About Metabase
Metabase lets people ask questions of a database and save them as dashboards. The open-source app includes the query builder, SQL and dashboards. Some embedding and permission features belong to the paid edition. Check the current edition list before you depend on one.
Why it exists
Analysts were the bottleneck for every chart. A shared question builder lets operators read a database without a ticket for each number.
Who uses it
Operations and finance teams that already have a database, and the person who connects it.
What it is used for
Internal questions and dashboards on data you already store. Metabase is not the warehouse.
Open source behind the product
Metabase Cloud is the hosted product. The AGPL application is what you run. The server is Clojure on the JVM, with a React interface. PostgreSQL is the right database for Metabase's own saved questions in production.
How to run it on a server
- Run the official JAR or container. Use PostgreSQL for Metabase's own database. The bundled H2 file is for a trial.
- Connect a warehouse or a replica when queries are heavy. Avoid pointing every dashboard at a live transactional primary.
- Put HTTPS in front. Set the encryption key the operations guide names, or saved questions can become unreadable after a move.
- Back up the application database. Follow the guide for the version you run.
Follow the project's own guide for the version you install. Commands and file names change between releases.
How to contribute
The Metabase repository takes bug reports, docs and pull requests. Read the contributing guide. Paid-only code is not the open-source tree.
- Read the project's guidelines. Open the repository and look for CONTRIBUTING, the code of conduct and the README.
- Find something to work on. Browse good first issues or all open issues. Documentation and bug reports count.
- Make a small change. Fork the repository, work on a branch, and keep the change focused.
- Open a pull request. Say what changed and why, and link the issue. See open pull requests.
Contributions are accepted under the project's own licence (AGPL-3.0). Some projects also ask you to sign a contributor agreement. A doc fix or a reproduced bug is a real contribution.
Licence: AGPL-3.0
Strong copyleft. You can use and modify it, including commercially. If you run a modified version as a network service, you must offer its source code to users under the same licence.
This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. Read the licence in the repository before you ship it or sell a service on top of it.