Agent skill

Metabase Analytics Guide

by wentorai in wentorai/research-plugins

Guide to Metabase for open-source research data analytics and dashboards

MITAuto-check passedDatabases

Install Metabase Analytics Guide

skills CLI
$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill metabase-analytics-guide -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins metabase-analytics-guide --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/analysis/dataviz/metabase-analytics-guide .claude/skills/metabase-analytics-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
metabase-analytics-guide
GitHub stars
298
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~2.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
527 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
405
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Guide to Metabase for open-source research data analytics and dashboards

  • Works in 4 steps: Create a dashboard with key metrics… → Click the sharing icon and select… → Configure email delivery schedule (e.g.,… → …
  • Tasks that involve Data analysis
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, Installation and Setup, Connecting Research Databases and Building Research Dashboards, plus 4 more sections
  • Calls docker; needs POSTGRES_PASSWORD and METABASE_EMBEDDING_SECRET

What it does

Metabase Analytics Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins. Guide to Metabase for open-source research data analytics and dashboards

Its SKILL.md is about 2.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Databases, covering Data analysis and Data visualization. It works with SQL and PostgreSQL. The repository describes itself as: 350+ academic research skills, MCP configs, and plugins for Research-Claw and AI agents. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Data analysis
  • Tasks that involve Data visualization

Example prompts

  • “/metabase-analytics-guide”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • Docker
  • A credential in METABASE_EMBEDDING_SECRET

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Create a dashboard with key metrics (experiment counts, quality scores, etc.)
  2. Click the sharing icon and select "Subscriptions"
  3. Configure email delivery schedule (e.g., weekly Monday 9 AM)
  4. Add recipients from the research team

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bf44b3c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • docker

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • metabase.com
    • github.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • POSTGRES_PASSWORD
    • METABASE_EMBEDDING_SECRET

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Metabase Analytics Guide loads about 2.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 24 tokens; SKILL.md has 527 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~24
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from wentorai/research-plugins at commit bf44b3c, republished under its MIT licence (© wentorai). 527 words, ~2,093 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/metabase-analytics-guide/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
metabase-analytics-guide
description
Guide to Metabase for open-source research data analytics and dashboards

Metabase Analytics Guide

Overview

Metabase is a powerful open-source business intelligence and analytics tool with over 46K stars on GitHub. It allows researchers and data analysts to explore data, create visualizations, and build dashboards without writing SQL, though it fully supports custom SQL queries for advanced users. Metabase connects to a wide variety of databases and provides a browser-based interface that makes data exploration accessible to team members regardless of their technical background.

For academic research groups and labs, Metabase serves as an excellent self-hosted platform for tracking experimental data, monitoring research progress, and creating shared dashboards for collaborative projects. Its ability to connect directly to PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and many other databases means it can be pointed at existing research data stores without data migration. Researchers can set up automated reports, scheduled email digests, and shared dashboards that keep the entire team informed.

Metabase's no-code query builder is particularly valuable in interdisciplinary research teams where not all members are comfortable with SQL. Principal investigators, graduate students, and collaborators can all explore the same datasets through an intuitive visual interface while power users retain full SQL access for complex analyses.

Installation and Setup

bash
# Quick start with Docker
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 \
  --name metabase \
  -v metabase-data:/metabase-data \
  -e MB_DB_TYPE=postgres \
  -e MB_DB_DBNAME=metabase_app \
  -e MB_DB_PORT=5432 \
  -e MB_DB_USER=$METABASE_DB_USER \
  -e MB_DB_PASS=$METABASE_DB_PASS \
  -e MB_DB_HOST=db-host \
  metabase/metabase

# Access at http://localhost:3000
Docker Compose for Research Lab Setup
yaml
version: "3.9"
services:
  metabase:
    image: metabase/metabase:latest
    container_name: research-metabase
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      MB_DB_TYPE: postgres
      MB_DB_DBNAME: metabase_app
      MB_DB_PORT: 5432
      MB_DB_USER: ${METABASE_DB_USER}
      MB_DB_PASS: ${METABASE_DB_PASS}
      MB_DB_HOST: postgres
      MB_SITE_NAME: "Research Lab Analytics"
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    volumes:
      - metabase-data:/metabase-data

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: metabase_app
      POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER}
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - pg-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  metabase-data:
  pg-data:

Connecting Research Databases

Metabase supports connecting to many database types commonly used in research environments.

Supported Data Sources for Research
  • PostgreSQL - Primary research databases, experimental records
  • MySQL/MariaDB - Legacy lab information management systems
  • SQLite - Local experiment databases, embedded analytics
  • BigQuery - Large-scale genomic or observational datasets
  • MongoDB - Semi-structured research data, document stores
  • CSV uploads - Quick ad-hoc analysis of exported data
Database Connection Configuration

Navigate to Admin > Databases > Add Database in the Metabase UI. For a typical research PostgreSQL database:

Display name: Lab Experiment Database
Host: research-db.lab.university.edu
Port: 5432
Database name: experiments
Username: (use environment variable $DB_USER)
Password: (use environment variable $DB_PASS)

Enable "Auto-run queries" and set "Scan frequency" to daily for research databases that update regularly.

Building Research Dashboards

Experiment Tracking Dashboard

A common research use case is tracking experiment progress and results. Here is an example SQL query for monitoring experiment completion rates:

sql
-- Experiment completion overview
SELECT
    e.project_name,
    COUNT(*) AS total_experiments,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN e.status = 'completed' THEN 1 END) AS completed,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN e.status = 'in_progress' THEN 1 END) AS in_progress,
    COUNT(CASE WHEN e.status = 'failed' THEN 1 END) AS failed,
    ROUND(
        COUNT(CASE WHEN e.status = 'completed' THEN 1 END)::NUMERIC /
        NULLIF(COUNT(*), 0) * 100, 1
    ) AS completion_rate
FROM experiments e
WHERE e.created_at >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '90 days'
GROUP BY e.project_name
ORDER BY completion_rate DESC;
Show full SKILL.md (205 more words)Show less
Sample Analysis Summary
sql
-- Sample processing metrics
SELECT
    DATE_TRUNC('week', s.processed_at) AS week,
    s.sample_type,
    COUNT(*) AS samples_processed,
    AVG(s.quality_score) AS avg_quality,
    PERCENTILE_CONT(0.5) WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY s.processing_time)
        AS median_processing_hours
FROM samples s
WHERE s.processed_at >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '6 months'
GROUP BY DATE_TRUNC('week', s.processed_at), s.sample_type
ORDER BY week DESC, sample_type;
Publication Pipeline Tracker
sql
-- Track manuscript progress across the lab
SELECT
    p.title,
    p.lead_author,
    p.status,
    p.target_journal,
    p.submission_date,
    CASE
        WHEN p.status = 'draft' THEN 1
        WHEN p.status = 'internal_review' THEN 2
        WHEN p.status = 'submitted' THEN 3
        WHEN p.status = 'revision' THEN 4
        WHEN p.status = 'accepted' THEN 5
        WHEN p.status = 'published' THEN 6
    END AS stage_number,
    CURRENT_DATE - p.last_updated AS days_since_update
FROM publications p
WHERE p.year >= EXTRACT(YEAR FROM CURRENT_DATE) - 1
ORDER BY stage_number, p.last_updated;

Automated Reporting and Alerts

Metabase supports scheduled reports and conditional alerts, which are useful for research operations.

Setting Up Scheduled Reports
  1. Create a dashboard with key metrics (experiment counts, quality scores, etc.)
  2. Click the sharing icon and select "Subscriptions"
  3. Configure email delivery schedule (e.g., weekly Monday 9 AM)
  4. Add recipients from the research team
Alert Configuration
Question: "Failed experiments in last 7 days"
Alert when: Results are above threshold (e.g., > 5 failures)
Check frequency: Daily
Notify: Lab manager email, Slack channel

This allows labs to automatically detect quality issues in experimental workflows.

Embedding Metabase in Research Applications

Metabase supports embedding dashboards into other web applications via iframes or its embedding SDK.

html
<!-- Embed a dashboard in a lab portal -->
<iframe
  src="http://metabase.lab.internal/public/dashboard/abc123-def456"
  frameborder="0"
  width="100%"
  height="800"
  allowtransparency
></iframe>

For authenticated embedding, use signed JWTs to control access:

python
import jwt
import time

embedding_secret = os.environ["METABASE_EMBEDDING_SECRET"]

payload = {
    "resource": {"dashboard": 42},
    "params": {"project_id": 7},
    "exp": int(time.time()) + 600  # 10-minute expiry
}

signed = jwt.encode(payload, embedding_secret, algorithm="HS256")
embed_url = f"http://metabase.lab.internal/embed/dashboard/{signed}"

Best Practices for Research Teams

  • Organize by project: Create separate Metabase collections for each research project or grant
  • Use saved questions: Standardize common analyses as saved questions that team members can reuse
  • Document queries: Add descriptions to all saved questions explaining the methodology and assumptions
  • Access control: Use Metabase groups to control which team members can view sensitive data
  • Regular backups: Schedule database backups, especially for the Metabase application database
  • Version tracking: Export dashboard definitions as JSON for version control alongside research code

References

© wentorai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/analysis/dataviz/metabase-analytics-guide of wentorai/research-plugins.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bf44b3c

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in wentorai/research-plugins, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

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Works with

Questions about Metabase Analytics Guide

What does Metabase Analytics Guide do?

Guide to Metabase for open-source research data analytics and dashboards. Metabase Analytics Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins.

When should I use Metabase Analytics Guide?

Metabase Analytics Guide fits situations like: tasks that involve Data analysis; tasks that involve Data visualization.

How do I install Metabase Analytics Guide in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill metabase-analytics-guide -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/analysis/dataviz/metabase-analytics-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .claude/skills/metabase-analytics-guide in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Metabase Analytics Guide in Codex?

Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill metabase-analytics-guide -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/analysis/dataviz/metabase-analytics-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .agents/skills/metabase-analytics-guide in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Metabase Analytics Guide in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill metabase-analytics-guide -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/metabase-analytics-guide, .gemini/skills/metabase-analytics-guide, .github/skills/metabase-analytics-guide and .opencode/skills/metabase-analytics-guide in your project.

What does Metabase Analytics Guide need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Metabase Analytics Guide needs the command-line tools its instructions call (docker) and credentials named POSTGRES_PASSWORD and METABASE_EMBEDDING_SECRET. Our summary lists: Python 3; Docker; A credential in METABASE_EMBEDDING_SECRET.

Does Metabase Analytics Guide access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. As links in the text: metabase.com and github.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Metabase Analytics Guide safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Metabase Analytics Guide use?

Metabase Analytics Guide is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Metabase Analytics Guide use?

About 2.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Metabase Analytics Guide?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Metabase Analytics Guide: Postgres (sanjay3290/ai-skills, 431 stars), Semantic Analyst (sidequery/sidemantic, 129 stars), Analyzing Data (astronomer/agents, 451 stars) and Visualization (FrankChen021/datastoria, 327 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Metabase Analytics Guide?

wentorai (a GitHub user) maintains it in wentorai/research-plugins, which has 298 GitHub stars. The repository holds 405 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 19, 2026.

Source: wentorai/research-plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.