Grafana Dashboard Import

Grafatui imports supported Grafana dashboard JSON files and renders supported panels in the terminal.

--grafana-json reads .yaml/.yml files as YAML. .json files and files with any other extension are parsed strictly as JSON.

The supported V2 subset maps inline Panel elements, Prometheus PanelQuery queries, top-level variables, timeSettings.autoRefresh, supported field configuration, fixed-grid positions, AutoGrid placement, and nested RowsLayout/TabsLayout containers to the same Grafatui behavior as Classic JSON.

Rows and tabs may recursively contain GridLayout, RowsLayout, TabsLayout, or AutoGridLayout. AutoGrid adapts columns to terminal width and supports fixed row heights, fillScreen growth, and table content fitting with minimum/maximum heights, row matching, and body scrolling. See Static AutoGrid sizing for supported sizing options and the runnable example.

AutoGrid items also support repeats and variable/data/time-range conditions, with dashboard and containing row/tab variable scopes. See the dynamic example.

Grafana’s resource API writes empty lists and objects as null (for example links, transformations, options, and variables), and its exporter may omit them entirely. Grafatui treats both the same as an empty value, so dashboards exported from Grafana 13 import unchanged. Exports made with Share dashboard with another instance enabled also work: their queries carry no datasource and run against the Prometheus server given by --prometheus-url.

Library panels are exported as a reference to the library panel’s uid, without the panel itself, so Grafatui skips them with an import diagnostic. Enable Share dashboard with another instance when exporting to inline library panels into the dashboard.

Repeated rows/tabs, row/tab conditions, and library panels remain unsupported; unsupported V2 layouts and fields are fatal import errors. Repeated grid items are also rejected rather than silently changing the dashboard.

Export From Grafana

Grafana 13 exports dashboards in the V2 Resource model by default:

1. Open the dashboard in Grafana.
2. In the toolbar, open Export and select Export as code.
3. Choose JSON or YAML.
4. Download the file, or copy it into a local .json or .yaml file.
5. Run Grafatui with --grafana-json.

grafatui --prometheus-url http://localhost:9090 --grafana-json ./node-exporter.yaml

For dashboards that use V2 features Grafatui does not support yet, export the Classic model instead: under Export as code, expand Advanced options, set Model to Classic, and save the JSON. Grafana documents the available models and export controls in Export a dashboard as code.

Supported Panel Types

Grafatui currently supports:

• graph
• timeseries
• stat
• gauge
• bargauge
• table
• heatmap

Classic row headers and their collapsed state are rendered and interactive. Collapsed descendants are excluded from navigation, search, refresh, and export. Hidden-header rows are transparent: they consume no header and their children remain visible.

Variables

Grafatui reads dashboard variables from templating.list and expands $var and ${var} in PromQL expressions.

Defaults come from the dashboard JSON. Override them from the CLI:

grafatui --grafana-json ./dash.json --var job=node --var instance=server-01

Prometheus query variables such as label_values(up, instance) and query_result(...) are resolved before panel queries run.

Grafatui honors Classic refresh values 0, 1, and 2, and schema-v2 never, onDashboardLoad, and onTimeRangeChanged. Dashboard-load variables resolve once; time-range variables also resolve after manual refresh, zoom, pan, or reset. Periodic panel refreshes do not re-run already resolved variables. Variables in a row or tab resolve once when that scope first becomes visible.

Dependent variables resolve in declaration order when an earlier value changes. If a refresh fails, Grafatui keeps the previous selection, continues with other due variables, and shows a compact footer warning. A later successful refresh clears that warning. label_values(...) uses Prometheus’s bounded label-values endpoint with the current start/end window and an optional metric selector.

Value Mappings

Grafatui imports exact numeric Grafana value mappings whose results contain text. Mapped text is used by Stat, Gauge, BarGauge, Table, graph legends, and SVG/PNG exports. The underlying numeric value remains unchanged for sorting, scaling, thresholds, sparklines, and graph axes; an unmatched value continues through the normal unit and decimal formatter.

Range, regex, null/NaN special-value mappings, and mapping colors are not part of this focused subset. Unsupported mapping kinds produce an import warning; null values continue to use the existing noValue behavior where supported.

Import Diagnostics

Grafatui prints import warnings before starting the TUI when a dashboard uses important Grafana features that are skipped or ignored. Diagnostics include unsupported panel types, unsupported value-mapping kinds, reduce options, unresolved variables, unsupported V2 datasources, and unsupported variable modifiers such as ${var:regex}. V2 diagnostics retain their spec.* source paths.

Run a non-interactive check with:

grafatui --validate --grafana-json ./dash.json

Warnings do not make validation fail. A dashboard that can be parsed and imported exits successfully even if diagnostics are printed.

Use --strict to make warnings fail validation, or --format json to emit a machine-readable summary. Fatal V2 layout and repeat errors fail validation in all modes; --strict additionally fails when import diagnostics are present:

grafatui --validate --strict --grafana-json ./dash.json
grafatui --validate --format json --grafana-json ./dash.json

Hidden Targets

Grafatui honors targets[].hide by skipping hidden targets during import. Panels with a mix of hidden and visible targets render only the visible target queries.

Query Modes

Grafatui honors targets[].instant from Grafana dashboard JSON. Targets marked as instant use the Prometheus instant query endpoint, while range targets use query_range.

If a target does not specify instant, Gauge, Bar Gauge, and Table panels default to instant queries. Graph, Timeseries, Stat, and Heatmap panels default to range queries.

Field Configuration

Grafatui applies selected fieldConfig.defaults values where they map cleanly to terminal rendering:

• min and max set explicit Graph y-axis bounds and Gauge limits.
• thresholds render graph threshold lines and drive dynamic coloring for Stat, Gauge, and Bar Gauge panels.
• unit, decimals, and noValue affect supported panel values, axes, legends, and exports.
• custom.axisGridShow controls per-panel graph guide lines.

Built-In PromQL Variables

Grafatui expands the following Grafana-style variables:

• $__interval
• $__interval_ms
• $__range
• $__range_s
• $__range_ms
• $__rate_interval
• $__rate_interval_ms

$__interval is the query’s step. Without an explicit step/--step, it scales with the time range and honors panel maxDataPoints and interval and target interval; an explicit step is used exactly. See query resolution.

Compatibility Details

See the Grafana compatibility matrix for field-by-field support details.