---
title: "Deploy Metabase on StackBlaze"
description: "Deploy open source Metabase with a managed Postgres application database, email for invites and subscriptions, and a public HTTPS URL. The admin account is created at deploy, so the setup page is never open. You pay for compute, not per seat."
category: "data, work"
url: https://www.stackblaze.com/templates/metabase
---

# Deploy Metabase

Deploy open source Metabase with a managed Postgres application database, email for invites and subscriptions, and a public HTTPS URL. The admin account is created at deploy, so the setup page is never open. You pay for compute, not per seat.

**[Deploy Metabase on StackBlaze](https://dashboard.stackblaze.com/new/template/metabase)**

## This stack

- **Metabase**: Web service
- **PostgreSQL**: managed database · TCP:5432
- **Email**: platform add-on

## What you get

- **Questions without SQL**: Pick a table, filter, summarize and group in the query builder, then switch the result to a bar, line, map or pivot table.
- **SQL when you want it**: Write native queries in the SQL editor with the schema beside you, save them as questions and reuse them on dashboards.
- **Dashboards to share**: Arrange questions on dashboards with filters and tabs. Send them by email on a schedule, or set an alert when a result changes.
- **Managed Postgres**: Questions, dashboards, users and settings live in a Postgres database, not in the H2 file Metabase uses by default.
- **Encrypted connections**: Passwords for the databases you connect are encrypted with a secret key generated at deploy and unique to this instance.
- **No open setup page**: The admin account is created on first start with a generated password before Metabase answers on its public URL.

## After you deploy

1. **Open the public URL**: The hostname is on the app page after deploy. The first start sets up the application database and the admin, which takes about three minutes.
2. **Sign in as admin**: Sign in with admin@example.com and the password in MB_ADMIN_PASSWORD from the app’s Variables. Change the email and password in Account settings.
3. **Connect a database and ask a question**: Explore the Sample Database and the E-commerce Insights dashboard, then add your own database in Admin → Databases and invite your team.

## How it is wired

- **Postgres holds everything**: Questions, dashboards, users, permissions and cached results live in the attached database. Restart or redeploy and they are still there.
- **Email is already wired**: The Email add-on sends invites, password resets, alerts and dashboard subscriptions. No mail server to set up.
- **Keep the secret key**: MB_ENCRYPTION_SECRET_KEY encrypts the credentials of every database you connect. It is generated once at deploy. Changing it later makes them unreadable.
- **Memory follows the size**: Metabase runs on the JVM and needs about 2 GB. Its heap grows with the memory you give the app, up to 3 GB unless you set your own in JAVA_OPTS.

## Common questions

### How do I sign in after deploy?

Open the public URL and sign in with admin@example.com and the password shown as MB_ADMIN_PASSWORD in the app’s Variables. The account is created on first start, so nobody else can claim the setup page.

### Which databases can I connect?

Any database the open source edition supports, such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, BigQuery, Snowflake and Redshift. Add them in Admin → Databases. The Sample Database is there to try things first.

### Does email work?

Yes. Invites, password resets, question alerts and scheduled dashboard subscriptions go out through the Email add-on from the first deploy.

### Which edition is this?

The open source edition (AGPL). SAML and JWT single sign on, row level permissions and the configuration file belong to the paid editions.

### Can I use my own domain?

Yes. Attach a custom domain from the dashboard, then set MB_SITE_URL to it so links in emails point there.

### How do I upgrade Metabase?

Change the image tag to a newer release and redeploy. Metabase migrates its application database on start. Back up the database before a major upgrade.

### What does it cost?

You pay for the compute, storage and bandwidth Metabase and Postgres use, not per seat or per dashboard.


Source: https://github.com/metabase/metabase