Using Repeating Panels and Rows

1. Enabling Panel Repeat

Property	Value	Description
repeat	`variable`	Variable name to repeat the panel by
repeatDirection	`h` or `v`	Horizontal (`h`) or vertical (`v`) repetition
maxPerRow	`number`	Maximum panels per row when `repeatDirection` is `h`

Example: Repeating a panel by a variable

{
  "panels": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "type": "graph",
      "repeat": "env",
      "repeatDirection": "h",
      "maxPerRow": 3
    }
  ]
}

2. Setting Repeat Direction

Property	Values	Description
repeatDirection	`'h'` \| `'v'`	Defines the direction in which panels repeat. `'h'` for horizontal, `'v'` for vertical.

Example: Configuring Repeat Direction

{
  "repeatDirection": "h"
}

3. Configuring Max Per Row

Property	Values	Description
maxPerRow	`1` to `12`	Maximum number of panels to display per row in the dashboard layout

Example: Setting maxPerRow in dashboard JSON

{
  "panels": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "type": "graph",
      "maxPerRow": 3
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "type": "stat",
      "maxPerRow": 3
    }
  ]
}

Note: The maxPerRow property is used to control how many panels are displayed in a single row when the dashboard layout is adjusted. It does not affect the actual panel size or positioning, but rather how many panels are grouped together in a row.

4. Using Repeating Rows

Repeating rows in Grafana allow you to dynamically create multiple instances of a row based on a variable's values. This is particularly useful for creating dashboards that adapt to different contexts or data dimensions.

Property	Description	Example
repeat	Defines the variable to repeat on	`repeat: env`
repeatDirection	Defines the direction of repetition (horizontal or vertical)	`repeatDirection: h`

Example: Repeating Rows Based on Environment

{
  "panels": [
    {
      "type": "row",
      "repeat": "env",
      "repeatDirection": "h",
      "title": "Environment: $env"
    }
  ]
}

Note: The variable env must be defined in the dashboard variables. Each instance of the row will be created for each value in this variable.

5. Selecting Repeat Variable

Variable	Type	Description
datasource	`string`	Name of the data source to use for repeating
panel	`string`	ID of the panel to repeat
template	`string`	Template string for variable replacement

Example: Using a Data Source Variable

{
  "name": "datasource",
  "type": "datasource",
  "label": "Select Data Source",
  "query": "prometheus"
}

Note: The selected data source variable will be used to dynamically populate the repeating panel with data from that source.

6. Handling Empty Repeat

Property	Description	Default	Notes
repeat	Defines the variable to repeat over	None	Must be a valid variable name from the dashboard
repeatDirection	Direction to repeat panels	`h`	`v` for vertical, `h` for horizontal
maxPerRow	Maximum panels per row (horizontal repeat)	None	Applies only to horizontal repeats

Example: Empty Repeat Handling

{
  "panels": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "type": "graph",
      "repeat": "server",
      "repeatDirection": "h",
      "maxPerRow": 3
    }
  ]
}

Note: When a repeated panel has no data, it will show as empty or display a "No data" message depending on the panel type.

7. Combining Repeat with Templates

Example: Using repeat variables in template variables

datasource: "Prometheus"
refresh: 1m
editable: true
hideControls: false
templating:
  list:
    - name: "instance"
      label: "Instance"
      description: "Select instance to monitor"
      type: "query"
      datasource: "Prometheus"
      query: "label_values(up, instance)"
      multi: true
      includeAll: true
    - name: "job"
      label: "Job"
      description: "Select job to monitor"
      type: "query"
      datasource: "Prometheus"
      query: "label_values(up, job)"
      multi: true
      includeAll: true
    - name: "repeat"
      type: "constant"
      value: "instance"
      label: "Repeat by instance"

Property	Description	Values	Notes
repeat	Template variable used to repeat panels	`instance`, `job`	Must be a valid template variable name
repeatIteration	Current iteration value in repeat loop	`instance1`, `instance2`	Available in panel queries and expressions
repeatPanel	Reference to the repeated panel	`panelId`	Used in expressions to reference repeated panel

Note: The repeat variable must be a template variable defined in the dashboard's templating.list section.

Warning: Repeating panels with large datasets can impact dashboard performance. Consider using maxDataPoints in queries to limit data.

Key Points

Repeat variables allow dynamic panel creation based on template values
Use repeatIteration to access current iteration in queries
Template variables must be defined in the dashboard's templating section
Repeated panels inherit their configuration from the original panel

8. Styling Repeated Panels

Property	Description	Values	Notes
panel.gridPos	Position of the panel in the grid	`{ x: number, y: number, w: number, h: number }`	Used for layout control in repeated panels
panel.styles	Styling rules for repeated panels	`Array<object>`	Each object defines a style rule for matching conditions
panel.thresholds	Thresholds for conditional styling	`Array<{ value: number, color: string }>`	Used in repeated panels to change appearance based on value

Example: Styling Repeated Panels with Thresholds

{
  "panels": [
    {
      "type": "graph",
      "repeat": "instance",
      "thresholds": [
        {
          "value": 80,
          "color": "#FF9900"
        },
        {
          "value": 95,
          "color": "#E02F49"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Note: When using repeated panels, styling is applied to each instance based on the same rules and thresholds.

9. Limiting Repeat Count

When using repeating panels or rows in Grafana, you can limit the number of repetitions to prevent performance issues or UI clutter.

Option	Values	Description
repeat	`max`	Maximum number of repetitions allowed for a panel or row
repeatIteration	`number`	Current iteration number in the repeat loop (read-only)

Example: Setting Max Repeat Count

{
  "repeat": 5,
  "repeatIteration": 1
}

Note: Setting a high repeat value can lead to performance degradation in large dashboards. It's recommended to set a reasonable limit based on your data and dashboard requirements.

10. Debugging Repeat Issues

Example: Debugging repeated panel issues

// Check for variable evaluation errors
&#x2F;&#x2F; In Grafana dashboard JSON, inspect variables
{
  "panels": [
    {
      "type": "graph",
      "targets": [
        {
          "expr": "rate(http_requests_total{job=&#x27;${job}&#x27;}[5m])"
        }
      ],
      "gridPos": {
        "x": 0,
        "y": 0,
        "w": 12,
        "h": 8
      }
    }
  ]
}

Issue	Description	Solution
Variable not expanding	Repeating panels fail to expand due to invalid variable syntax or missing variables.	Verify variable definitions in dashboard JSON and ensure all variables are properly set.
Empty panels appear	Repeating panels render but contain no data due to incorrect query or filter.	Check the query expression and ensure it returns valid data for each repeated instance.
Performance degradation	Too many repeated panels cause dashboard load delays or timeouts.	Limit the number of repeated panels using variable options or use `maxDataPoints`.

Note: Use the __dashboard variable to reference dashboard metadata in repeating panels.

Warning: Avoid deeply nested repeating panels as they can lead to exponential growth in panel count and performance issues.