Metabase Analytics Platform

beginner

Metabase BI tool with PostgreSQL backend for self-service analytics.

Overview

Metabase is an open-source business intelligence platform that transforms raw data into interactive dashboards, reports, and visualizations without requiring SQL knowledge. Created in 2015, Metabase democratizes data analytics by providing a user-friendly interface that enables non-technical users to explore data, create charts, and build comprehensive dashboards through intuitive drag-and-drop functionality. Its self-service approach eliminates the bottleneck of waiting for technical teams to generate reports, empowering business users to answer their own questions with data. This configuration pairs Metabase with PostgreSQL as its application database, creating a robust analytics platform where PostgreSQL stores Metabase's metadata, user accounts, dashboard definitions, and cached query results. PostgreSQL's advanced SQL capabilities, ACID compliance, and excellent performance characteristics make it an ideal backend for Metabase's complex metadata operations and concurrent user sessions. The combination leverages PostgreSQL's reliability for storing critical business intelligence configurations while Metabase connects to your various data sources for analysis. This stack serves organizations seeking to implement self-service business intelligence without the complexity and cost of enterprise BI solutions like Tableau or Power BI. Small to medium businesses, startups with growing data needs, and teams requiring quick insights from multiple databases will find this combination particularly valuable. The setup provides enterprise-grade analytics capabilities while maintaining the flexibility to scale and integrate with existing data infrastructure.

Key Features

Interactive dashboard builder with 40+ visualization types including maps, funnels, and pivot tables
SQL query interface with visual query builder for users without SQL expertise
Automated email and Slack alerts based on data thresholds and schedules
Multi-database connectivity supporting MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, BigQuery, and 20+ other sources
User permission system with collection-based access control and row-level security
Embedded analytics with signed embedding for integrating dashboards into applications
PostgreSQL-powered metadata storage ensuring ACID compliance for user configurations and cached results
Mobile-responsive dashboards accessible on tablets and smartphones

Common Use Cases

1SaaS companies tracking key metrics like MRR, churn rate, and user engagement across multiple databases
2E-commerce businesses monitoring sales performance, inventory levels, and customer behavior analytics
3Marketing teams analyzing campaign performance, lead conversion rates, and ROI across advertising platforms
4Operations teams creating real-time dashboards for monitoring system performance and business KPIs
5Financial reporting and budget tracking with automated monthly and quarterly report generation
6Customer success teams monitoring product usage, support ticket trends, and user satisfaction metrics
7Startups needing affordable business intelligence without licensing costs of enterprise BI tools

Prerequisites

Minimum 2GB RAM recommended for concurrent users and dashboard rendering performance
Port 3000 available for Metabase web interface access
Basic understanding of your data sources and connection credentials for database setup
10GB+ disk space for PostgreSQL data storage and Metabase query caching
Network access to external databases you plan to connect for analysis
Docker and Docker Compose installed with ability to run persistent containers

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  postgres: 
3    image: postgres:16-alpine
4    container_name: metabase-postgres
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-metabase}
8      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-metabase}
9      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-metabase}
10    volumes: 
11      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
12    networks: 
13      - metabase-network
14
15  metabase: 
16    image: metabase/metabase:latest
17    container_name: metabase
18    restart: unless-stopped
19    ports: 
20      - "${METABASE_PORT:-3000}:3000"
21    environment: 
22      MB_DB_TYPE: postgres
23      MB_DB_DBNAME: ${POSTGRES_DB:-metabase}
24      MB_DB_PORT: 5432
25      MB_DB_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-metabase}
26      MB_DB_PASS: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-metabase}
27      MB_DB_HOST: postgres
28    depends_on: 
29      - postgres
30    networks: 
31      - metabase-network
32
33volumes: 
34  postgres_data: 
35
36networks: 
37  metabase-network: 
38    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1# Metabase
2METABASE_PORT=3000
3POSTGRES_USER=metabase
4POSTGRES_PASSWORD=metabase
5POSTGRES_DB=metabase

Usage Notes

1Metabase at http://localhost:3000
2Complete setup wizard on first run
3Connect your data sources in settings
4Create dashboards with drag-and-drop

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

postgres

postgres:
  image: postgres:16-alpine
  container_name: metabase-postgres
  restart: unless-stopped
  environment:
    POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-metabase}
    POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-metabase}
    POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-metabase}
  volumes:
    - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  networks:
    - metabase-network

metabase

metabase:
  image: metabase/metabase:latest
  container_name: metabase
  restart: unless-stopped
  ports:
    - ${METABASE_PORT:-3000}:3000
  environment:
    MB_DB_TYPE: postgres
    MB_DB_DBNAME: ${POSTGRES_DB:-metabase}
    MB_DB_PORT: 5432
    MB_DB_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-metabase}
    MB_DB_PASS: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-metabase}
    MB_DB_HOST: postgres
  depends_on:
    - postgres
  networks:
    - metabase-network

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  postgres:
5    image: postgres:16-alpine
6    container_name: metabase-postgres
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-metabase}
10      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-metabase}
11      POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-metabase}
12    volumes:
13      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
14    networks:
15      - metabase-network
16
17  metabase:
18    image: metabase/metabase:latest
19    container_name: metabase
20    restart: unless-stopped
21    ports:
22      - "${METABASE_PORT:-3000}:3000"
23    environment:
24      MB_DB_TYPE: postgres
25      MB_DB_DBNAME: ${POSTGRES_DB:-metabase}
26      MB_DB_PORT: 5432
27      MB_DB_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-metabase}
28      MB_DB_PASS: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-metabase}
29      MB_DB_HOST: postgres
30    depends_on:
31      - postgres
32    networks:
33      - metabase-network
34
35volumes:
36  postgres_data:
37
38networks:
39  metabase-network:
40    driver: bridge
41EOF
42
43# 2. Create the .env file
44cat > .env << 'EOF'
45# Metabase
46METABASE_PORT=3000
47POSTGRES_USER=metabase
48POSTGRES_PASSWORD=metabase
49POSTGRES_DB=metabase
50EOF
51
52# 3. Start the services
53docker compose up -d
54
55# 4. View logs
56docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/metabase-analytics/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Metabase shows 'Database connection failed' on startup: Check PostgreSQL container is fully initialized before Metabase starts, increase depends_on or add health checks
Out of memory errors during large query execution: Increase Docker container memory limits and adjust MB_JETTY_MAXTHREADS environment variable
Slow dashboard loading with multiple charts: Enable Metabase query caching and consider upgrading PostgreSQL shared_buffers configuration
Setup wizard redirects to localhost instead of server IP: Set MB_SITE_URL environment variable to your server's actual hostname or IP address
PostgreSQL connection pool exhausted errors: Adjust MB_DB_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT and ensure PostgreSQL max_connections setting accommodates concurrent users

Community Notes

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Components

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