Grafana MCP Server
Grafana dashboards and data accessible via Model Context Protocol for AI assistants.
Data last scanned 2 days ago · Reviewed 2 months ago
Overview
The Grafana MCP server bridges your Grafana instance with AI models, allowing direct interaction with dashboard metadata and content. It supports searching for dashboards, retrieving specific panel queries, and extracting data points using JSONPath expressions to manage context window usage effectively. Beyond read-only data retrieval, the server allows for creating and updating dashboards directly through the AI assistant. Users can perform targeted modifications using patch operations, which helps minimize the amount of JSON data transmitted compared to full dashboard updates.
Our verdict
With a security score of 73/100, this server is classified as medium risk. The lack of a read-only mode means that every installation grants full write access to your Grafana instance, which could lead to unintended modifications if not carefully managed. It is best suited for users who require automated dashboard management but should be deployed with strict service account permissions.
- Maintained directly by the official Grafana organization.
- Zero direct dependencies minimize the software supply-chain surface.
- Supports targeted dashboard patching to optimize context window usage.
- Defaults to full write access with no read-only configuration.
- Lack of OAuth support requires managing service account tokens directly.
- No homepage link provided in the repository documentation.
Tools
| Tool | Description | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| list_teams | List all teams | low |
| list_users_by_org | List all users in an organization | low |
| list_all_roles | List all Grafana roles | low |
| get_role_details | Get details for a Grafana role | low |
| get_role_assignments | List assignments for a role | low |
| list_user_roles | List roles for users | low |
| list_team_roles | List roles for teams | low |
| get_resource_permissions | List permissions for a resource | low |
| get_resource_description | Describe a Grafana resource type | low |
| search_dashboards | Search for dashboards | low |
Compatibility
| Client | Local | Docker | Remote | Read-only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Desktop | ||||
| Cursor | ||||
| VS Code | ||||
| Windsurf | ||||
| ChatGPT |
Frequently asked questions
›What is the minimum Grafana version required?
Grafana version 9.0 or later is required for full functionality, as some datasource-related API endpoints may not be available in earlier versions.
›Which tools are disabled by default?
Tools for running panel queries, retrieving query examples, and performing operations for InfluxDB and ClickHouse are disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled using the --enabled-tools flag.
›How can I reduce context window usage when interacting with dashboards?
You can use get_dashboard_summary for overviews, get_dashboard_property with JSONPath to fetch specific data, or the patch_dashboard tool for targeted modifications instead of retrieving or sending the full dashboard JSON.
›What authentication is needed to connect to Grafana?
You must provide a GRAFANA_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN in your environment configuration to authenticate the server with your Grafana instance.
›Which specific datasource types are supported?
The server supports Prometheus, Loki, ClickHouse, CloudWatch, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Snowflake, and Athena.
Alternatives
Changelog
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