Deploy and Host dbt + Metabase on Railway

Deploy scheduled dbt transformations, a ready-to-use Metabase dashboard, and separate PostgreSQL databases for Metabase state and warehouse data. The first boot seeds and tests an example model, connects Metabase to the warehouse, and creates a working question and dashboard.

About Hosting dbt + Metabase

dbt turns warehouse SQL into tested, repeatable data models, while Metabase provides browser-based exploration and dashboards. This template runs dbt daily, keeps both databases private, and exposes only Metabase through Railway's public networking.

Why Deploy dbt + Metabase on Railway

Railway supplies private service discovery, generated credentials, TLS, and persistent 5 GB database volumes. The bootstrap is idempotent, so initialized restarts preserve the administrator, warehouse connection, question, and dashboard.

Common Use Cases

Start a small internal analytics stack with tested SQL models and dashboards.
Prototype a dbt project before connecting a production warehouse.
Schedule lightweight transformations without operating a separate orchestrator.
Give a team a private BI workspace backed by PostgreSQL.

Dependencies for dbt + Metabase

Provision at least 2 GiB for Metabase, then replace the example dbt seed and model with your own project. Keep one dbt replica because every replica runs the same scheduled transformation.

Deployment Dependencies

dbt Core 1.12.0 with dbt-postgres 1.11.0
Metabase 0.63.2
Two PostgreSQL 17.6 services with persistent volumes