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Questions in Metabase are queries, their results, and their visualization. Questions are the basic analytical unit in Metabase - you can think of them as saved queries that you can display as tables or charts.

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What is a question?

A question is composed of three parts:
  • The query: The data you want to retrieve from your database
  • The results: The data returned by your query
  • The visualization: How you choose to display those results (table, chart, etc.)
You can organize questions into collections and dashboards, embed them, share links to them, export their results, and set up alerts when results are interesting.

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Creating a new question

There are several ways to create a question in Metabase:
Click + New in the main navigation and choose how you want to query your data:
  • Question: Opens the graphical query builder
  • SQL query: Opens the native SQL editor
The query builder is great for most questions and doesn’t require SQL knowledge. The SQL editor gives you full control for complex queries.

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Choosing your data source

When creating a question, you’ll first select where your data comes from:

Tables

Query data directly from database tables. Select your database, then choose the specific table you want to analyze.

Models

Start from a curated dataset. Models are specially prepared questions that serve as good starting points, similar to views in SQL.

Saved questions

Build on existing questions. Use any saved question’s results as the foundation for a new analysis.

Metrics

Begin with pre-defined calculations. Metrics are standardized measures like revenue or active users defined by your team.

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Building your question

1

Select your data source

Choose a table, model, saved question, or metric as your starting point.
2

Filter your data

Narrow down the data by adding filters. You can filter by date ranges, categories, numeric values, and more.
3

Summarize and group

Calculate metrics like counts, sums, and averages. Group by dimensions like time, location, or category to break down your metrics.
4

Visualize your results

Choose the best chart type for your data. Metabase will suggest appropriate visualizations, but you can customize them.

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Saving your question

Once you’ve built your query and visualized the results, you can save your question in two ways:
Best for reusable questionsQuestions saved to collections can be:
  • Added to multiple dashboards
  • Found through search
  • Shared with team members
  • Used as data sources for other questions
To save to a collection, you’ll need curate access to that collection.
When saving a question, you can add a name and description. The description supports Markdown formatting, which is helpful for documenting what the question shows and why it matters.

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Question metadata and information

Click the info icon in the upper right to view details about your question:

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Overview tab

  • Description: Add context about what the question shows (supports Markdown)
  • Created by: Who originally created the question
  • Last edited by: Who made the most recent changes
  • Saved in: The collection or dashboard containing the question
  • Based on: The underlying database and table
  • Entity ID: Unique identifier used for serialization across Metabase instances

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History tab

Metabase automatically tracks the last 15 versions of each question. You can:
  • View what changed in each version
  • See who made the changes and when
  • Revert to a previous version if needed

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Working with questions

As you build your question, click the Preview button (play icon) next to each step to see the first 10 rows of results. This helps you validate your query before running the full query.
Click on data points in your visualizations to drill deeper:
  • See underlying records
  • Filter by clicked values
  • Break out by different dimensions
  • View related data
Drill-through options vary based on your chart type and data.
You can view the SQL that Metabase generates for query builder questions by clicking View SQL in the top right. You can also convert a query builder question to SQL (this is one-way - you can’t convert SQL back to query builder).
Questions saved to collections can be promoted to models to signal they’re good starting points for analysis. Models can have additional metadata and serve as curated data sources.

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Question permissions

Your ability to create, edit, and save questions depends on your permissions:
  • View access: See the question and its results
  • Curate access: Edit and move questions in a collection
  • Data access: Query specific databases and tables
To save questions to a collection, you need curate access. To create questions using the SQL editor, you need both query builder and native query permissions for that database.

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Checking for breaking changes

This feature is available on paid plans.
When saving changes to a question, Metabase checks if your changes would break dependent entities. For example:
  • Removing a column that other questions reference
  • Renaming fields used in downstream questions
  • Changing data types in ways that break filters
Metabase will warn you before saving changes that could break other questions, dashboards, or metrics.

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Moving questions between collections and dashboards

You can move a question from a collection to a dashboard if:
  • No other dashboards use that question, OR
  • You have curate access to all dashboards using that question
When moving a question from a collection to a dashboard, Metabase will warn you if the question is used elsewhere and ask you to confirm the removal.

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Best practices

Name questions clearly

Use descriptive names that explain what the question shows. “Monthly revenue by region” is better than “Revenue question”.

Add descriptions

Document the purpose, methodology, and any important caveats. Future you (and your teammates) will thank you.

Start simple

Build questions incrementally. Start with a simple query, verify the results, then add complexity.

Preview as you build

Use the preview button to check results after each step. Catch issues early before running expensive queries.

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Next steps

Query builder

Learn how to use the graphical query builder to create questions without SQL

SQL editor

Explore the native SQL editor for advanced queries and complex analysis

Creating dashboards

Organize your questions into dashboards for monitoring and reporting

Alerts

Set up alerts to get notified when your data changes

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