Superset 6.1.0.rc2 not using postgres as meta database #39787

echidnal · 2026-04-30T17:35:16Z

echidnal
Apr 30, 2026

Hi All,

I'm assuming I have a config wrong but can't find it. I'm trying to spin up a more production worthy docker setup. I've built my own image and made sure the postgres db driver is installed. And confirmed this by binding a database and data set to the same postgres db in the docker it should be using for the meta database.

The docker-compose.yml and the custom superset_config.py are being pulled in by Git to the docker server.

Based on what I am seeing -- empty postgres db AND the logs -- it seems to me that Superset is using SQLite DB and not connecting to the postgres db for the meta database. Though I can't find a 100% way to confirm this.

I'm editing and modifying a docker-compose.yml I found on the internet.

My docker-compose.yml:

x-superset-volumes:
  &superset-volumes # /app/pythonpath_docker will be appended to the PYTHONPATH in the final container
  #- ./docker:/app/docker
  - superset_home:/app/superset_home
  - ./superset_config.py:/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py
  
services:
  `# Redis - Superset's cache and async query backend
  superset-redis:
    image: redis:7.2-alpine
    container_name: superset-redis
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - superset_redis_data:/data
    networks:
      - superset-net
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  `# PostgreSQL - Superset's metadata database
  superset-db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    container_name: superset-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: superset
      POSTGRES_USER: CUSTOMUSER
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: CUSTOMPASSWORD
    volumes:
      - superset_db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - superset-net
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U superset -d superset"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"

  `# Superset - main application
  superset-app:
    image: wpzsuperset:6.1.0rc2
    container_name: superset-app
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      superset-db:
        condition: service_healthy
      superset-redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    ports:
      - "8088:8088"
    environment:
      `# Must be a long random string
      SUPERSET_SECRET_KEY: 'CUSTOMESECRETKEY'
      `# Database connection for Superset metadata
      SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI: postgresql+psycopg2://CUSTOMUSER:CUSTOMPASSWORD@superset-db:5432/superset
      `# Redis for caching
      REDIS_URL: redis://superset-redis:6379/0
      SUPERSET_LOAD_EXAMPLES: "no"
      
    volumes: *superset-volumes
    networks:
      - superset-net
    command: >
      sh -c "
        superset db upgrade &&
        superset fab create-admin --username NOTSHARED --firstname Admin --lastname User --email admin@superset.com --password NOTSHARED &&
        superset init &&
        gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8088 --workers 4 --timeout 120 'superset.app:create_app()'
      "
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "/app/docker/docker-healthcheck.sh"]
      interval: 60s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 360s
      

  `# Celery worker for async queries
  superset-worker:
    image: wpzsuperset:6.1.0rc2
    container_name: superset-worker
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      - superset-db
      - superset-redis
    environment:
      SUPERSET_SECRET_KEY: 'CUSTOMESECRETKEY'
      SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI: postgresql+psycopg2://CUSTOMUSER:CUSTOMPASSWORD@superset-db:5432/superset
      REDIS_URL: redis://superset-redis:6379/0
      CELERYD_CONCURRENCY: 2
    volumes: *superset-volumes
    networks:
      - superset-net
    command: celery --app=superset.tasks.celery_app:app worker --loglevel=info
    healthcheck:
      test:
        [
          "CMD-SHELL", "celery -A superset.tasks.celery_app:app inspect ping -d celery@$$HOSTNAME",
        ]

  `# Backup for PostgreSQL MetaDB
  pgbackups:
    image: prodrigestivill/postgres-backup-local
    restart: always
    `# user: postgres:postgres # Optional: see below
    volumes:
      - /mnt/wpz-dockervolumes/superset/superset_pgbackups:/backups
    links:
      - superset-db
    depends_on:
      - superset-db
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_HOST=superset-db
      - POSTGRES_DB=superset
      - POSTGRES_USER=CUSTOMUSER
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=CUSTOMPASSWORD
      - POSTGRES_EXTRA_OPTS=-Z1 --schema=public --blobs
      - SCHEDULE=@daily
      - BACKUP_ON_START=TRUE
      - BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS=7
      - BACKUP_KEEP_WEEKS=4
      - BACKUP_KEEP_MONTHS=2
      - HEALTHCHECK_PORT=8080
    networks:
      - superset-net

volumes:
  superset_redis_data:
  superset_db_data:
  superset_home:

networks:
  superset-net:
    driver: bridge

And here is where I may be making a mistake. I thought the superset_config.py is more of an override than needing ALL the settings in it. I have only put in items I know I need to set and removed the rest. I'm wondering if I need more in this file and that may be my issue:

import os
import sys
 
FEATURE_FLAGS = {"ALERT_REPORTS": True, "DATASET_FOLDERS": True, "DASHBOARD_RBAC": True}
RATELIMIT_STORAGE_URI = "redis://superset-redis:6379/0"
 
MAPBOX_API_KEY = 'CUSTOMKEY'
 
from flask_appbuilder.security.manager import AUTH_DB,AUTH_LDAP
LDAP Settings not shared but working

And lastly the logs of the container:

STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:36:03 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:03,265:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:36:03 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:03,266:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:36:04 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:04,298:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:36:04 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:04,314:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:36:06 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:06,102:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:36:06 PM
STDERR
WARNI [alembic.env] SQLite Database support for metadata databases will         be removed in a future version of Superset.
04/29/2026, 05:36:06 PM
STDERR
INFO  [alembic.env] Starting the migration scripts.
04/29/2026, 05:36:06 PM
STDERR
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:36:06 PM
STDERR
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Will assume transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:36:06 PM
STDERR
INFO  [alembic.env] Migration scripts completed. Duration: 00:00:00
04/29/2026, 05:36:19 PM
STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:36:21 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:21,721:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:36:21 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:21,721:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:36:22 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:22,568:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:36:22 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:22,584:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:36:24 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:24,181:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:36:24 PM
STDOUT
Recognized Database Authentications.
04/29/2026, 05:36:24 PM
STDOUT
Error! User already exists admin
04/29/2026, 05:36:37 PM
STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:36:40 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:40,287:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:36:40 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:40,287:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:36:40 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:40,893:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:36:40 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:40,904:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:36:41 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:41,912:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,111:INFO:superset.security.manager:Syncing role definition
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,142:INFO:superset.security.manager:Syncing Admin perms
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,148:INFO:superset.security.manager:Syncing Alpha perms
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,155:INFO:superset.security.manager:Syncing Gamma perms
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,162:INFO:superset.security.manager:Syncing sql_lab perms
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,167:INFO:superset.security.manager:Fetching a set of all perms to lookup which ones are missing
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,180:INFO:superset.security.manager:Creating missing datasource permissions.
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,186:INFO:superset.security.manager:Creating missing database permissions.
04/29/2026, 05:36:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:36:44,197:INFO:superset.security.manager:Cleaning faulty perms
04/29/2026, 05:36:45 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:45 +0000] [133] [INFO] Starting gunicorn 23.0.0
04/29/2026, 05:36:45 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:45 +0000] [133] [INFO] Listening at: http://0.0.0.0:8088 (133)
04/29/2026, 05:36:45 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:45 +0000] [133] [INFO] Using worker: sync
04/29/2026, 05:36:45 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:45 +0000] [135] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 135
04/29/2026, 05:36:45 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:45 +0000] [141] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 141
04/29/2026, 05:36:45 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:45 +0000] [144] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 144
04/29/2026, 05:36:46 PM
STDERR
[2026-04-30 00:36:46 +0000] [145] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 145
04/29/2026, 05:37:28 PM
STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:37:28 PM
STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:37:28 PM
STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:37:29 PM
STDOUT
Loaded your LOCAL configuration at [/app/pythonpath/superset_config.py]
04/29/2026, 05:37:38 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:38,967:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:37:38 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:38,973:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:37:39 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:39,665:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:37:39 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:39,673:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:37:40 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:40,193:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:37:40 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:40,193:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:37:41 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:41,002:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Context impl SQLiteImpl.
04/29/2026, 05:37:41 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:41,004:INFO:alembic.runtime.migration:Will assume non-transactional DDL.
04/29/2026, 05:37:42 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:42,621:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:37:42 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:42,695:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:37:43 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:43,254:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:37:43 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:43,330:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:37:43 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:43,582:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:37:43 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:43,645:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:37:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:44,722:INFO:superset.app:Syncing configuration to database...
04/29/2026, 05:37:44 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:44,784:INFO:superset.app:Configuration sync to database completed successfully
04/29/2026, 05:37:49 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:49,461:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:37:50 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:50,243:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:37:50 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:50,294:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:37:50 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:50,645:INFO:superset.core.mcp.core_mcp_injection:fastmcp is not installed, skipping MCP initialization. Install it with: pip install 'apache-superset[fastmcp]'
04/29/2026, 05:37:50 PM
STDERR
2026-04-30 00:37:50,861:WARNING:superset.views.base:Could not load default spinner SVG: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/app/superset/views/../../superset-frontend/packages/superset-ui-core/src/components/assets/images/loading.svg'
04/30/2026, 09:31:02 AM
STDERR
2026-04-30 16:31:02,805:WARNING:superset.views.base:Could not load default spinner SVG: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/app/superset/views/../../superset-frontend/packages/superset-ui-core/src/components/assets/images/loading.svg'

Any insight into what is going on would be much appreciated?

@echidnal · 2026-04-30T17:36:59Z

dosubot[bot]
Bot Apr 30, 2026

Hi @echidnal! I'm Dosu and I’m helping the superset team.

The issue is that Superset does not read SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI from environment variables automatically. Setting it as an environment variable in your docker-compose.yml has no effect — the logs confirm this with Context impl SQLiteImpl, meaning it's falling back to the default SQLite database [1].

You need to set SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI inside your superset_config.py file. Add this to your config:

SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = 'postgresql+psycopg2://CUSTOMUSER:CUSTOMPASSWORD@superset-db:5432/superset'

Or, if you prefer to keep credentials in environment variables and reference them from the config:

import os

SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = os.getenv(
    'SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI',
    'postgresql+psycopg2://CUSTOMUSER:CUSTOMPASSWORD@superset-db:5432/superset'
)

This is the same pattern used in Superset's own Docker reference config, which explicitly reads environment variables like DATABASE_HOST, DATABASE_PORT, etc. and constructs the URI in Python [2].

Your intuition about superset_config.py being an override file is correct — you only need to include settings you want to change. But SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI must be set there (not just as a Docker env var) for Superset to pick it up. After making this change and restarting, you should see Context impl PostgresqlImpl in the logs instead of SQLiteImpl.

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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2 replies

echidnal Apr 30, 2026
Author

@dosu - that fixed it thanks!

dosubot[bot] Bot Apr 30, 2026

Glad that resolved it! 🎉 Enjoy your production Superset setup.

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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Superset 6.1.0.rc2 not using postgres as meta database #39787

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Superset 6.1.0.rc2 not using postgres as meta database #39787

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echidnal Apr 30, 2026 Author

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echidnal
Apr 30, 2026

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echidnal Apr 30, 2026
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