diff --git a/.changeset/loud-terms-kiss.md b/.changeset/loud-terms-kiss.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..da50e56e3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/loud-terms-kiss.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-sonarqube': patch
+---
+
+Ask the SonarQube server for all support metrics prior to querying them for a project.
diff --git a/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.test.ts b/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.test.ts
index 1b3b5c5709..e5cbc2ccdf 100644
--- a/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.test.ts
@@ -29,7 +29,31 @@ describe('SonarQubeClient', () => {
   const mockBaseUrl = 'http://backstage:9191/api/proxy';
   const discoveryApi = UrlPatternDiscovery.compile(mockBaseUrl);
 
-  const setupHandlers = () => {
+  const setupHandlers = (
+    metricKeys = [
+      'alert_status',
+      'bugs',
+      'reliability_rating',
+      'vulnerabilities',
+      'security_rating',
+      'security_hotspots_reviewed',
+      'security_review_rating',
+      'code_smells',
+      'sqale_rating',
+      'coverage',
+      'duplicated_lines_density',
+    ],
+  ) => {
+    server.use(
+      rest.get(`${mockBaseUrl}/sonarqube/metrics/search`, (_, res, ctx) => {
+        return res(
+          ctx.json({
+            metrics: metricKeys.map(k => ({ key: k })),
+          }),
+        );
+      }),
+    );
+
     server.use(
       rest.get(`${mockBaseUrl}/sonarqube/components/show`, (req, res, ctx) => {
         expect(req.url.searchParams.toString()).toBe('component=our-service');
@@ -46,8 +70,9 @@ describe('SonarQubeClient', () => {
     server.use(
       rest.get(`${mockBaseUrl}/sonarqube/measures/search`, (req, res, ctx) => {
         expect(req.url.searchParams.toString()).toBe(
-          'projectKeys=our-service&metricKeys=alert_status%2Cbugs%2Creliability_rating%2Cvulnerabilities%2Csecurity_rating%2Csecurity_hotspots_reviewed%2Csecurity_review_rating%2Ccode_smells%2Csqale_rating%2Ccoverage%2Cduplicated_lines_density',
+          `projectKeys=our-service&metricKeys=${metricKeys.join('%2C')}`,
         );
+
         return res(
           ctx.json({
             measures: [
@@ -111,7 +136,7 @@ describe('SonarQubeClient', () => {
                 value: '1.0',
                 component: 'our-service',
               },
-            ],
+            ].filter(m => metricKeys.includes(m.metric)),
           } as MeasuresWrapper),
         );
       }),
@@ -187,4 +212,32 @@ describe('SonarQubeClient', () => {
       'http://a.instance.local/component_measures?id=our-service&metric=coverage&resolved=false&view=list',
     );
   });
+
+  it('should only request selected metrics', async () => {
+    setupHandlers(['alert_status', 'bugs']);
+
+    const client = new SonarQubeClient({
+      discoveryApi,
+      baseUrl: 'http://a.instance.local',
+    });
+
+    const summary = await client.getFindingSummary('our-service');
+
+    expect(summary).toEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        lastAnalysis: '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z',
+        metrics: {
+          alert_status: 'OK',
+          bugs: '2',
+        },
+        projectUrl: 'http://a.instance.local/dashboard?id=our-service',
+      }) as FindingSummary,
+    );
+    expect(summary?.getIssuesUrl('CODE_SMELL')).toEqual(
+      'http://a.instance.local/project/issues?id=our-service&types=CODE_SMELL&resolved=false',
+    );
+    expect(summary?.getComponentMeasuresUrl('COVERAGE')).toEqual(
+      'http://a.instance.local/component_measures?id=our-service&metric=coverage&resolved=false&view=list',
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.ts b/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.ts
index 061919dd41..35035b33c5 100644
--- a/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.ts
+++ b/plugins/sonarqube/src/api/SonarQubeClient.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,13 @@ export class SonarQubeClient implements SonarQubeApi {
     return undefined;
   }
 
+  private async getSupportedMetrics(): Promise<string[]> {
+    const result = await this.callApi<{ metrics: Array<{ key: string }> }>(
+      'metrics/search',
+    );
+    return result?.metrics?.map(m => m.key) ?? [];
+  }
+
   async getFindingSummary(
     componentKey?: string,
   ): Promise<FindingSummary | undefined> {
@@ -71,10 +78,16 @@ export class SonarQubeClient implements SonarQubeApi {
       duplicated_lines_density: undefined,
     };
 
+    // select the metrics that are supported by the SonarQube instance
+    const supportedMetrics = await this.getSupportedMetrics();
+    const metricKeys = Object.keys(metrics).filter(m =>
+      supportedMetrics.includes(m),
+    );
+
     const measures = await this.callApi<MeasuresWrapper>(
-      `measures/search?projectKeys=${componentKey}&metricKeys=${Object.keys(
-        metrics,
-      ).join(',')}`,
+      `measures/search?projectKeys=${componentKey}&metricKeys=${metricKeys.join(
+        ',',
+      )}`,
     );
     if (!measures) {
       return undefined;