A DuckDB-based metabase alternative

Shaper, a new open‑source dashboard tool powered by DuckDB, waltzed in saying “Metabase alternative,” and the comments immediately turned into a town hall. Supporters love the simple setup (one‑line Docker demo) and PDF report generation — the kind you can actually email to a boss — while skeptics shouted, “Slow your quack.” The pitch: connect your data, write SQL (database queries), and publish dashboards. It’s free, with paid hosting if you want someone else to run it. Docs live here.

Then the drama: one user dropped a “we lost the plot” bomb, arguing companies should just expose a safe, read‑only database so customers make their own charts, not force yet another dashboard. A different voice brought the chaos, claiming DuckDB — the lightweight database Shaper leans on — was “so crashy” they bailed. Another builder balked at DuckDB’s size, then half‑confessed they might “give in” anyway. And the Metabase faithful? One heavy user bluntly said there’s “nothing to compare”, while another countered that Metabase already plays nice with DuckDB via a community driver.

Translation: Team Shaper loves the fast start and PDFs; Team Metabase says “we’ve got this”; Team Cynic says ditch dashboards entirely. It’s part product launch, part group therapy, and entirely entertaining.