Metabase MCP

What does a Metabase MCP server do?

The Metabase MCP server lets an AI client search, browse and query your Metabase and build content there. Agents can find metrics, measures and segments, run saved questions or SQL, draw charts inline and create dashboards. Your client brings the model, so Metabase doesn't need an AI provider for MCP calls.

• A glossary tool maps business terms to the definitions your team set up.
• Inline charts need a client that can show them. Claude Code doesn't list visualize_query.
• Metabase's Agent API powers the server. It's the route for teams building their own agentic app.

Is there an official Metabase MCP server?

Yes. Metabase's own docs describe the server, and the Metabase 60 release on 16 April 2026 headed it "The official Metabase MCP server". It ships inside Metabase, so there's nothing separate to install. Claude's directory lists the connector as made by Metabase, with an Anthropic verified badge.

• Community projects use the name too. easecloudio/mcp-metabase-server comes from EaseCloud, runs on your machine and signs in with an API key.

What is the Metabase MCP server URL, and how do you sign in?

The URL is https://{your-metabase-url}/api/metabase-mcp, on your own instance. Admins can copy it from Admin > AI > MCP. Clients sign in with OAuth 2.0 through Metabase's built-in OAuth server, so no outside provider is needed. You approve a consent page, and the token stays within your Metabase permissions.

• An admin turns on the MCP server toggle under Admin > AI > MCP. If Disable all AI features is on, the server stays off.
• Claude connects from Anthropic's cloud, so a self-hosted Metabase must be reachable over the public internet. Metabase says Claude Desktop doesn't allow local connections, and Claude Code does.
• For Docker on one machine, set MB_SITE_URL to the address your client uses.
• Headless JWT access is for Pro and Enterprise, and its token lasts one hour.

What can a Metabase MCP server read and change?

Metabase lists 23 tools: 11 read-only and 12 that can create or change content. Each tool runs as you and can't reach data you couldn't see in Metabase. Clients start with read-only access, and Metabase asks you to approve running SQL or scheduling deliveries.

What it can read

• Find: search, browse_data, browse_collection, get_content and glossary.
• Query: execute_query and run_saved_question.
• Charts: visualize_query and render_drill_through, in clients that can show them.

What it can change

• Content: question_write, dashboard_write, document_write, collection_write, metric_write, measure_write and segment_write.
• Deliveries: alert_write and subscription_write send results by email or Slack.
• SQL: execute_sql runs raw SQL verbatim on connected databases. Metabase labels it as able to overwrite or delete existing data, and it needs native-query permission.
• Removal: for collections, dashboards and measures, archiving is the only removal path. There's no hard delete.

How do you set up a Metabase MCP server in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor?

Metabase documents all three. Turn on the server first, under Admin > AI > MCP. Claude uses a connector with your MCP URL. ChatGPT uses Add custom MCP server, and Cursor takes a .cursor/mcp.json entry. Each route signs in through your Metabase, so you don't paste a key anywhere.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "metabase": {
      "url": "https://{your-metabase-url}/api/metabase-mcp"
    }
  }
}

What can you ask a Metabase MCP server?

Start with what your team has already defined, such as saved questions and metrics. These examples use tools on Metabase's list. Prompts that run SQL or schedule a delivery ask for your approval first. dashboard_write also has a dry run, so ask for that before it saves anything.

• Reads

  Search Metabase for our paid media metrics and tell me which one we use for cost per lead. Show its definition.

  Copy

• Reads

  Run the saved question for weekly signups for the last 8 weeks and chart the result.

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• Reads

  What does qualified lead mean in our glossary, and which metrics or segments use that term?

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• Writes

  Create a dashboard called Campaign Review with spend, leads and cost per lead by channel. Validate it first, then show me the layout before you save.

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• Writes

  Set up a subscription that sends the Campaign Review dashboard to marketing@example.com every Monday at 9am. Show me the schedule before you save it.

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What are the limits of a Metabase MCP server?

execute_query, execute_sql and run_saved_question return 100 rows by default and 2,000 at most per call. Your client must be able to reach your Metabase, so Claude's connector needs a public address. Metabase hasn't published a rate limit for the server. Per-group MCP tools access needs Pro or Enterprise.

• By default, everyone can use every MCP tool. Admins on any plan can turn off the server, or raw SQL through it, for the whole instance.
• Query results go to the connected MCP client, which may send them on to its AI provider.
• Clients connected before Metabase 0.64 must sign in again after the upgrade.

How much does a Metabase MCP server cost?

The MCP server is on every plan, and calls don't count against an AI provider in Metabase. Open Source is free. Starter is $100 a month with 5 users, then $6 per extra user. Pro is $575 a month with 10 users, then $12 per extra user. Enterprise starts at $20,000 a year.

• Billed yearly, Starter is $1,080 a year and Pro is $6,210 a year.
• The Metabase AI service at $3.75 per 1M tokens doesn't apply to the MCP server, because your client brings its own model.

What are the alternatives to a Metabase MCP server?

The main alternatives are another BI tool's server or a warehouse server over the same data. A warehouse server skips the saved questions and metrics you keep in Metabase. Metabase's Agent API suits teams building their own app. Marketing analytics MCP servers compares the reporting routes.

• Tableau MCP: Tableau's official server, if your reports live in Tableau.
• Looker MCP: The route for teams whose metrics live in Looker.
• Snowflake MCP: Asks the warehouse directly, if Metabase reads from Snowflake.
• BigQuery MCP: Asks the warehouse directly, if Metabase reads from BigQuery.

Which skill goes with a Metabase MCP server?

Use the free Agent write safety skill before you approve tools that save content, send deliveries or run raw SQL, because those reach live dashboards, inboxes and databases. Use the Marketing context kit to write down your metric definitions once, so every answer starts from the same rules and the assistant has less to guess.

• Agent write safety: Sets approvals before an agent can save, send or run raw SQL.
• Marketing context kit: Holds your metric definitions in one folder for every prompt.