Where Does Metabase Store Its Database?
Metabase internal database and driver plugin paths on Linux for self-hosted dashboard setups. Plus migration notes.
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Metabase keeps its own state in an application database. Jar installs default to ./metabase.db with H2 inside the working directory. Production installs point MB_DB_FILE at Postgres or a dedicated path like /var/lib/metabase/metabase.db.
Plugins land in a plugins folder beside the jar. Those refetch on demand. Back up the app database with environment settings. Warehouse tables never live in Metabase itself. Pulses email dashboard snapshots daily. Sandboxing limits rows per user group cleanly. Backups exclude warehouse data.
Where Metabase stores this, by platform
/var/lib/metabase/metabase.db
Questions, dashboards, and users for file based installs. Migrate to Postgres before heavy team use. Copy with Metabase stopped.
/opt/metabase/plugins
Driver jars for extra databases beside the main jar. Refetch automatically on upgrade. Keep custom drivers with the app database.
Frequently asked questions
what do i back up for a Metabase move
Copy metabase.db with plugins and the env settings. The database holds questions and dashboards. Warehouse data stays in source systems. The app database is the part to keep.
where is the Metabase application database
Open the launch flags or service file to read MB_DB_FILE. Jars default to ./metabase.db in the working directory. Packages override it to /var/lib/metabase. The flag rules.
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