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Plugin System and Extensions

Now that you're comfortable with Grafana's core features, let's explore how to extend its capabilities through plugins. Grafana's plugin system allows you to add new data sources, visualizations, and applications that integrate seamlessly with the platform.

Learning Goals:

  • Understand Grafana's plugin architecture and types
  • Install and manage plugins via CLI and UI
  • Configure and use data source and panel plugins
  • Explore popular community plugins
  • Troubleshoot common plugin issues

Understanding Plugin Types​

Grafana supports three main types of plugins, each serving different purposes:

Data Source Plugins​

These plugins enable Grafana to connect to new data sources beyond the built-in options. They handle authentication, query execution, and data transformation.

Panel Plugins​

Panel plugins add new visualization types to your dashboards. While Grafana comes with many built-in panels, these plugins provide specialized visualizations like network diagrams, custom charts, or domain-specific displays.

App Plugins​

App plugins are comprehensive extensions that can include multiple panels, data sources, and custom pages. They often provide complete solutions for specific monitoring domains.

Installing Plugins​

Using Grafana CLI​

The Grafana CLI is the primary tool for plugin management. Here's how to install a plugin:

Install a plugin
grafana-cli plugins install grafana-clock-panel
List installed plugins
grafana-cli plugins ls
Update all plugins
grafana-cli plugins update-all

UI Installation (Enterprise Feature)​

In Grafana Enterprise, you can also install plugins directly from the UI:

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Plugins
  2. Browse available plugins
  3. Click Install for the desired plugin
note

After installing plugins via CLI, you need to restart the Grafana server for changes to take effect. UI installations in Enterprise versions may not require restarts.

Let's explore some commonly used plugins and their configurations.

Clock Panel Plugin​

The clock panel displays the current time and is useful for dashboard timestamps.

Clock panel configuration example
# In your dashboard JSON
{
  "type": "grafana-clock-panel",
  "title": "Server Time",
  "gridPos": {"x": 0, "y": 0, "w": 8, "h": 4},
  "fieldConfig": {
    "defaults": {
      "custom": {
        "format": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss",
        "refresh": 1
      }
    }
  }
}

Pie Chart Panel Plugin​

While Grafana has built-in pie charts, the enhanced pie chart plugin offers more customization:

Enhanced pie chart configuration
{
  "type": "grafana-piechart-panel",
  "title": "Request Distribution",
  "targets": [
    {
      "expr": "sum(rate(http_requests_total[5m])) by (status_code)",
      "legendFormat": "{{status_code}}"
    }
  ]
}

Creating Custom Plugin Configuration​

Data Source Plugin Configuration​

When adding a new data source plugin, you'll typically need to configure connection settings:

Custom data source configuration
apiVersion: 1

datasources:
  - name: Custom Metrics API
    type: custom-metrics-datasource
    access: proxy
    url: http://api.metrics.internal:8080
    jsonData:
      apiKey: ${API_KEY}
      timeout: 30
    secureJsonData:
      secretKey: ${SECRET_KEY}
tip

Use environment variables for sensitive configuration like API keys. This keeps credentials secure and makes configurations portable across environments.

Plugin Management Best Practices​

Version Control​

Always specify plugin versions in your infrastructure code:

Install specific plugin version
grafana-cli plugins install grafana-clock-panel 1.3.0

Health Checking​

Monitor plugin health through Grafana's API:

Check plugin health
curl -s http://localhost:3000/api/plugins/grafana-clock-panel/health | jq .
Expected healthy response
{
  "commit": "abc123",
  "status": "ok"
}

Common Pitfalls​

  • Version Compatibility: Ensure plugin versions are compatible with your Grafana version. Check the plugin's documentation for requirements
  • Performance Impact: Too many plugins can slow down Grafana. Monitor performance and remove unused plugins
  • Security Risks: Only install plugins from trusted sources. Community plugins may have security vulnerabilities
  • Configuration Conflicts: Plugin configurations can conflict with each other. Test plugins in isolation first
  • Breaking Changes: Plugin updates may introduce breaking changes. Test updates in non-production environments first

Summary​

Grafana's plugin system significantly extends the platform's capabilities, allowing you to connect to new data sources, create custom visualizations, and build comprehensive monitoring applications. By understanding how to properly install, configure, and manage plugins, you can tailor Grafana to meet your specific observability needs while maintaining system stability and security.

Show quiz
  1. What are the three main types of Grafana plugins?
  2. Which command would you use to install a specific version of a plugin?
  3. Why should you use environment variables for plugin configuration?
  4. What is one key difference between panel plugins and app plugins?
  5. What should you do after installing a plugin via Grafana CLI?

Answers:

  1. Data source plugins, panel plugins, and app plugins
  2. grafana-cli plugins install plugin-name version-number
  3. To keep sensitive information like API keys secure and make configurations portable
  4. Panel plugins add single visualization types, while app plugins can include multiple panels, data sources, and custom pages
  5. Restart the Grafana server for the changes to take effect