Connect your app to Metabase

1. 1

   Sign in to your Metabase instance as an admin.

   You need administrative access to create an API key and manage user groups.

2. 2

   Create a new Metabase group with limited permissions, giving it only the access your app needs for collections and data.

   This is a security best practice to ensure the API key can only perform necessary actions and cannot accidentally modify sensitive data or settings.

3. 3

   Create a Metabase API key, assigning it to the limited-access group you just created.

   This key will be used by Lovable to authenticate with your Metabase instance.

4. 4

   Copy the generated API key, which starts with 'mb_'.

   Metabase shows this key only once, and you will need it for the Lovable connection form.

5. 5

   In Lovable, go to 'Connectors', select 'Metabase', and click 'Add connection' for an 'App + chat connector'.

   This opens the form to set up the connection between Lovable and Metabase.

6. 6

   Enter your Metabase URL and the API key you copied into the connection form.

   These credentials allow Lovable to securely access your Metabase instance.

7. 7

   Choose who in your Lovable workspace can use this connection.

   This controls access to the Metabase data and functionality within Lovable projects.

8. 8

   Click 'Connect' to finalize the connection.

   Lovable will verify the API key and establish the connection, making Metabase available for your projects.

Connect my app to Metabase. I need to run saved questions and custom queries. My Metabase URL is https://yourcompany.metabaseapp.com and my API key is mb_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE. I want to share this connection with my entire workspace.

API key

A unique code that acts like a password, allowing one computer program (Lovable) to securely access another program (Metabase) and use its features.

Saved questions

Pre-defined data queries and charts that your team has created and stored in Metabase for easy reuse and consistent reporting.

Custom queries

Specific data requests you write yourself, often using a language like SQL, to get exactly the information you need from a database.

Business intelligence tool

Software that helps people understand their business data by organizing, analyzing, and presenting it in easy-to-understand reports and dashboards.

• Using an API key with too many permissions, which could allow your app to accidentally change saved questions, dashboards, or even data if the underlying database user has write access.
• Not copying the API key immediately after creation, as Metabase shows it only once.
• Trying to connect to a Metabase instance that is not accessible over HTTPS on the public internet (e.g., on a private network).
• Expecting the Metabase connector to embed Metabase dashboards or charts directly; it only runs questions and queries, and your app renders the results.