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Metabase Make integrationAutomate Metabase with Make.

Your dashboards are ready, the work around them is not. The Metabase Make integration hands you 40 modules, 29 actions and 11 searches, to run queries, build dashboards and manage accounts from an automation. Here is what to connect, and what to build first.

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What you can automate

What does the Metabase Make integration actually automate?

Make is a place where you chain apps together. A scenario is the automation you build there, and a module is one brick of it: an action that does something, or a search that looks something up. The Metabase side of that chain covers 40 modules, so anything you would normally click through in Metabase, a scenario can do on its own.

Three shapes come up again and again. The first is reporting on tap: Execute a Query runs the query and the result travels on as a bundle, one item passing from module to module, ready to land wherever the rest of your scenario sends it. The second is dashboard upkeep: Create a Dashboard, Add a Card to a Dashboard and Update a Dashboard let a new client, a new product line or a new region get its own board without anyone building it by hand. The third is account housekeeping, where Create a User, Add a User to a Permissions Group and Disable a User keep access in step with the people who actually need it.

One thing Make cannot do here, and it shapes everything: Metabase ships no trigger module. Nothing inside Metabase can wake a scenario up. Your scenario starts on the schedule you set in Make, or on a trigger from another app in the chain. Worth knowing too: the reference behind this app is generated automatically and can be wrong on detail, so test before you trust it.

If you would rather self-host the whole automation layer, the same app exists on the other side of the fence: read the Metabase n8n integration, or weigh both in the n8n vs Make comparison. Coming to Make cold? The Make training covers the editor before you touch a live dashboard.

Connect

How do you connect Metabase to Make?

  1. 01

    Create an API key in Metabase

    Click the gear icon, open Admin settings, the Settings tab, then Authentication in the left menu. Under API Keys, click Manage, then Create API Key. Name the key, pick a group, click Create.

  2. 02

    Add a Metabase module in Make

    In your scenario, search the app by name and drop in any Metabase module. Click Create a connection. A connection is your Metabase account linked to Make once, and every other Metabase module in your account reuses it afterwards.

  3. 03

    Paste your credentials

    The Connection name field is optional, though a name like Metabase prod pays off the day you run two instances. Enter the authentication credentials you copied from Metabase, or follow the instructions Make shows in the window, then save.

First scenario

Your first scenario: a fresh link for a card

GoalEvery time the scenario runs, Make finds the card you named in Metabase and produces a public link for it.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, start a new scenario and click the + to add your first module. The canvas stays empty until you do, which throws people off the first time.

  2. 02

    Add Search Cards

    Search Metabase by name, pick Search Cards, and click Create a connection if this is your first Metabase module. This search is what feeds the rest of the chain.

  3. 03

    Set your criteria

    Fill the search fields with what identifies the card. Once the connection works, Make can read your instance and offer what it finds, so you are picking from a list rather than typing blind.

  4. 04

    Add Generate Link for Card

    Click the + on the right of the search module and add Generate Link for Card. Map the card coming out of the first module into it instead of hard-coding anything.

  5. 05

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once. The scenario executes one time and each module shows the bundles it received. If the search returned nothing, your criteria are too narrow, and no link gets built.

  6. 06

    Schedule it and switch it on

    Open the clock on the first module. A new scenario runs every 15 minutes by default, which is also the floor on the Free plan. Set the pace you want, then turn the scenario on.

Modules

The 40 Metabase modules, and when each one earns its place

Metabase gives you 40 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Metabase1

Add a Card to a Dashboard

Action

In Make“Adds a card to a dashboard.”

Places a card you already have onto a dashboard, so the chart shows up where people are already looking instead of somewhere they have to hunt for.

When to use it
a scenario that spins up a board for a new client, then pins the standard cards to it one after another.
Watch out
the card and the dashboard both have to exist, so put a search or a create module ahead of this one.
Metabase2

Add a User to a Permissions Group

Action

In Make“Adds a user to a permissions group.”

Drops an existing user into a permissions group, which is how access gets handed out in Metabase without touching anything one seat at a time.

When to use it
an onboarding chain where an account is created, then lands in the group that matches the new hire's team.
Watch out
one run covers one user in one group. Someone who needs two groups needs two operations, Make's word for one module run on one bundle.
Metabase3

Create a Collection

Action

In Make“Creates a new collection.”

Makes a new collection, the folder Metabase uses to keep questions and dashboards from turning into one long undifferentiated list.

When to use it
a new account signs a contract and the scenario opens the collection that will hold everything reported about them.
Watch out
run it twice and you get two collections with the same name. Search first if you are not sure whether it already exists.
Metabase4

Create a Dashboard

Action

In Make“Creates a new dashboard.”

Creates an empty dashboard, ready for the cards the next modules will add.

When to use it
the launch of a new product line that deserves its own board rather than three more cards crammed onto the company overview.
Watch out
an empty board helps nobody. Chain Add a Card to a Dashboard straight after it, in the same scenario.
Metabase5

Create a Metric

Action

In Make“Creates a new metric.”

Defines a new metric in Metabase, the shared definition everybody then reports on instead of each team rebuilding its own version of the same number.

When to use it
a finance team settles on how active revenue is counted and wants that definition created from a controlled process, not by hand.
Watch out
a metric people disagree about does not get fixed by automating its creation. Agree first, then automate.
Metabase6

Create a User

Action

In Make“Creates a new user.”

Opens a Metabase account for someone, so access arrives with the rest of their tooling rather than three days later.

When to use it
an HR sheet or a ticket feeds the scenario, and every new arrival gets their account the same way.
Watch out
the new account lands wherever your default permissions put it. Pair this with Add a User to a Permissions Group in the same scenario.
Metabase7

Delete a Card

Action

In Make“Deletes a card.”

Removes a card from Metabase for good.

When to use it
a cleanup scenario that clears the throwaway cards an automation created for a campaign once the campaign is over.
Watch out
nothing catches a delete after the fact. Build the search that selects the cards, run it with Run once, read the bundles it returns, and only then connect the delete module behind it.
Metabase8

Delete a Dashboard

Action

In Make“Deletes a dashboard.”

Wipes a dashboard off the instance.

When to use it
client boards built per engagement, torn down when the engagement ends and nobody wants stale numbers hanging around.
Watch out
people bookmark dashboards. Deleting one breaks every link to it, so make the removal part of an offboarding step somebody signs off on, not a silent routine.
Metabase9

Delete a Database

Action

In Make“Deletes a database.”

Drops a database connection from Metabase, which takes everything built on top of it out of service.

When to use it
a staging source that gets rebuilt from scratch and has to be detached cleanly beforehand.
Watch out
this is the most destructive module on the list. Keep it out of scheduled scenarios and reserve it for a chain a human starts on purpose.
Metabase10

Disable a User

Action

In Make“Disables a user.”

Switches an account off without erasing it, so the person loses access while what they built stays where it is.

When to use it
the day somebody leaves, or a contractor's access ends with the contract.
Watch out
a disabled account is not a deleted one. If a real cleanup is required, disabling is only the first half of the job.
Metabase11

Execute a Query

Action

In Make“Executes a query.”

Runs a query and hands the result to the rest of the scenario. This is the module that turns Metabase into a data source for everything else you have connected.

When to use it
pulling the numbers a report needs, so the rest of the chain formats and delivers them.
Watch out
a query that returns many rows returns many bundles, and every bundle the next module handles counts as another operation on your plan.
Metabase12

Generate Link for Card

Action

In Make“Generates a publicly accessible link for the card.”

Produces a publicly accessible link to a card, so the chart can be opened by someone who has no Metabase login at all.

When to use it
a client summary where the recipient should see the chart without an account being created for them.
Watch out
public means public. Anyone holding the link can open it, so decide deliberately which cards go through this module.
Metabase13

Get a Card

Action

In Make“Gets a card.”

Retrieves one card you already know the identity of, and passes its details on to the next module.

When to use it
checking what a card looks like before a later module rebuilds a dashboard around it.
Watch out
a get module needs the identifier up front. If all you have is a name, run Search Cards first and feed its output into this one.
Metabase14

Get a Collection

Action

In Make“Gets a collection.”

Reads a single collection and returns what Metabase knows about it.

When to use it
a scenario that verifies the target folder exists before it starts creating things inside it.
Watch out
this reads the collection itself, not what sits inside it. For the contents, Search Collection’s Items is the module you want.
Metabase15

Get a Dashboard

Action

In Make“Gets a dashboard.”

Pulls one dashboard and its details into the scenario.

When to use it
a periodic housekeeping run that reads each board before deciding whether anything on it still needs to change.
Watch out
reading a dashboard is not reading its numbers. Execute a Query is what gets you data; this gets you the board.
Metabase16

Get a Dashboard Subscription

Action

In Make“Gets a dashboard subscription.”

Returns the details of one dashboard subscription, the standing arrangement that sends a board out to people on a regular basis.

When to use it
an audit of who is still receiving what, before anyone asks why a report kept arriving for a year after the project closed.
Watch out
one subscription per run. To sweep them all, start from Search Dashboard Subscriptions.
Metabase17

Get a Database

Action

In Make“Gets a database.”

Fetches what Metabase holds about one connected database.

When to use it
a check that runs before a migration, confirming the scenario is pointing at the source you think it is.
Watch out
this reports on the connection, not on the data inside it. Reading rows is what Execute a Query is for.
Metabase18

Get a Metric

Action

In Make“Gets a metric.”

Reads one metric definition and carries it into the rest of the chain.

When to use it
documenting how a shared number is defined, so the definition ends up somewhere people outside Metabase can read it.
Watch out
you get the definition, not a value. Nobody is going to see a figure come out of this module.
Metabase19

Get an Alert

Action

In Make“Gets an alert.”

Returns one alert, the watcher Metabase keeps on a card so somebody hears about it when the number moves.

When to use it
a review of alerts that have been firing, ahead of a cleanup of the noisy ones.
Watch out
you need the alert's identifier. List Alerts for a Card or Search Alerts get you there when all you have is the card.
Metabase20

Get a Table

Action

In Make“Gets a table.”

Reads one table as Metabase sees it, with the metadata attached to it.

When to use it
confirming a table is still where a downstream query expects it, after someone renamed things upstream.
Watch out
it answers questions about the table, not about its contents. Rows come from Execute a Query.
Metabase21

Get a User

Action

In Make“Gets a user.”

Retrieves one account and passes what Metabase holds about it to the next module.

When to use it
a check inside an offboarding chain, confirming the right person is about to lose access.
Watch out
an identifier is required. Search Users is the module that turns an email or a name into something this one can use.
Metabase22

Make an API Call

Action

In Make“Performs an arbitrary authorized API call.”

Calls any endpoint of the Metabase API through the connection you already set up, which means the other modules are a convenience rather than a ceiling.

When to use it
whatever Metabase can do that no module on this page covers.
Watch out
this one expects you to know the endpoint you are calling. The other modules fill the request in for you; here you write it.
Metabase23

Unsubscribe from a Dashboard Subscription

Action

In Make“Unsubscribes user from a dashboard subscription.”

Takes a user off a dashboard subscription, so the board stops arriving for them while everybody else keeps getting it.

When to use it
somebody changes team and no longer needs the operations board landing in their inbox.
Watch out
this removes the person from the subscription, it does not end the subscription. Everyone else still receives it.
Metabase24

Unsubscribe from an Alert

Action

In Make“Unsubscribes from an alert.”

Stops an alert reaching you, without touching the card it watches.

When to use it
an alert that fires often enough to be ignored, which is worse than no alert at all.
Watch out
the alert keeps running for anyone else subscribed to it. Going quiet for yourself and switching it off for everyone are two different jobs.
Metabase25

Update a Collection

Action

In Make“Updates a collection.”

Changes an existing collection, so a folder created months ago can be renamed or reorganized by a scenario instead of by hand.

When to use it
a client is renamed after an acquisition and every folder carrying the old name has to follow.
Watch out
whatever you map into the module is what gets written. Check the result of one run before you point it at a list.
Metabase26

Update a Dashboard

Action

In Make“Updates a dashboard.”

Edits a dashboard that already exists, which is the module behind boards that keep themselves current.

When to use it
a bulk rename across every board, or a description that should carry the date of the last refresh.
Watch out
people trust a board they recognize. Changing titles under them without warning costs more goodwill than the automation saves.
Metabase27

Update a Metric

Action

In Make“Updates a metric.”

Modifies a metric definition, and with it every report built on that definition.

When to use it
the business changes how a number is counted and the change has to apply in one place rather than in fourteen questions.
Watch out
this is a quiet module with loud consequences. Yesterday's charts will not match today's once the definition moves.
Metabase28

Update a Table

Action

In Make“Updates a table.”

Adjusts how Metabase presents a table, which is how a raw source name stops confusing everyone who opens the query builder.

When to use it
after a new source is connected and its tables still carry their technical names.
Watch out
presentation changes, the data does not. Nothing here rewrites anything in your database.
Metabase29

Update a User

Action

In Make“Updates a user.”

Edits an existing account rather than creating a second one for the same person.

When to use it
a name change, or a directory sync that keeps Metabase aligned with the system of record.
Watch out
updating an account is not revoking access. Disable a User is the module for that.
Metabase30

List Alerts for a Card

Search

In Make“Gets all alerts for the given card.”

Returns every alert attached to one card, however many that turns out to be.

When to use it
before retiring a card, so nobody is left with a watcher on something that no longer exists.
Watch out
a search returns zero, one or several bundles. Zero results is a valid answer, and a scenario that assumes at least one will trip over it.
Metabase31

List Metrics

Search

In Make“Lists all metrics.”

Brings back the metrics defined in your instance, one bundle each.

When to use it
an inventory that ends up in a shared document, so teams stop inventing definitions that already exist.
Watch out
every bundle the next module processes is one more operation counted on your plan. Filter early rather than late.
Metabase32

List Tables

Search

In Make“Lists all tables.”

Lists the tables Metabase knows about, so a scenario can work through them without anyone typing out the inventory.

When to use it
a documentation run that records what is available to query.
Watch out
on a large instance this returns a lot of bundles. Try it with Run once before anything downstream acts on each of them.
Metabase33

Search Alerts

Search

In Make“Searches alerts by given criteria.”

Finds alerts matching the criteria you give it, across the instance rather than card by card.

When to use it
a cleanup sweep for alerts left behind by projects that ended a while ago.
Watch out
criteria that are too loose bring back more than you meant. Look at what comes out before you wire a delete module behind it.
Metabase34

Search Cards

Search

In Make“Searches cards by given criteria.”

Looks for cards on your criteria and passes each match along as its own bundle.

When to use it
the opening module of a scenario that has a name to work with rather than an identifier.
Watch out
matches come back one bundle at a time, and the next module runs once per bundle. That is fine for three cards and expensive for three hundred.
Metabase35

Search Collections

Search

In Make“Searches collections by given criteria.”

Finds collections matching what you ask for.

When to use it
checking whether a client folder exists before a scenario creates a duplicate of it.
Watch out
the answer can be nothing at all, and nothing is useful information. Branch on the empty case instead of assuming a folder came back.
Metabase36

Search Collection’s Items

Search

In Make“Searches a specific collection’s items.”

Returns what a given collection holds, rather than the collection itself.

When to use it
an audit that walks through a folder to see which dashboards and questions are still in there.
Watch out
point it at a busy collection and the bundle count climbs fast. Narrow the search or handle the volume on purpose.
Metabase37

Search Dashboards

Search

In Make“Searches dashboards by given criteria.”

Finds dashboards on your criteria and hands each one to the next module.

When to use it
a maintenance scenario that has to touch every board carrying a given name pattern.
Watch out
zero, one or several results are all possible. Test the search on its own before connecting anything that modifies what it finds.
Metabase38

Search Dashboard Subscriptions

Search

In Make“Searches dashboard subscriptions by given criteria.”

Lists the dashboard subscriptions matching your criteria, so recurring sends stop being invisible.

When to use it
a review of what leaves the instance on a regular basis, and who is on the receiving end.
Watch out
finding a subscription is one thing, changing it is another. Unsubscribe from a Dashboard Subscription is the module that acts.
Metabase39

Search Databases

Search

In Make“Searches databases by given criteria.”

Returns the databases connected to your instance that match what you searched for.

When to use it
an inventory of sources, or a check that runs before a scenario touches anything connected.
Watch out
harmless on its own, but Delete a Database sitting behind it is not. Keep those two apart in your scenarios.
Metabase40

Search Users

Search

In Make“Searches users by given criteria.”

Finds accounts on your criteria and passes each one along to whatever comes next.

When to use it
the first module of an access review, feeding Disable a User or Add a User to a Permissions Group.
Watch out
a loose search followed by an action module is how the wrong people lose access. Run once first, read the list, then connect the action.
Need help

Need help automating Metabase with Make?

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FAQ

Questions people ask next

01Is the Metabase Make integration free?
Yes. Metabase is a standard app in Make, so it works from the Free plan, no upgrade needed to try it. The Free plan is where the limits sit: 2 active scenarios at a time, 15 minutes minimum between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution per run and 512 MB of transfer. Paid plans bring the interval down to 1 minute, drop the cap on active scenarios and allow longer runs. Only apps flagged as enterprise apps are reserved for the Enterprise plan, and Metabase is not one of them. What you pay for Metabase itself is a separate matter between you and Metabase.
02What do you need to connect Metabase to Make?
An active Metabase account and an API key. The key is created inside Metabase: gear icon, Admin settings, the Settings tab, then Authentication in the left menu, where API Keys sits behind a Manage button. Create the key, give it a name, select a group, and copy what Metabase shows you. Back in Make, add any Metabase module to a scenario and click Create a connection, then enter those credentials or follow the instructions in the window. Naming the connection is optional but sensible. Once it exists, every Metabase module you add reuses the same connection.
03Does the Metabase trigger fire in real time?
There is no Metabase trigger at all. Of the 40 modules, 29 are actions and 11 are searches, and none of them watch Metabase for changes. So nothing happening inside Metabase can start a scenario on its own. Two ways around it. Either the scenario runs on Make's own schedule, the clock on the first module, which is set to every 15 minutes on a new scenario and cannot go below that on the Free plan, or it starts from a trigger in another app and calls Metabase later in the chain. Both are normal patterns, and neither is a webhook from Metabase.
04What if a Metabase module is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It reaches any endpoint of the Metabase API through the connection you already created, so whatever the other modules do not cover is still within reach from the same scenario. The trade is that you supply the request yourself instead of filling in fields. One caveat worth knowing: the reference material behind this app is generated automatically from Metabase documentation and can contain mistakes, so verify anything important against Metabase directly, and use Run once to see what a module really returns before building on top of it.
05Make or n8n for Metabase?
It depends on what you are optimising for. Pick n8n if hosting the automation layer yourself matters, whether that means keeping data on your own infrastructure or dropping code into a workflow step. Pick Make if you would rather open the editor and be running in minutes: one connection, then all 40 Metabase modules on the canvas, nothing to install. Module coverage for Metabase sits at roughly the same level on both, so hosting and the skills already in the team decide more than the app itself does. A non-technical team with no interest in managing a server gets there faster on Make.
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