Metabase

Open-source business intelligence and analytics platform. Metabase lets teams build interactive dashboards, run SQL queries, and share insights without writing code. It stores all metadata (dashboards, saved questions, user accounts, data source credentials) in a PostgreSQL database.

Key Features

• Interactive dashboards — drag-and-drop visualization builder, no SQL required
• SQL editor — native query editor with autocomplete and result visualization
• PostgreSQL metadata store — bundled subchart or external database
• Encrypted credential storage — data source passwords encrypted with encryptionSecretKey
• JVM tuning — configurable Java memory options and timezone
• S3 backup — scheduled pg_dump of the Metabase metadata database to S3-compatible storage
• Ingress support — TLS via cert-manager with configurable ingress class
• Gateway API support — optional HTTPRoute for Kubernetes-native traffic routing
• Dual-stack ready Service — optional ipFamilyPolicy and ipFamilies
• External Secrets support — ESO integration for the Metabase encryption key

Installation

HTTPS repository:

helm repo add helmforge https://repo.helmforge.dev
helm repo update
helm install metabase helmforge/metabase

OCI registry:

helm install metabase oci://ghcr.io/helmforgedev/helm/metabase

After deploying, access Metabase:

kubectl port-forward svc/<release>-metabase 3000:80
# Open http://localhost:3000 to complete the setup wizard

Deployment Examples

# values.yaml — Metabase with bundled PostgreSQL subchart (default)
metabase:
  siteUrl: 'https://metabase.example.com'
  encryptionSecretKey: 'a-random-32-char-secret-key-here'
  javaOpts: '-Xms512m -Xmx1g'

postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    password: 'postgres-password'

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  hosts:
    - host: metabase.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix

# values.yaml — Metabase pointing to an existing PostgreSQL instance
metabase:
  siteUrl: 'https://metabase.example.com'
  encryptionSecretKey: 'a-random-32-char-secret-key-here'

postgresql:
  enabled: false

database:
  external:
    host: postgresql.database.svc
    port: '5432'
    name: metabase
    username: metabase
    password: 'db-password'

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  hosts:
    - host: metabase.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix

# values.yaml — Daily backup of the Metabase PostgreSQL metadata database
metabase:
  siteUrl: 'https://metabase.example.com'
  encryptionSecretKey: 'a-random-32-char-secret-key-here'

postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    password: 'postgres-password'

backup:
  enabled: true
  schedule: '0 3 * * *'
  s3:
    endpoint: https://s3.amazonaws.com
    bucket: my-metabase-backups
    accessKey: '<set-me>'
    secretKey: '<set-me>'

# values.yaml — Production-grade setup with secrets, resources, and TLS
metabase:
  siteUrl: 'https://metabase.example.com'
  existingSecret: metabase-secret
  existingSecretKey: encryption-secret-key
  javaOpts: '-Xms1g -Xmx2g'
  javaTimezone: America/Sao_Paulo

postgresql:
  enabled: false

database:
  external:
    host: postgresql.production.svc
    port: '5432'
    name: metabase
    username: metabase
    existingSecret: metabase-db-secret
    existingSecretPasswordKey: password

resources:
  requests:
    memory: 1.5Gi
    cpu: 500m
  limits:
    memory: 2.5Gi
    cpu: 2000m

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  annotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
  hosts:
    - host: metabase.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix
  tls:
    - secretName: metabase-tls
      hosts:
        - metabase.example.com

Configuration Reference

Core

Image

Air-Gapped and Proxied Registries

The chart uses a wait-for-db init container before starting Metabase. Configure waitForDatabase.image.* when your cluster must pull helper images from an internal registry or proxy.

image:
  repository: registry.example.com/proxy/metabase/metabase
  tag: v0.63.13

waitForDatabase:
  image:
    repository: registry.example.com/proxy/library/busybox
    tag: '1.37'

Metabase Configuration

Database — Embedded Subchart

Database — External

Service

Dual-Stack Service

service:
  ipFamilyPolicy: PreferDualStack
  ipFamilies:
    - IPv4
    - IPv6

Ingress

Gateway API

Set gateway.enabled to render a Kubernetes Gateway API HTTPRoute for Metabase. The chart expects an existing Gateway and does not create shared Gateway infrastructure.

gateway:
  enabled: true
  parentRefs:
    - name: shared-gateway
      namespace: gateway-system
  hostnames:
    - metabase.example.com

The older gatewayAPI block remains supported as a deprecated compatibility alias.

Probes

Metabase has a slow startup — the JVM initialization and database migrations can take 2–3 minutes.

Backup

The backup CronJob runs pg_dump against the Metabase PostgreSQL metadata database and uploads the archive to S3-compatible storage. This protects dashboards, saved questions, users, and data source definitions.

External Secrets

Set externalSecrets.enabled when External Secrets Operator manages the Metabase application secret. The chart requires metabase.existingSecret so ESO is the only writer for the encryption key.

metabase:
  existingSecret: metabase-app-secret
  existingSecretKey: encryption-secret-key

externalSecrets:
  enabled: true
  secretStoreRef:
    name: cluster-secrets
    kind: ClusterSecretStore
  data:
    - secretKey: encryption-secret-key
      remoteRef:
        key: metabase/credentials
        property: encryption-secret-key

Resources and Security

Service Account

Scheduling

Extra

Common Issues

Upgrade Notes

Metabase v0.63.13 is the maintenance update selected by the upstream image monitor. Back up the Metabase application database, keep the encryption key stable, and review the official Metabase changelog before upgrading. Validate /api/health after rollout; first startup can take several minutes while database migrations run.

More Information

• Metabase Official Website
• Metabase Documentation
• Metabase GitHub Repository
• HelmForge Metabase Chart Source