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Updating Metabase

Metabase patch releases often fix security issues. lime-bi update installs the newest patch release that Lime has approved for your Lime BI version. It also updates Java and the SQL Server authentication DLL when they change. Your settings, dashboards, and questions stay as they are.

How do I check which version is installed?

Run lime-bi update --check in the Lime command prompt. It lists the installed and the available version of each part, and changes nothing.

Component   Installed     Available
metabase    1.58.31       1.58.32  update
java        21.0.9+10     21.0.9+10
jdbc_auth   13.2.1        13.2.1

How do I update Metabase?

  1. Start the Lime command prompt as an administrator.
  2. Run lime-bi update.
  3. Check the versions in the table and confirm.

Lime BI is down until Metabase has started again, usually a few minutes.

If Lime BI is not installed in C:\LimeBI, add --install-location <path>.

Is the database backed up?

A new Metabase version can change the Lime BI Postgres database, and the old version may not start against the changed database. So before it replaces Metabase, lime-bi update backs up the database to C:\LimeBI\backups. lime-bi install does the same. The three newest backups are kept. The file name of an update's backup holds the Metabase version that the update replaced.

The backup needs pg_dump, which comes with PostgreSQL. If the server has no PostgreSQL installed, the update warns and continues without a backup. In that case, take a backup before you update.

To back up at any other time, run lime-bi backup. To update without a backup, add --no-backup.

How do I update a server without internet access?

  1. On a Windows computer with internet access and the same Lime BI version as the server, run lime-bi download. It saves lime-bi-bundle.zip in the temp folder and prints the path.
  2. Copy lime-bi-bundle.zip to the server.
  3. On the server, run lime-bi update --bundle <path to lime-bi-bundle.zip>. For a new installation, run lime-bi install --bundle <path to lime-bi-bundle.zip> instead.

How do I schedule updates?

Warning

If the server has no PostgreSQL installed, a scheduled update runs without a backup. Schedule updates only if the Lime BI Postgres database then has a scheduled backup.

Use Windows Task Scheduler to run lime-bi update --yes. --yes updates without asking. When nothing new is available, the command exits without stopping the service.

  1. In the Lime command prompt, run where lime-bi and note the full path to lime-bi.exe.
  2. Open Task Scheduler and click Create Task.
  3. On the General tab, click Change User or Group, enter SYSTEM, and select Run with highest privileges.
  4. On the Triggers tab, add a weekly trigger at a time when nobody uses Lime BI.

  5. On the Actions tab, add an action that starts cmd.exe with these arguments, using the path from step 1:

    /c "<path to lime-bi.exe>" update --yes >> C:\LimeBI\update.log 2>&1

What happens if an update fails?

If the backup fails, a download fails, or a file does not match its checksum, the update stops before it touches the service, and Lime BI keeps running the old version.

If Metabase does not start within 30 minutes of the update, the update puts the old files back and starts the old version. The command then ends with an error. Read C:\LimeBI\log.txt to see why Metabase did not start.

The update cannot undo changes that the new Metabase version made to the Lime BI database. If the old version does not start either, restore the newest backup from C:\LimeBI\backups.

When do I need to reinstall instead?

lime-bi update stays within one Metabase major version, such as 58 in 1.58.31. When a new Lime BI version moves to a new major version, lime-bi update tells you to reinstall. Run lime-bi uninstall, then install the Lime BI service again. Dashboards and questions stay in the Lime BI Postgres database, and lime-bi uninstall keeps C:\LimeBI\backups.