Quickstart

Get from zero to running Metabase and asking your first question in 5 minutes.

Quickstart

This quickstart will get you from zero to running Metabase and asking your first question in about 5 minutes.

This guide uses Docker for the fastest setup. If you prefer a different installation method, see the installation guide.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Docker installed and running on your machine
• A web browser
• (Optional) A database you want to connect to

Don’t have a database handy? No problem! Metabase comes with a sample database you can use to explore its features.

Step 1: Start Metabase

Open your terminal and run:

Open Source edition

docker pull metabase/metabase:latest
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name metabase metabase/metabase

1. Wait for initialization

   Metabase takes about 30-60 seconds to start up. To watch the progress:

   docker logs -f metabase
   

   Wait until you see Metabase Initialization COMPLETE in the logs.

2. Open Metabase

   Once startup completes, open your browser and navigate to:

   http://localhost:3000
   

   You’ll see the Metabase welcome screen.

Step 2: Create your admin account

The first account you create becomes the admin account. This account can:

• Add and manage users
• Connect to databases
• Configure settings
• Create and organize content

If you’re setting up Metabase for production use, choose a strong password. This account has full access to your Metabase instance.

Fill in your details:

• First name and Last name
• Email - Used for login and notifications
• Password - Must be at least 6 characters

Click Next to continue.

Step 3: Set your usage preference

Tell Metabase how you plan to use it:

• Self-service analytics for my own company
• Embedding analytics into my application
• A bit of both
• Not sure yet

Your choice helps Metabase customize your experience, but you can use any feature regardless of what you select here.

Step 4: Connect a database

You have two options:

Use the sample database

Click I’ll add my data later to start with Metabase’s sample database.

The sample database contains:

• Customer data
• Product information
• Order history
• Review data

Perfect for exploring Metabase’s features without connecting your own data.

Connect your database

If you’re ready to connect your database, you’ll need:

• Database type (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)
• Hostname of your database server
• Port number
• Database name
• Username and password

Enter your connection details and click Connect database.

Metabase will test the connection and scan your database schema. This may take a minute for large databases.

Step 5: Configure usage data

Metabase asks if you’d like to share anonymous usage data:

• Metabase never collects anything about your data or question results
• All collection is completely anonymous
• You can turn this off anytime in admin settings

Make your choice and click Next.

Step 6: Ask your first question

Now you’re ready to explore your data!

1. Start a new question

   Click + New in the top navigation, then select Question.

2. Choose your data

   Select either:

   • The Sample Database (if you skipped database setup)
   • Your connected database

   Then pick a table to query.

3. Build your query

   Use the visual query builder to:

   • Filter your data (e.g., “Orders where Total > 100”)
   • Summarize with metrics (e.g., “Count of orders”)
   • Group by dimensions (e.g., “by Created At: Month”)
   • Sort your results

   Try this example with the Sample Database:

   • Table: Orders
   • Summarize: Count of rows
   • Group by: Created At: Month
4. Visualize your results

   Click Visualize to see your data.

   Try different visualization types:

   • Line charts for trends over time
   • Bar charts for comparisons
   • Tables for detailed data
   • Numbers for single metrics

   Click the Visualization button to switch between chart types and customize colors, labels, and formatting.

5. Save your question

   Click Save in the top right.

   Give your question a name and optionally add it to a collection to keep things organized.

Step 7: Create your first dashboard

Dashboards combine multiple questions into a single view:

1. Create a dashboard

   Click + New → Dashboard.

   Give it a name like “My First Dashboard”.

2. Add questions

   Click Add a question and select the question you just created.

   Resize and position it however you like.

3. Add more questions

   Create and add more questions to build out your dashboard:

   • Total revenue
   • Recent orders
   • Products by category
   • Customer trends
4. Add filters

   Click Add a filter to let viewers filter the dashboard by:

   • Date ranges
   • Categories
   • Locations
   • Custom values
5. Save and share

   Click Save to finish.

   Share your dashboard with your team or schedule it to be emailed automatically.

Writing SQL queries

If you prefer SQL, you can write native queries:

1. Open the SQL editor

   Click + New → Question → Native query.

2. Write your query

   SELECT 
     DATE_TRUNC('month', created_at) as month,
     COUNT(*) as order_count,
     SUM(total) as revenue
   FROM orders
   WHERE created_at >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '6 months'
   GROUP BY 1
   ORDER BY 1;
   

   Use Ctrl+Enter (or Cmd+Enter on Mac) to run your query.

3. Add variables

   Make your query dynamic with variables:

   SELECT *
   FROM orders
   WHERE created_at >= {{start_date}}
     AND created_at <= {{end_date}}
   

   Metabase automatically creates filter widgets for your variables.

What’s next?

Learn about models

Create reusable models that prepare your data for analysis

Set up email alerts

Get notified when your metrics cross a threshold

Schedule reports

Deliver dashboards to Slack or email automatically

Invite your team

Add team members and set up permissions

Troubleshooting

Metabase won't start

Check the logs:

docker logs metabase

Common issues:

• Port 3000 already in use - Use a different port: docker run -d -p 8080:3000 --name metabase metabase/metabase
• Out of memory - Allocate more memory to Docker

Can't connect to database

Verify:

• Database is running and accessible
• Hostname and port are correct
• Username and password are correct
• Firewall rules allow the connection
• Docker container can reach your database (use host.docker.internal for localhost on Mac/Windows)

Questions are slow

For large databases:

• Add indexes to frequently queried columns
• Use models to pre-aggregate data
• Enable caching in Admin → Settings → Caching
• Consider syncing only specific schemas

For more help, see the troubleshooting guide or ask on the community forum.

Production deployment

This quickstart uses the default H2 database, which stores data in the container. For production use, you need to:

1. Use a production database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.)
2. Set up proper backups
3. Configure SSL/HTTPS
4. Set up monitoring

See the installation guide for production setup instructions.