credentials, you can connect to Tableau.

Run the Tableau desktop app.
1. From the Connect menu, select More... > OData.
2. In the form, input your OData URL you created and your credentials and then Sign In.
3. From the list of available tables, build your report.
  
  You can drag and drop selected tables on the right pane to create a data model.
4. When finished, click on Sheet 1 at the bottom to pull data from Samsara.
  
  It may take time based on the amount of selected tables and data.
  
  After the extract database is created, you can now use the sources on the left to build a report.
Run in Tableau Cloud
1. Go to https://online.tableau.com/.
  
  You can use Samsara OData source in your current workbooks, or create another one from scratch.
2. Select the cylinder icon to add a new Samsara data source.
3. From the Connect to Data pop-up, click Connectors, then select OData.
4. In the form, input your OData URL you created and your credentials and then Sign In.
  
  Remember to select the Username and Password as the Authentication method.
5. Select tables and set up any relationships between them as with any other Tableau data source.
  
  The Table list is pulled from the Connector and displayed on the left hand side.
6. When finished, click on Sheet 1 at the bottom to pull data from Samsara.
  
  It may take time based on the amount of selected tables and data.