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Alerts automatically notify you when questions return interesting results. Unlike subscriptions that send on a schedule, alerts only notify you when specific conditions are met.

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Alerts vs subscriptions

Condition-based notifications
  • Send when specific conditions are met
  • Only for individual questions (not dashboards)
  • Examples:
    • Revenue exceeds goal
    • Error count is greater than zero
    • Progress bar reaches 100%
If you want scheduled reports for dashboards, use subscriptions. If you want notifications when specific metrics hit thresholds, use alerts.

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Prerequisites

Before creating alerts, an administrator must configure at least one notification channel:
  • Email: SMTP server for email notifications
  • Slack: Slack workspace integration
  • Webhooks: HTTP endpoints for custom integrations
Webhooks are only available to administrators and users with settings access permissions.

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Types of alerts

Metabase offers three alert types based on your question’s visualization:

Results alerts

Notify when a question returns any results

Goal line alerts

Notify when a time series crosses a goal line

Progress bar alerts

Notify when a single number reaches or falls below a goal

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Results alerts

Get notified whenever a question returns data:

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Setting up a results alert

1

Create and save your question

Build a question that returns results when something interesting happens.Example: Reviews with fewer than 3 stars in the last 24 hours
2

Create the alert

  1. Click the three-dot menu (…)
  2. Select Create an alert
  3. Choose When a question returns a result
3

Set the schedule

Choose how often to check:
  • Every minute
  • Hourly
  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Custom (using cron syntax)
4

Choose destination

Select where to send the alert:
  • Email addresses
  • Slack channel or user
  • Webhook URL (admins only)
5

Configure options

  • Only send once: Delete the alert after first trigger
  • Additional settings based on alert type
6

Save the alert

Click Done to activate.

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Results alert use cases

Get notified when problems occur:
  • Failed transactions
  • Error logs
  • System outages
  • Customer complaints
SELECT *
FROM error_logs
WHERE created_at >= now() - interval '1 hour'
  AND severity = 'critical'
Combine filters for recent time periods with your alert criteria. For example, “last 24 hours” ensures you’re not re-alerted about old data.

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Goal line alerts

Get notified when time series data crosses a threshold:

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Setting up a goal line alert

1

Create a time series question

Build a question that:
  • Returns a number over time
  • Can be visualized as a line, bar, or area chart
Example: Daily active users over the last 30 days
2

Add a goal line

  1. Click the gear icon (visualization settings)
  2. Go to the Display tab
  3. Toggle Show goal on
  4. Enter your goal value and label
  5. Click Done
3

Save the question

Save your question with the goal line configured.
4

Create the alert

  1. Click the three-dot menu (…)
  2. Select Create an alert
  3. Choose When a time series crosses a goal line
5

Configure alert conditions

Choose:
  • Above or below: When to trigger (crosses above vs. below goal)
  • Every time or first time: Alert on every crossing or just the first
  • Check frequency: How often to evaluate (hourly, daily, etc.)
6

Select destination and save

Choose email, Slack, or webhook and click Done.

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Goal line alert conditions

Alert when the value goes above the goal line:Use for:
  • Revenue targets met
  • User growth milestones
  • Performance thresholds exceeded
  • Success metrics
Example: Alert when daily signups exceed 100

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Progress bar alerts

Get notified when a single number reaches a goal:

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Setting up a progress bar alert

1

Create a single-number question

Build a question that returns one number.Example: Total revenue this month
2

Set up progress bar visualization

  1. Choose Progress Bar as the visualization type
  2. Click the gear icon for settings
  3. Enter your goal value
  4. Customize appearance (optional)
3

Save the question

Save with the progress bar configured.
4

Create the alert

  1. Click the three-dot menu (…)
  2. Select Create an alert
  3. Choose When a progress bar reaches or goes below its goal
5

Configure conditions

  • Reaches or below goal: When to trigger
  • Every time or first time: Frequency of alerts
  • Check frequency: How often to evaluate
6

Select destination and save

Choose notification channel and click Done.

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Progress bar alert use cases

  • Reaching targets: Monthly revenue goal, user signup target
  • Below thresholds: Account balance too low, inventory depleted
  • Completion tracking: Project milestones, task completion rates
  • Capacity monitoring: Storage usage, API limit consumption

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One-time alerts

Create disposable alerts that automatically delete after triggering:
  1. When setting up any alert type, toggle Only send the alert once
  2. The alert fires once when conditions are met
  3. Metabase automatically deletes the alert
Use for:
  • One-time milestones
  • Single events
  • Testing alerts
  • Temporary monitoring
One-time alerts can’t be recovered after they self-delete. Create a new alert if you need to monitor the same condition again.

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Alert scheduling

Control how often Metabase checks your question:
Standard intervals:
  • Every minute: Real-time monitoring
  • Hourly: Frequent checks
  • Daily: Once per day at specified time
  • Weekly: Specific day and time
  • Monthly: Specific day of month and time
More frequent checks mean more queries running against your database. Balance alerting speed with database load.

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Managing alerts

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Viewing your alerts

See all alerts for a question:
  1. Open the question
  2. Click the three-dot menu (…)
  3. Select Edit alerts
See all alerts you receive:
  1. Click your profile icon
  2. Go to Account settings
  3. Select Notifications

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Editing alerts

Your own alerts:
  • Edit any alert you created
  • Modify schedule, recipients, or conditions
Others’ alerts (admins only):
  • View all alerts on any question
  • Edit or delete any alert
  • Add or remove recipients

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Testing alerts

1

Open alert settings

Edit the alert you want to test.
2

Click Send now

Triggers the alert immediately regardless of conditions.
3

Check delivery

Verify the alert arrives at the destination correctly.
Before relying on an alert, test it to ensure:
  • The notification arrives at the right place
  • The message contains expected information
  • Recipients can access linked content
  • Formatting looks correct

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Unsubscribing from alerts

Remove yourself from alert notifications: From an alert email:
  • Click the unsubscribe link at the bottom
From Account settings:
  1. Profile icon → Account settings
  2. Go to Notifications
  3. Find the alert
  4. Click Unsubscribe
From the question:
  1. Open the question
  2. Three-dot menu → Edit alerts
  3. Remove your email from recipients

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Deleting alerts

1

Open edit alerts

Three-dot menu → Edit alerts
2

Select the alert

Click on the alert you want to delete.
3

Delete

Click Delete this alert at the bottom.
4

Confirm

Confirm deletion in the modal.
Deleting an alert is permanent. All scheduled checks and notifications stop immediately.

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Alert permissions

See Notification permissions for complete details.
Key permission rules: Creating alerts:
  • Can create alerts on questions you have access to
  • Can add any email address as recipient (subject to admin restrictions)
  • Webhooks require admin or settings access permissions
Managing alerts:
  • Can edit and delete your own alerts
  • Admins can manage all alerts
  • Can unsubscribe yourself from any alert
Receiving alerts:
  • Don’t need a Metabase account to receive email/Slack alerts
  • Clicking links in alerts may require Metabase access
  • See only data you have permission to view

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Alert notifications

Metabase sends notification emails when:
  • You create a new alert
  • You’re added to an alert (by an admin)
  • You unsubscribe from an alert
  • You’re removed from an alert
  • One of your alerts stops working (error in question)

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Alerts in embedded questions

Alerts from embedded questions work differently:
  • No Metabase links: Links to Metabase are omitted since recipients may not have access
  • Same conditions: Triggering logic works identically
  • Same destinations: Email, Slack, and webhooks all supported
See Embedded questions for more details.

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Alert expiration and special cases

If someone deletes the question, all alerts for that question are automatically deleted.
Goal line alerts convert to results alerts if you remove the goal line from the question.
Alerts continue working even if the creator’s account is deactivated.Exception: The deactivated user will stop receiving the alerts.
If you rename a Slack channel, update the alert to point to the new name. Otherwise, it will fail to deliver.

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Viewing all alerts (admins)

Available on Pro and Enterprise plans with usage analytics.
Admins can see all alerts across Metabase:
  1. Go to the Usage analytics collection
  2. Look for the Alerts model
  3. View details about:
    • Who created each alert
    • Which questions they’re on
    • Who receives them
    • How often they run
Useful for:
  • Auditing alert usage
  • Finding broken alerts
  • Cleaning up unused alerts
  • Understanding alert patterns

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Troubleshooting

Verify:
  • Question actually returns results that meet the condition
  • Alert schedule is correct
  • Question doesn’t have errors
  • Check frequency is appropriate for data update rate
  • Email/Slack is properly configured
If you’re getting too many notifications:
  • Switch from “every time” to “first time only”
  • Reduce check frequency
  • Add more specific filters to your question
  • Use “only send once” for one-time events
Check:
  • Email isn’t in spam folder
  • Slack bot is in the channel (for private channels)
  • Webhook endpoint is accessible
  • Channel/username hasn’t changed
Possible reasons:
  • Question isn’t saved
  • Don’t have access to question
  • Email/Slack/Webhooks not configured
  • Question type doesn’t support alerts

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Best practices

Use specific conditions

Make questions precise so alerts trigger only when truly needed. Avoid alert fatigue.

Choose appropriate frequency

Match check frequency to data update rate and urgency needs. Don’t check hourly if data updates daily.

Test before deploying

Use “Send now” to verify alerts work correctly before relying on them.

Add context to questions

Include descriptions explaining what the alert means and what actions to take.

Start with first-time alerts

Use “first time only” initially. Switch to “every time” only if you need repeated notifications.

Monitor alert effectiveness

Regularly review alerts. Delete ones that fire too often or never trigger.

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Next steps

Dashboard subscriptions

Send entire dashboards on a schedule instead of condition-based alerts

Creating questions

Build better questions for more effective alerts

Webhooks

Integrate alerts with external systems via webhooks

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