Metabase - Getting Started Guide

Step 1 - Verify Metabase Works

Your server's IP address and root password are shown on the Server Details page in your client panel. Open your browser and go to:

http://your.server.ip

Metabase may take 30-60 seconds to start after the server boots. If you see a connection error or "502 Bad Gateway", wait a moment and refresh the page. When it loads, you'll see the setup wizard.

If you placed the server behind a VyOS router on a private network, either configure port forwarding (ports 80 and 443) to access Metabase from the internet, or connect over a VPN and reach it on the server's private IP.

Step 2 - Complete the Setup Wizard

The setup wizard will guide you through the initial configuration:

Language

Select your preferred language and click Next.

Admin Account

Create your administrator account - enter your first name, last name, email, company name (optional) and password. These are your credentials for logging in to Metabase.

Usage Info

Metabase asks what you plan to use it for. Select an option or skip.

Add Your Data

Connect an existing database you want to analyze (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.). If you don't have one ready yet, skip this step - Metabase will provide a sample database to explore. You can add your databases later.

Usage Data Preferences

Choose whether to send anonymous usage statistics to Metabase.

All Set Up

Setup is complete. Click Take me to Metabase to open the dashboard.

Log in with the email and password you created in the Admin Account step.

Step 3 - Configure Domain and SSL (Optional)

To use Metabase with your own domain and HTTPS:

1. Create an A record in your DNS settings pointing your domain to the server IP
2. Wait for DNS propagation (usually a few minutes to a few hours)
3. Connect via SSH and update the Nginx configuration:

ssh root@your.server.ip

# Update Nginx server_name with your domain
sed -i 's/server_name _;/server_name your-domain.com;/' /etc/nginx/sites-available/metabase
nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

# Obtain a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate
certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

Certbot will automatically configure Nginx for HTTPS and set up certificate auto-renewal.

Connecting Databases

To add a data source after initial setup:

1. Click the gear icon (top right) → Admin settings → Databases → Add database
2. Select the database type (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, SQLite, etc.)
3. Enter the connection details (host, port, database name, credentials)
4. Click Save - Metabase will sync the schema automatically

For databases on external servers, make sure the firewall allows connections from your Metabase server IP.

Fail2Ban - Brute-Force Protection

Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect SSH from brute-force attacks.

Rule	Max Attempts	Ban Duration
SSH	5 failed logins	10 minutes

Useful commands:

# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status sshd

# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip 1.2.3.4

If you accidentally lock yourself out, connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.

Service Management

Metabase runs as a systemd service. Useful commands:

# Check service status
systemctl status metabase

# Restart Metabase
systemctl restart metabase

# View logs
journalctl -u metabase -f

# Nginx reverse proxy
systemctl status nginx
systemctl reload nginx

Updates

To update Metabase to the latest version:

# Stop the service
systemctl stop metabase

# Download the latest JAR (backup the current one first)
cd /opt/metabase
cp metabase.jar metabase.jar.bak
curl -L -o metabase.jar https://downloads.metabase.com/latest/metabase.jar

# Start the service
systemctl start metabase

To update system packages via SSH:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Backups

Metabase stores all its data (questions, dashboards, settings) in an H2 database. To back it up:

# Stop Metabase before backing up
systemctl stop metabase

# Copy the database file
cp /opt/metabase/metabase.db.mv.db /root/metabase-backup-$(date +%F).db

# Start Metabase again
systemctl start metabase

For production use with large datasets, consider migrating from H2 to PostgreSQL.

Software Included

Component	Version
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS
Metabase	0.52.5
Java	21
Nginx	1.24
Certbot	2.9.0
Fail2Ban	1.0.2

• Metabase Documentation: metabase.com/docs
• Creating Questions: metabase.com/docs/latest/questions/start
• Building Dashboards: metabase.com/docs/latest/dashboards/start