diff --git a/configs/default_metrics.json b/configs/default_metrics.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c392cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/configs/default_metrics.json
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{
+  "clusters": [
+    {
+      "name": "fritz",
+      "default_metrics": "cpu_load, flops_any, core_power, lustre_open, mem_used, mem_bw, net_bytes_in"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "alex",
+      "default_metrics": "flops_any, mem_bw, mem_used, vectorization_ratio"
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/internal/config/default_metrics.go b/internal/config/default_metrics.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83015d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/config/default_metrics.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+type DefaultMetricsCluster struct {
+	Name           string `json:"name"`
+	DefaultMetrics string `json:"default_metrics"`
+}
+
+type DefaultMetricsConfig struct {
+	Clusters []DefaultMetricsCluster `json:"clusters"`
+}
+
+func LoadDefaultMetricsConfig() (*DefaultMetricsConfig, error) {
+	filePath := "configs/default_metrics.json"
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filePath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(filePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var cfg DefaultMetricsConfig
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &cfg); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &cfg, nil
+}
+
+func ParseMetricsString(s string) []string {
+	parts := strings.Split(s, ",")
+	var metrics []string
+	for _, p := range parts {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(p)
+		if trimmed != "" {
+			metrics = append(metrics, trimmed)
+		}
+	}
+	return metrics
+}
diff --git a/internal/repository/user.go b/internal/repository/user.go
index 9beca26..c411c38 100644
--- a/internal/repository/user.go
+++ b/internal/repository/user.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	sq "github.com/Masterminds/squirrel"
 	"github.com/jmoiron/sqlx"
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt"
+	"github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-backend/internal/config"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -127,6 +128,30 @@ func (r *UserRepository) AddUser(user *schema.User) error {
 	}
 
 	log.Infof("new user %#v created (roles: %s, auth-source: %d, projects: %s)", user.Username, rolesJson, user.AuthSource, projectsJson)
+
+	defaultMetricsCfg, err := config.LoadDefaultMetricsConfig()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Errorf("Error loading default metrics config: %v", err)
+	} else if defaultMetricsCfg != nil {
+		for _, cluster := range defaultMetricsCfg.Clusters {
+			metricsArray := config.ParseMetricsString(cluster.DefaultMetrics)
+			metricsJSON, err := json.Marshal(metricsArray)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("Error marshaling default metrics for cluster %s: %v", cluster.Name, err)
+				continue
+			}
+			confKey := "job_view_selectedMetrics:" + cluster.Name
+			if _, err := sq.Insert("configuration").
+				Columns("username", "confkey", "value").
+				Values(user.Username, confKey, string(metricsJSON)).
+				RunWith(r.DB).Exec(); err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("Error inserting default job view metrics for user %s and cluster %s: %v", user.Username, cluster.Name, err)
+			} else {
+				log.Infof("Default job view metrics for user %s and cluster %s set to %s", user.Username, cluster.Name, string(metricsJSON))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }