debian-mirror-gitlab/doc/operations/metrics/embed_grafana.md

---
stage: Monitor
group: APM
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#designated-technical-writers
---

# Embedding Grafana charts

Grafana metrics can be embedded in [GitLab Flavored Markdown](../../user/markdown.md).

## Embedding charts via Grafana Rendered Images

It is possible to embed live [Grafana](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/grafana.html) charts in issues, as a [direct linked rendered image](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/reference/share_panel/#direct-link-rendered-image).

The sharing dialog within Grafana provides the link, as highlighted below.

![Grafana Direct Linked Rendered Image](../../user/project/integrations/img/grafana_live_embed.png)

NOTE: **Note:**
For this embed to display correctly, the Grafana instance must be available to the target user, either as a public dashboard, or on the same network.

Copy the link and add an image tag as [inline HTML](../../user/markdown.md#inline-html) in your Markdown. You may tweak the query parameters as required. For instance, removing the `&from=` and `&to=` parameters will give you a live chart. Here is example markup for a live chart from GitLab's public dashboard:

```html
<img src="https://dashboards.gitlab.com/d/RZmbBr7mk/gitlab-triage?orgId=1&refresh=30s&var-env=gprd&var-environment=gprd&var-prometheus=prometheus-01-inf-gprd&var-prometheus_app=prometheus-app-01-inf-gprd&var-backend=All&var-type=All&var-stage=main&from=1580444107655&to=1580465707655"/>
```

This will render like so:

![Grafana dashboard embedded preview](../../user/project/integrations/img/grafana_embedded.png)

## Embedding charts via integration with Grafana HTTP API

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/31376) in GitLab 12.5.

Each project can support integration with one Grafana instance. This configuration allows a user to copy a link to a panel in Grafana, then paste it into a GitLab Markdown field. The chart will be rendered in the GitLab chart format.

Prerequisites for embedding from a Grafana instance:

1. The datasource must be a Prometheus instance.
1. The datasource must be proxyable, so the HTTP Access setting should be set to `Server`.

![HTTP Proxy Access](../../user/project/integrations/img/http_proxy_access_v12_5.png)

## Setting up the Grafana integration

1. [Generate an Admin-level API Token in Grafana.](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/http_api/auth/#create-api-token)
1. In your GitLab project, navigate to **Settings > Operations > Grafana Authentication**.
1. To enable the integration, check the "Active" checkbox.
1. For "Grafana URL", enter the base URL of the Grafana instance.
1. For "API Token", enter the Admin API Token you just generated.
1. Click **Save Changes**.

## Generating a link to a chart

1. In Grafana, navigate to the dashboard you wish to embed a panel from.
   ![Grafana Metric Panel](../../user/project/integrations/img/grafana_panel_v12_5.png)
1. In the upper-left corner of the page, select a specific value for each variable required for the queries in the chart.
   ![Select Query Variables](../../user/project/integrations/img/select_query_variables_v12_5.png)
1. In Grafana, click on a panel's title, then click **Share** to open the panel's sharing dialog to the **Link** tab. If you click the _dashboard's_ share panel instead, GitLab will attempt to embed the first supported panel on the dashboard (if available).
1. If your Prometheus queries use Grafana's custom template variables, ensure that the "Template variables" option is toggled to **On**. Of Grafana global template variables, only `$__interval`, `$__from`, and `$__to` are currently supported. Toggle **On** the "Current time range" option to specify the time range of the chart. Otherwise, the default range will be the last 8 hours.
   ![Grafana Sharing Dialog](../../user/project/integrations/img/grafana_sharing_dialog_v12_5.png)
1. Click **Copy** to copy the URL to the clipboard.
1. In GitLab, paste the URL into a Markdown field and save. The chart will take a few moments to render.
   ![GitLab Rendered Grafana Panel](../../user/project/integrations/img/rendered_grafana_embed_v12_5.png)