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Metabase on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — Support & Quick Start

Metabase business intelligence on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — dashboards and self-serve analytics running minutes after deploy.

Email support Product page Azure Marketplace listing

Fixed on image version 2026.916.1326 (published 2026-09-16)

First boot provisions the admin account through Metabase's /api/setup with an address Metabase accepts (dcaadmin-<hex>@localhost.localdomain — the old dcaadmin-<hex>@localhost was rejected as invalid), then proves the sign-in against the running service before it writes /var/lib/metabase/admin-password. Port 3000 answers and the credential file is present.

If you deployed this VM before 2026-09-16, it came from the older image and is not changed by the new publication — redeploy from the current Marketplace version, or apply the one-time repair below:

  1. VMs deployed from an earlier image have no admin account at all and no credential file — there is no repair on the VM short of running Metabase's setup wizard yourself at http://<VM-IP>:3000/ (it is still unclaimed, so the first visitor becomes the admin — keep the NSG scoped to your own IP until you have). Redeploying from the current Marketplace version is the supported path; email support if you need the data from the old instance.

Image change: see the pull request.

Source: the Marketplace live version set for this offer, read from Partner Center on 2026-09-16. New deployments take the newest version by default.

At a glance

Application ports3000 (Metabase web UI)
Open in browserhttp://<VM-IP>:3000/
Admin credential filesudo cat /var/lib/metabase/admin-password
Sign in asthe e-mail address in METABASE_ADMIN_EMAIL (dcaadmin-xxxxxxxx@localhost.localdomain) — Metabase signs in by e-mail, not username
Service(s)metabase
Configuration/etc/default/metabase (MB_* environment); application data in /var/lib/metabase/
Logsjournalctl -u metabase -f
VersionMetabase 0.50.32 (H2 application database)
PlatformUbuntu 24.04 LTS

Quick start

  1. Deploy from the Azure Marketplace (Get It Now → Create), choosing your SSH key at the Administration step.
  2. Allow inbound SSH (22) for yourself plus the application port(s): 3000 (Metabase web UI) — restrict to your own IP where possible. The in-image firewall already allows them; only the Network Security Group (NSG) keeps them closed.
  3. Open http://<VM-IP>:3000/ and sign in with the generated admin e-mail and password (see First login below).
  4. Connect your first database (Admin → Databases) and start asking questions. Move the application database off H2 (MB_DB_TYPE in /etc/default/metabase) before production use.

First login / credentials

This image generates its admin credential on the VM at first boot — nothing is pre-set. SSH into the VM with the username + key you chose at deploy, then print the generated credential:

ssh <your-username>@<VM-IP>
sudo cat /var/lib/metabase/admin-password

Sign in as the e-mail address in METABASE_ADMIN_EMAIL (dcaadmin-xxxxxxxx@localhost.localdomain) — Metabase signs in by e-mail, not username.

  1. Print the credential file: METABASE_ADMIN_EMAIL (the login, of the form dcaadmin-xxxxxxxx@localhost.localdomain) and METABASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD. First boot proves this sign-in against the running service before it writes the file.
  2. Open http://<VM-IP>:3000/ and sign in with that e-mail address and password (the setup wizard is already completed).
  3. Change the e-mail and password (Account settings) and delete the file once stored securely.

Metabase logs in by e-mail address: use METABASE_ADMIN_EMAIL from the file (not `admin`). Change it to a real address after first sign-in.

Still stuck?

Email support@dcassociatesgroup.com (response within 1 business day) or send a message via the contact form. Include the offer name, VM size, region, and any log output — sudo journalctl -u <service> -n 100 usually tells the story.