Authentication
Tableau MCP requires authentication in order to connect with your Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud site.
This authenticated user must have access to the published data source(s) you plan to access.
There are a couple different ways to authenticate to Tableau.
- Provide your Tableau Personal Access Token (PAT).
- Use Tableau Connected Apps.
- Use Tableau Unified Access Tokens.
- Use Tableau OAuth.
- Use Passthrough Authentication.
Troubleshooting authentication errors
An Authentication failed (401): ... message returned at tool call means the server could not
authenticate: the PAT/OAuth session is missing, invalid, or expired. This is distinct from a permission error
(Permission denied (403): ..., authenticated but the request was refused — missing role/permission
or a capability not enabled) and from a feature genuinely not
being provisioned. When several servers are configured, a 401 frequently means the request
reached the wrong or unauthenticated server. See
Running Multiple Servers & Diagnosing Auth Errors.