Public sharing

Share charts and dashboards publicly via links or embeds without authentication

Only admins can create and manage public links and embeds.

Public sharing lets admins create and share public links (URLs) for questions, dashboards, and documents. People can view them as standalone destinations or as embedded iframes in another page or app. Public items display view-only results, so visitors won’t be able to drill down into the underlying data.

When to use public sharing

Public sharing is ideal for:

• One-off charts and dashboards you want to share broadly
• Marketing pages showcasing analytics or metrics
• Public reports for stakeholders without Metabase access
• Blog posts or documentation with embedded charts
• External websites that need to display your data

Public links are accessible to anyone with the URL. Don’t use public sharing for sensitive or private data.

Feature comparison

Public sharing

• No authentication required
• Simple iframe embeds
• All Metabase plans
• Limited interactivity

Guest embeds

• Signed, secure embeds
• Filter with locked parameters
• All Metabase plans
• More control than public

SSO embeds

• Full authentication
• Drill-through and exploration
• Pro/Enterprise plans
• Maximum functionality

Create a public link for a question

1. Open sharing menu

   Click the Sharing icon at the top right of the question

   
2. Create public link

   Select Create a public link

3. Copy and test

   Copy the link and test it in a private/incognito browser session

Export question results via public link

Export options are only available for questions, not dashboards.

To create a public link that downloads question results:

1. Create public link

   Click the Sharing icon and select Create a public link

2. Choose export format

   Below the Public link URL, click the file format you want:

   • CSV - Comma-separated values
   • XLSX - Excel spreadsheet
   • JSON - JavaScript Object Notation

   
3. Test the link

   Open the public link in a new tab to test the download

Exporting raw, unformatted results

By default, Metabase exports formatted results (e.g., 0.42 → 42%). To export raw values, append ?format_rows=false to the URL:

https://www.example.com/public/question/cf347ce0-90bb-4669-b73b-56c73edd10cb.csv?format_rows=false

See the export format endpoint documentation for more details.

Create a public link for a dashboard

1. Open sharing menu

   Click the Sharing button in the top right menu

   
2. Create public link

   Select Create a public link

3. Copy the URL

   Copy the generated URL to share with others

For more advanced dashboard embedding with parameters, see guest embedding.

Create a public link for a document

1. Open sharing menu

   Click the Sharing button in the top right menu

2. Create public link

   Select Create a public link

Public documents are read-only:

• Viewers cannot edit content or add comments
• Charts in the document allow downloads (CSV, XLSX, JSON)
• Use the Download results option in the chart menu

Public embeds

Embed questions or dashboards as iframes in your website or app:

1. Open embed menu

   Click the Sharing icon for your question or dashboard

2. Access embed code

   Click Embed, then Get embedding code at the bottom of the popup

3. Copy iframe snippet

   Copy the generated iframe code

4. Paste in your website

   Add the iframe snippet to your HTML

Example public embed code

<iframe
  src="https://metabase.example.com/public/question/abc123"
  frameborder="0"
  width="800"
  height="600"
  allowtransparency
></iframe>

Customizing public embeds

You can customize the appearance and filters of public embeds using URL parameters.

Public link URLs can be discovered from iframe src attributes. Anyone with the URL can remove parameters to view the original content. For secure embeds with locked parameters, use guest embedding.

Appearance parameters

Add hash parameters to customize the look:

Hide title

/public/dashboard/abc123#titled=false

Hide borders

/public/dashboard/abc123#bordered=false

Dark theme

/public/question/abc123#theme=night

Multiple options

/public/dashboard/abc123#titled=false&bordered=false&theme=transparent

See appearance parameters for all available options.

Filter parameters

Apply filters to public embeds by adding query parameters. Make sure you’ve set up question filters or dashboard filters first.

Basic filter syntax

/dashboard/42?filter_name=value

Filter names in URLs should be lowercase with underscores instead of spaces. For example, “Filter for User ZIP Code” becomes filter_for_user_zip_code.

Examples

Single filter

/dashboard/42?id=7

Simulating drill-through on public dashboards

Metabase’s automatic drill-through doesn’t work on public dashboards because it requires access to raw data. However, you can simulate drill-through using custom click behaviors:

1. Create destination dashboard

   Create a second dashboard to act as the drill-through destination

2. Create public link for destination

   Generate a public link for the destination dashboard and copy the URL

3. Set up custom click behavior

   On your primary dashboard:

   1. Create a custom destination with type “URL”
   2. Set it to the destination dashboard’s public link
4. Pass filter values (optional)

   Pass a filter value from the primary dashboard by adding a query parameter:

   /public/dashboard/?child_filter_name={{parent_column_name}}
   

Example: Invoice to Accounts drill-through

Pass the Plan value from an Invoices dashboard to an Accounts dashboard:

/public/dashboard/accounts-dashboard-uuid?plan={{plan}}

Managing public sharing

Disable public sharing globally

1. Go to Admin settings

   Click the grid icon in the upper right, select Admin

2. Navigate to Public sharing

   In the Settings tab, select Public sharing

3. Toggle off

   Toggle off Public sharing

If you disable and then re-enable public sharing, all previously generated public links will still work (unless you deactivated them individually).

View all publicly shared content

Admins can see all publicly shared questions, dashboards, documents, and actions:

Admin > Settings > Public sharing

Deactivate individual public links

Single item

1. Visit the question or dashboard
2. Click the Sharing icon
3. Select Public link or Embed
4. Click Remove public link

Multiple items

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Public sharing
2. For each item to deactivate, click the X to revoke its public link

Security considerations

Public links are accessible to anyone on the internet. Consider these security implications:

Anyone with the link can access it

Public links don’t require authentication. Treat them like passwords—anyone who has the URL can view the content.

Links are stable and don't expire

Public links remain active until you manually deactivate them. They don’t expire automatically.

Data is visible to search engines

Public links may be indexed by search engines unless you add robots.txt rules or deactivate the link.

Parameters can be modified

Users can modify URL parameters to see different filtered views of your data (unless using guest embeds with locked parameters).

No audit trail for viewers

You can’t see who accessed a public link or when they viewed it.

When to use alternatives

Use guest embeds if...

• You need locked filter parameters
• You want to control data visibility per embed
• You need slightly more security than public links

Use SSO embeds if...

• You need per-user authentication
• You want drill-through and exploration
• You need audit trails and usage analytics

Download permissions

Data downloads are enabled by default for public embeds. Only Pro and Enterprise plans can disable downloads.

To control whether people can download data from public embeds:

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Public sharing
2. Configure download permissions for your plan level

Best practices

1. Use descriptive names

   Give questions and dashboards clear names—the name appears in public links and helps people understand what they’re viewing.

2. Test in private browsing

   Always test public links in an incognito/private browser window to ensure they work correctly.

3. Monitor shared content

   Regularly review public links in Admin > Public sharing and deactivate any that are no longer needed.

4. Consider data sensitivity

   Before creating a public link, verify that the data is appropriate for public viewing.

5. Use guest embeds for sensitive data

   If you need any level of data control or security, use guest embeds instead.

6. Document your public links

   Keep track of where public embeds are used (which websites, pages, etc.) for easier maintenance.

Common use cases

Marketing website metrics

Embed public dashboards on your marketing site to showcase product metrics or customer success stories.

Blog post visualizations

Include public question embeds in blog posts to illustrate data points or research findings.

Stakeholder reports

Share public dashboard links with external stakeholders who don’t need Metabase accounts.

Data journalism

Publish public charts and dashboards as part of data-driven stories or reports.

Public data portals

Create public dashboards for open data initiatives or government transparency.

Troubleshooting

Public link not working

• Verify that public sharing is enabled in Admin > Settings > Public sharing
• Check that the link hasn’t been deactivated
• Ensure the question or dashboard still exists
• Try accessing in a private/incognito browser window

Iframe not displaying

• Check browser console for errors
• Verify the iframe src URL is correct
• Ensure your website’s Content Security Policy allows iframes from your Metabase domain
• Test the public link directly in a browser first

Filters not applying

• Verify filter names match (lowercase, underscores instead of spaces)
• Check that filters are set up on the question/dashboard
• Ensure filter values are URL-encoded
• Test the filter by manually adding it to the URL

Export links not downloading

• Verify you’re using a question export link (not dashboard)
• Check that the file format extension is correct (.csv, .xlsx, .json)
• Ensure pop-up blockers aren’t preventing the download
• Try the link in a different browser

Next steps

Guest embeds

Secure embeds with locked parameters

Modular embedding

Authenticated embeds with full functionality

Appearance settings

Customize Metabase’s look and feel

Dashboard filters

Set up filters for dashboards

Further reading

• Publishing data visualizations to the web
• Customizing Metabase’s appearance
• Embedding introduction
• Interactive dashboards