Metabase MCP Server

Version: 1.0.0

Author: Jericho Sequitin (@jerichosequitin)

A high-performance Model Context Protocol server for AI integration with Metabase analytics platforms. Features intelligent caching, response optimization, and comprehensive data access tools.

Available as a Desktop Extension (DXT) for Claude Desktop.

Installation Options

Option 1: Desktop Extension (Recommended for Claude Desktop Users)

Download metabase-mcp.dxt from Releases
Open the .dxt file with Claude Desktop to install
Configure your Metabase credentials in Claude Desktop's extension settings:
- Metabase URL (required)
- Authentication: Choose either API key OR email/password
- Export Directory: Customize where files are saved (defaults to Downloads/Metabase)
- Optional: Log level, cache TTL, and request timeout settings

Benefits of DXT Installation

Single-click installation: No manual configuration files or command-line setup
Automatic updates: Claude Desktop manages extension updates
User-friendly settings: Configure through Claude Desktop's UI
Seamless integration: Tools automatically available in your conversations

Option 2: Manual Installation

Follow the standard MCP server installation process detailed in the Local Development Setup section below.

Key Features

High Performance: Up to 90% token reduction through response optimization
Unified Commands: list, retrieve, search, execute, and export tools
Smart Caching: Multi-layer caching with configurable TTL
Dual Authentication: API key or email/password authentication
Large Data Export: Export up to 1M rows in CSV, JSON, and XLSX formats
Configurable Export Directory: Customize where files are saved

Available Tools

The server exposes the following optimized tools for AI assistants:

Unified Core Tools

list: Fetch ALL records for a single resource type with highly optimized responses
- Supports: cards, dashboards, tables, databases, collections
- Returns only essential identifier fields for efficient browsing
- Pagination support for large datasets exceeding token limits (offset/limit parameters)
- Intelligent caching with performance metrics
retrieve: Get detailed information for specific items by ID
- Supports: card, dashboard, table, database, collection, field
- Concurrent processing with controlled batch sizes
- Aggressive response optimization (75-90% token reduction)*
- Table pagination for large databases exceeding 25k token limits
search: Unified search across all Metabase items using native search API
- Supports all model types with advanced filtering
- Search by name, ID, content, or database
- Includes dashboard questions and native query search

Query Execution Tools

execute: Unified command for executing SQL queries or saved cards (2K row limit)
- SQL Mode: Execute custom SQL queries with database_id and query parameters
- Card Mode: Execute saved Metabase cards with card_id parameter and optional filtering
- Card Parameters: Filter card results using card_parameters array with name/value pairs
- Enhanced with proper LIMIT clause handling and parameter validation
- Intelligent mode detection with strict parameter validation
export: Unified command for exporting large datasets (up to 1M rows)
- SQL Mode: Export custom SQL query results with database_id and query parameters
- Card Mode: Export saved Metabase card results with card_id parameter and optional filtering
- Card Parameters: Filter card results before export using card_parameters array
- Supports CSV, JSON, and XLSX formats with case-insensitive format handling
- Automatic file saving to configurable directory (defaults to ~/Downloads/Metabase/)

Utility Tools

clear_cache: Clear internal cache with granular control
- Supports model-specific cache clearing for both individual items and lists
- Individual item caches: cards, dashboards, tables, databases, collections, fields
- List caches: cards-list, dashboards-list, tables-list, databases-list, collections-list
- Bulk operations: all, all-individual, all-lists

Quick Start Examples

// List all cards
list({ model: "cards" })

// Get detailed card information
retrieve({ model: "card", ids: [1, 2, 3] })

// Search for dashboards
search({ query: "sales", models: ["dashboard"] })

// Execute SQL query
execute({
  database_id: 1,
  query: "SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 100"
})

// Export large dataset
export({
  database_id: 1,
  query: "SELECT * FROM large_table",
  format: "csv"
})

Configuration

Authentication Options

API Key (Recommended):

METABASE_URL=https://your-metabase-instance.com
METABASE_API_KEY=your_api_key

Email/Password:

METABASE_URL=https://your-metabase-instance.com
METABASE_USER_EMAIL=[email protected]
METABASE_PASSWORD=your_password

Optional Settings:

EXPORT_DIRECTORY=~/Downloads/Metabase  # Or ${DOWNLOADS}/Metabase
LOG_LEVEL=info

Manual Installation (Developers)

Prerequisites

Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
Active Metabase instance

Setup

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/jerichosequitin/metabase-mcp.git
cd metabase-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Environment Configuration

Create a .env file:

# Required
METABASE_URL=https://your-metabase-instance.com

# Choose authentication method
METABASE_API_KEY=your_api_key  # Recommended
# OR
# [email protected]
# METABASE_PASSWORD=your_password

# Optional
EXPORT_DIRECTORY=~/Downloads/Metabase  # Or ${DOWNLOADS}/Metabase
LOG_LEVEL=info
CACHE_TTL_MS=600000 # 10 minutes by default
REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS=600000 # 10 minutes by default

Claude Desktop Integration

To integrate with Claude Desktop, you'll need to configure the MCP server in Claude's configuration file.

Configuration File Locations:

MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

For Local Development:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "metabase-mcp": {
      "command": "/Users/your-username/path/to/metabase-mcp/build/src/index.js",
      "env": {
        "METABASE_URL": "https://your-metabase-instance.com",
        "METABASE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "CACHE_TTL_MS": "600000",
        "EXPORT_DIRECTORY": "/path/to/your/export/directory"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important Notes:

Use absolute paths for local development (e.g., /Users/username/Documents/metabase-mcp/build/src/index.js)
Replace your-username with your actual username
Replace path/to/metabase-mcp with the actual path to your cloned repository
No need to run the server manually - Claude Desktop will automatically invoke and manage the MCP server via STDIO
Never commit real credentials to version control
Restart Claude Desktop after making configuration changes

Troubleshooting:

Ensure the path to build/src/index.js is correct and the file exists
Verify your Metabase credentials are valid
Check Claude Desktop's logs for any connection errors
Make sure the server builds successfully with npm run build

Advanced Usage

Card Parameters

For executing saved cards with filters, use the card_parameters array:

execute({
  card_id: 42,
  card_parameters: [
    {
      "id": "param-uuid",
      "slug": "start_date",
      "target": ["dimension", ["template-tag", "start_date"]],
      "type": "date/all-options",
      "value": "2024-01-01~2024-12-31"
    }
  ]
})

Get parameter structure by retrieving card details first.

Pagination

// List with pagination
list({ model: "cards", limit: 100, offset: 0 })

// Large database tables
retrieve({ model: "database", ids: [1], table_limit: 20 })

Debugging

Use the MCP Inspector for development:

npm run inspector

Docker Support

# Build and test
docker build -t metabase-mcp .
docker run -e METABASE_URL=https://metabase.example.com \
           -e METABASE_API_KEY=your_api_key \
           metabase-mcp

Note: Docker is primarily for development/testing.

Development

Testing

# Run tests
npm test

# Coverage report
npm run test:coverage

# Development tools
npm run inspector  # MCP Inspector for debugging

Building DXT Package

# Build for distribution
npm run dxt:build

Creates metabase-mcp.dxt ready for GitHub Releases.

Security Considerations

API Key Authentication: Recommended for production environments
Credential Security: Environment variable-based configuration
Docker Secrets: Support for Docker secrets and environment variables
Network Security: Apply appropriate network security measures
Rate Limiting: Built-in request rate limiting and timeout handling

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.