Using Grafana Provisioning

1. Understanding Provisioning Structure

Provisioning Type	Configuration File	Description
Dashboard	`dashboards.yaml`	Manages dashboard provisioning from files, URLs, or Git repositories.
DataSource	`datasources.yaml`	Defines data sources for Grafana to connect to various backends like Prometheus, InfluxDB, etc.
Notification Channel	`alerts.yaml`	Configures alert notification channels (e.g., email, Slack, PagerDuty).
Plugin	`plugins.yaml`	Handles plugin installation and configuration.
Folder	`folders.yaml`	Manages folder structure for organizing dashboards.

Example: Dashboard Provisioning Configuration

apiVersion: 1

providers:
  - name: "default"
    orgId: 1
    folder: ""
    type: file
    disableProvisioning: false
    options:
      path: /var/lib/grafana/dashboards

Example: Data Source Provisioning Configuration

apiVersion: 1

datasources:
  - name: "Prometheus"
    type: prometheus
    access: proxy
    url: http://localhost:9090
    isDefault: true

Note: Provisioning files must be placed in the /etc/grafana/provisioning directory or specified via the provisioning configuration in grafana.ini.

2. Provisioning Data Sources

Property	Value	Description
name	`string`	Name of the data source
type	`string`	Type of the data source (e.g., `prometheus`, `loki`)
access	`string`	Access mode (`proxy` or `direct`)
url	`string`	URL of the data source endpoint
database	`string`	Database name (for SQL-based sources)
jsonData	`object`	Additional JSON configuration (e.g., `tlsSkipVerify`)
secureJsonData	`object`	Secure JSON data (e.g., `basicAuthPassword`)
version	`number`	Version of the data source (default: `1`)
isDefault	`boolean`	Set as default data source for the instance

Example: Provisioning a Prometheus Data Source

datasources:
  - name: "Prometheus"
    type: "prometheus"
    access: "proxy"
    url: "http://localhost:9090"
    isDefault: true

Example: Provisioning a Loki Data Source

datasources:
  - name: "Loki"
    type: "loki"
    access: "proxy"
    url: "http://localhost:3100"
    jsonData:
      logLabel: "__line__"

3. Provisioning Dashboards

Property	Description	Example
dashboard	Dashboard configuration	`{ "dashboard": { "title": "My Dashboard", "uid": "my-dashboard-uid" } }`
folder	Folder to place the dashboard in	`"folder": "Production"`
overwrite	Overwrite existing dashboard	`"overwrite": true`

Example: Provisioning a Dashboard

apiVersion: 1

providers:
  - name: 'my-provider'
    orgId: 1
    folder: 'Production'
    type: file
    disableProvisioning: false
    options:
      path: /var/lib/grafana/dashboards

Note: Ensure the dashboard JSON files are correctly formatted and placed in the specified directory.

4. Provisioning Alert Rules

Property	Description	Example
name	Name of the alert rule	`High CPU Usage`
condition	Condition to evaluate (e.g., `A > 80`)	`A > 80`
for	Duration to wait before firing the alert	`5m`
labels	Additional labels to attach to the alert	`{ severity: "critical" }`
annotations	Annotations to provide additional context	`{ summary: "CPU usage is above 80%" }`

Example: Alert Rule Configuration

name: High CPU Usage
condition: A > 80
for: 5m
labels:
  severity: critical
annotations:
  summary: "CPU usage is above 80%"

Note: Alert rules must be defined within a folder structure under /etc/grafana/provisioning/alerts.

5. Provisioning Contact Points

Property	Description	Example
name	Name of the contact point	`email-alerts`
email_configs	Array of email configuration objects	`[ { "to": "team@example.com", "from": "alert@company.com" } ]`

Example: Email Contact Point Configuration

name: email-alerts
email_configs:
  - to: team@example.com
    from: alert@company.com
    subject: "[{{.Status}}] Alert Triggered"

Note: Contact points can be configured to send alerts via email, Slack, PagerDuty, and more.

6. Provisioning Notification Policies

Property	Description	Values	Notes
name	Name of the notification policy	`string`	Required field
receiver	Name of the receiver to route alerts to	`string`	Required field
group_by	Labels to group alerts by	`[]string`	Optional, defaults to `["alertname"]`
group_wait	Time to wait before sending the first alert group	`duration`	Optional, defaults to `30s`
group_interval	Time to wait between sending alert groups	`duration`	Optional, defaults to `5m`
repeat_interval	Time to wait before resending an alert	`duration`	Optional, defaults to `4h`
matchers	Label matchers to filter alerts	`[]matcher`	Optional, defaults to no filtering

Example: Basic Notification Policy

name: "Production Alerts"
receiver: "email-receiver"
group_by: ["alertname", "severity"]
group_wait: 30s
group_interval: 5m
repeat_interval: 4h

Example: Notification Policy with Matchers

name: "Database Alerts"
receiver: "slack-receiver"
matchers:
  - name: "job"
    value: "database"
    is_regex: false
group_by: ["alertname"]
group_wait: 1m
group_interval: 3m
repeat_interval: 1h

7. Using Environment Variables (${VAR} syntax)

Variable	Usage	Description
GF_DATABASE_URL	`${GF_DATABASE_URL}`	Database connection URL for Grafana
GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD	`${GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD}`	Admin password for Grafana
GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL	`${GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL}`	Root URL for Grafana server

Example: Environment Variable in Config

datasources:
  - name: "Prometheus"
    type: prometheus
    url: ${PROMETHEUS_URL}
    access: proxy

Note: Environment variables are evaluated at startup. Changes require a Grafana restart to take effect.

8. Setting Provisioning Paths

Path Type	Default Location	Description
provisioning	`/etc/grafana/provisioning`	Directory for provisioning configuration files
provisioning.datasources	`/etc/grafana/provisioning/datasources`	Directory for datasource provisioning files
provisioning.dashboard	`/etc/grafana/provisioning/dashboards`	Directory for dashboard provisioning files
provisioning.notifiers	`/etc/grafana/provisioning/notifiers`	Directory for alert notification provisioning files

Example: Provisioning Directory Structure

/etc/grafana/provisioning/
├── datasources/
│   └── datasource.yml
├── dashboards/
│   └── dashboard.yml
└── notifiers/
    └── notifier.yml

Note: The provisioning directory can be overridden using the provisioning configuration option in grafana.ini.

9. Enabling Auto-Update

Configuration Option	Description	Default Value	Notes
auto_update.enabled	Enables or disables the auto-update feature for Grafana	`false`	Set to `true` to enable automatic updates
auto_update.check_interval	Interval (in seconds) between update checks	`3600`	Defaults to 1 hour; set to lower values for more frequent checks
auto_update.update_channel	Update channel to use for checking updates	`stable`	Options: `stable`, `beta`, `nightly`

Example: Enabling Auto-Update in grafana.ini

[auto_update]
enabled = true
check_interval = 1800
update_channel = stable

Note: Auto-update requires Grafana to be able to access the internet and has no effect if Grafana is running in an offline environment.

10. Provisioning Plugins

Plugin	Description	Provisioning Config	Status
grafana-piechart-panel	Visualize data as pie charts	`{ "type": "piechart", "name": "Pie Chart" }`	NEW
grafana-worldmap-panel	Display data on a world map	`{ "type": "worldmap", "name": "World Map" }`	Stable
grafana-clock-panel	Display a live clock	`{ "type": "clock", "name": "Clock" }`	DEPRECATED

Example: Provisioning a Plugin

apiVersion: 1

providers:
  - name: 'Plugins'
    type: 'plugin'
    options:
      pluginId: 'grafana-piechart-panel'
      pluginVersion: '1.0.0'