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Grafana n8n integrationAutomate Grafana with n8n.

Dashboards, teams and user roles can all move without anyone opening the Grafana admin screens. The Grafana n8n integration exposes 16 operations across 4 resources, from creating a dashboard to pushing a user down to Viewer. No Grafana trigger ships with n8n, so a Schedule Trigger or a webhook starts the run.

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Why automate

What does the Grafana n8n integration actually do?

The Grafana node calls the Grafana API with a single API key credential and turns four objects into workflow steps: dashboards, teams, team members and users. Create a dashboard inside a folder, rename it, list everything that matches a search query, add somebody to a team, change what role a user holds.

It is an administration node first. The clicks an admin makes by hand in Grafana become steps that run on a schedule, or right after another tool fires.

First scenario, onboarding. A new analyst appears in a hiring sheet, and the workflow adds them to the right Grafana team with teamMember.add, then sets their role with user.update. The same run can start from a row in Google Sheets or from an issue in GitHub, because the Grafana step only needs an identifier from the item before it.

Second scenario, dashboard provisioning. An agency that runs one dashboard per client creates it with dashboard.create, drops it in the folder that matches the plan, and later moves or renames it with dashboard.update. Nobody has to remember which folder the last one went into, since the folder is picked from a list or passed as an ID through an expression, a small formula written as {{ $json.folder }} that reads a field from the previous node.

Third scenario, the monthly audit. dashboard.getAll with Return All enabled walks the API pages and returns every dashboard, user.getAll does the same for the users of the current organization, and the two lists get written into Postgres or posted to Slack for whoever signs off on access.

Where the node stops, the HTTP Request node takes over: it reaches any endpoint of the Grafana API and reuses the same credential through predefined authentication, so an operation that is not in the list of 16 is still one node away. Two practical limits are worth knowing before you build. Listing operations return a capped set unless Return All is on, in which case Limit no longer applies. And there is no Grafana trigger node, so the workflow needs its own starting point.

If the comparison with other platforms matters more than the node itself, the n8n review covers hosting and pricing in detail, and the n8n training walks through building these workflows step by step.

Connect

How do you connect Grafana to n8n?

  1. 01

    Create the API key in Grafana

    A Grafana account is the starting point. In Grafana, generate an API key, the string that lets an outside tool act on the instance without a password. Copy it when it appears, because the value is shown once. Grafana documents the exact path to take on its API keys page, so the credential is ready before you open n8n at all.

  2. 02

    Save the credential in n8n

    Open the Credentials menu in n8n and add a Grafana credential. Two fields matter: API Key, the value copied a moment ago, and Base URL, the address of the instance, for example https://n8n.grafana.net. A credential is created once and reused by every workflow, so this step happens one time per instance, not once per node.

  3. 03

    Pick the credential in the node

    Drop a Grafana node into a workflow. The credential you just saved shows up in the node dropdown, ready to select. Choose a resource, dashboard, team, team member or user, then the operation. Run the node once on a harmless read such as Get Many Teams: a list coming back is proof the key and the base URL agree with each other.

Actions

What can the Grafana node do?

The Grafana node exposes 16 operations across 4 resources. For each one: the node as you configure it in n8n, the required fields, and our field notes.

Resources × operations matrix
ResourceCreateGetGet ManyUpdateDeleteAddRemove
Dashboard✓✓✓✓✓
Team✓✓✓✓✓
Team Member✓✓✓
User✓✓✓

Dashboard

5 operations
01

Create a dashboard

dashboard.create

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Adds a dashboard to the instance and hands back its UID, the short identifier every later dashboard step asks for.

Key parameters

  • Title: the name shown in the Grafana dashboard list, required, often built from the item before it with an expression such as {{ $json.client }}.
  • Folder Name or ID: inside Additional Fields, choose the folder from the list or pass an ID through an expression. Left unspecified, the dashboard is saved to the General folder.
Use cases
open a fresh dashboard for each new customer account, filed straight into the folder that matches their plan.
02

Delete a dashboard

dashboard.delete

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Erases one dashboard from Grafana, which is why the workflow should only reach this step once something upstream has confirmed the dashboard is stale.

Key parameters

  • Dashboard UID or URL: the alphabetic identifier, cIBgcSjkk style, or the full dashboard URL when that is what the previous node carries.
Use cases
clean up the one-off dashboards a marketing team spun up per campaign, once the campaign has been closed for good.
03

Get a dashboard

dashboard.get

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Reads a single dashboard back, so the workflow can look at what is there before anything changes it.

Key parameters

  • Dashboard UID or URL: the same identifier the delete step uses, such as cIBgcSjkk, or the URL copied out of the browser bar.
Use cases
fetch the dashboard first, branch on what comes back, then decide whether the update step further down should run at all.
04

Get many dashboards

dashboard.getAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Lists the dashboards of the instance, one n8n item per dashboard, ready to loop over.

Key parameters

  • Return All: on, n8n follows the API pages until the last dashboard is in. Off, Limit caps how many come back, which is plenty for a quick sample.
  • Search Query: under Filters, keeps only the dashboards whose name matches the text. Useful the day a naming convention exists.
Use cases
a weekly inventory of every dashboard, written to a table so nobody has to guess who owns what.
05

Update a dashboard

dashboard.update

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Edits a dashboard in place: a new name, a different folder, or both, while the UID stays the same.

Key parameters

  • Dashboard UID or URL: points at the dashboard to edit, for example cIBgcSjkk.
  • Title: in Update Fields, the new title to display.
  • Folder Name or ID: also in Update Fields, moves the dashboard into another folder. Unspecified, it goes to the General folder.
Use cases
rename and refile the dashboards of a customer who just moved from trial to a paid plan.

Team

5 operations
06

Create a team

team.create

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Opens a team in Grafana, the group that members are attached to in the operations further down this list.

Key parameters

  • Name: the team label, required, something like Engineering.
  • Email: inside Additional Fields, the shared address of the team, for example engineering@n8n.io.
Use cases
when a new squad shows up in the internal directory, the workflow creates the matching Grafana team before the first access request arrives.
07

Delete a team

team.delete

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Drops a team from the instance, the cleanup step for a group that no longer exists on the org chart.

Key parameters

  • Team ID: the identifier of the team to delete, required. Get Many Teams upstream supplies it, so nothing gets typed by hand.
Use cases
retire the team created for a seasonal project once the season is over and the reporting has been handed back.
08

Get a team

team.get

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Pulls one team record back, which gives the rest of the workflow something solid to test before it acts.

Key parameters

  • Team ID: the identifier of the team to retrieve, required, usually carried over from an earlier node as {{ $json.id }}.
Use cases
confirm the support team is still there before a later step tries to add a new hire into it.
09

Get many teams

team.getAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Returns the teams of the instance as separate items, the usual opening move of any bulk team job.

Key parameters

  • Return All: enabled, n8n pages through the API until the last team. Disabled, Limit sets the ceiling.
  • Name: under Filters, narrows the result to the teams that match that name.
Use cases
build the team list once a month, compare it with the org chart, and flag the groups nobody maintains anymore.
10

Update a team

team.update

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Changes a team that already exists, keeping its identifier stable while the label or the contact address moves.

Key parameters

  • Team ID: required, tells Grafana which team receives the edit.
  • Name: in Update Fields, the new team name, Engineering Team for instance.
  • Email: also in Update Fields, the address the team is reached on, such as engineering@n8n.io.
Use cases
after a reorg, rename a batch of teams in one run instead of clicking through the admin screens one by one.

Team Member

3 operations
11

Add a team member

teamMember.add

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Places an existing Grafana user inside a team, the access step at the heart of most onboarding flows.

Key parameters

  • User Name or ID: pick the person from the list n8n loads, or specify an ID with an expression when the value comes from an earlier node.
  • Team Name or ID: the same choice on the team side, selected in the list or resolved through an expression.
Use cases
an analyst signs in to Grafana for the first time, and the workflow files them into the analytics team the same day.
12

Get many team members

teamMember.getAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Lists who belongs to one given team, one item per member.

Key parameters

  • Team Name or ID: required, the team whose members are read, chosen in the list or given as an ID through an expression.
  • Return All: on for the whole roster, off to stop at Limit members.
Use cases
the quarterly access review, where the member list of each sensitive team is posted for a manager to confirm or challenge.
13

Remove a team member

teamMember.remove

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Takes one member out of a team while the team itself stays in place.

Key parameters

  • User Name or ID: the person to pull out, selected from the list or supplied as an ID.
  • Team Name or ID: the team losing that member, same list or expression choice.
Use cases
an internal move, where somebody leaves the payments squad on Friday and the membership disappears without an admin ticket.

User

3 operations
14

Delete a user

user.delete

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Removes a user from the current organization, the one the credential points at.

Key parameters

  • User ID: the identifier of the user to delete, required. A Get Many Users step placed before it hands over the value, so nothing has to be looked up by hand in the admin screens.
Use cases
an offboarding run started by the HR tool that closes the Grafana access on the same morning as the mailbox, so no dormant account keeps watching dashboards it should not see.
15

Get many users

user.getAll

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Brings back the users of the current organization so the workflow can audit them or loop through them.

Key parameters

  • Return All: ticked, every user comes through, page after page. Unticked, Limit decides how many, which is the right setting while you are still shaping the workflow.
Use cases
compare the Grafana user list against the identity provider export and raise the accounts that appear in one and not the other, before an access review turns it into a spreadsheet nobody reads.
16

Update a user

user.update

What you see in n8n

Notes & use cases

Moves the role a user holds in the current organization, which is how permissions change without touching the account itself.

Key parameters

  • User ID: required, the account that receives the edit.
  • Role: in Update Fields, one of Admin, Editor or Viewer.
Use cases
a contractor keeps read access after delivery, so a scheduled run sets them to Viewer rather than deleting the account.
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FAQ

Grafana and n8n, the questions that come next

01Is the Grafana n8n integration free?
Yes. The Grafana node ships with n8n, so there is nothing to install and nothing extra to pay on the n8n side, whether the workflow runs on n8n Cloud, the hosted offer from n8n, or on an instance you host yourself with Docker or npm under the Community Edition and its Sustainable Use licence. A workflow behaves the same way in both cases. What Grafana itself costs depends on how the instance is run and is a separate question. On the n8n side, the credential is created once in the Credentials menu, and the same one serves every workflow that touches the 16 operations.
02What credentials does the Grafana node need?
An API key credential, and nothing else. Two values go into it: the API Key generated in Grafana, and the Base URL of the instance, in the shape https://n8n.grafana.net. A Grafana account is the prerequisite, since the key is created from inside Grafana before n8n ever sees it. Once saved in the Credentials menu, the credential appears in the dropdown of every Grafana node, and the same entry can serve a dashboard workflow and a user management workflow at the same time. The HTTP Request node can reuse it too, through predefined authentication.
03What are the limits of the Grafana node in n8n?
It depends on what you need. The node covers 16 operations spread over 4 resources: dashboards, teams, team members and users. Anything outside that list is reached with the HTTP Request node, which calls any endpoint of the Grafana API and reuses the same credential through predefined authentication, so a missing operation costs one extra node and not a different tool. On the listing side, Get Many operations return a limited set by default: switch Return All on to page through everything, and Limit stops applying. The other thing to plan for is the absence of a Grafana trigger.
04Can a Grafana event trigger an n8n workflow in real time?
No, not from the Grafana node. n8n does not ship a Grafana trigger, so a workflow that touches Grafana starts somewhere else. Three options cover almost everything. A Schedule Trigger runs the workflow at a fixed interval, which suits inventories, audits and nightly cleanups. An n8n Webhook, an URL that n8n exposes and a third party service calls, lets another system start the run when it has news. Or the trigger of another tool opens the workflow, and the Grafana node comes later in the chain to create, update or list what it needs to.
05n8n or Make for automating Grafana?
It depends on three things. Hosting first: n8n runs on your own server with Docker or npm, or on n8n Cloud, while Make is hosted only, so a team that wants the Grafana API key to stay on its own infrastructure has one answer already. Cost model second: Make bills per operation, which is felt in loops over dashboards or users, while a self-hosted n8n instance moves the cost to the server. Visual logic third: both are visual builders, and the honest test is to rebuild the same small workflow in each and keep the one your team reads faster.