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Backup and restore

Regular backups protect your Grafana configuration, dashboards, and data from loss or corruption. This guide covers what to back up, backup procedures, and restoration processes.

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What to back up

A complete Grafana backup includes several components:

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Database

The Grafana database contains:
  • Dashboards and dashboard versions
  • Users, teams, and organizations
  • Data sources and their configurations
  • Alert rules and notification channels
  • Folders and permissions
  • Preferences and settings
  • Annotations
  • API keys and service accounts
Database types:
  • SQLite: Single file database (default)
  • PostgreSQL: External database server
  • MySQL: External database server

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Configuration files

Back up your configuration files:
  • grafana.ini or custom.ini - Main configuration
  • ldap.toml - LDAP configuration (if used)
  • Environment files with sensitive settings

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Provisioning files

If you use file-based provisioning, back up:
  • conf/provisioning/datasources/ - Data source definitions
  • conf/provisioning/dashboards/ - Dashboard providers
  • conf/provisioning/notifiers/ - Alert notification channels
  • conf/provisioning/plugins/ - Plugin configurations
  • conf/provisioning/alerting/ - Alert rules and policies

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Plugin data

Some plugins store data in:
  • data/plugins/ - Plugin files and data
  • Custom plugin configuration directories

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Backup procedures

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SQLite database backup

For SQLite (default configuration), the database is a single file. Locate the database: The default location is defined in grafana.ini: 
[database]
type = sqlite3
path = grafana.db
The path is relative to the data directory ([paths].data). Backup the database: 
# Stop Grafana first to ensure consistency
sudo systemctl stop grafana-server

# Copy the database file
sudo cp /var/lib/grafana/grafana.db /backup/grafana-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).db

# Restart Grafana
sudo systemctl start grafana-server
For online backups without stopping Grafana, use SQLite’s backup API or the .backup command in the SQLite CLI.

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PostgreSQL database backup

Use pg_dump to create consistent backups: 
pg_dump -h localhost -U grafana -d grafana -F c -f /backup/grafana-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).dump
Parameters:
  • -h localhost - Database host
  • -U grafana - Database user
  • -d grafana - Database name
  • -F c - Custom format (compressed)
  • -f <FILE> - Output file path
Automated daily backups: 
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/grafana"
RETENTION_DAYS=30

# Create backup
pg_dump -h localhost -U grafana -d grafana -F c -f "${BACKUP_DIR}/grafana-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).dump"

# Remove old backups
find "${BACKUP_DIR}" -name "grafana-*.dump" -mtime +${RETENTION_DAYS} -delete
Schedule with cron: 
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup-grafana.sh

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MySQL database backup

Use mysqldump to create backups: 
mysqldump -h localhost -u grafana -p grafana --single-transaction --quick \
  > /backup/grafana-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).sql
Parameters:
  • -h localhost - Database host
  • -u grafana - Database user
  • -p - Prompt for password
  • --single-transaction - Consistent snapshot for InnoDB
  • --quick - Stream results without buffering

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Configuration backup

Back up configuration files: 
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/grafana-config-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "${BACKUP_DIR}"

# Copy configuration
cp /etc/grafana/grafana.ini "${BACKUP_DIR}/"
cp /etc/grafana/ldap.toml "${BACKUP_DIR}/" 2>/dev/null || true

# Copy provisioning files
cp -r /etc/grafana/provisioning "${BACKUP_DIR}/"

# Create archive
tar -czf "${BACKUP_DIR}.tar.gz" -C /backup "$(basename ${BACKUP_DIR})"
rm -rf "${BACKUP_DIR}"

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Complete backup script

Combine database and configuration backups: 
#!/bin/bash
set -e

BACKUP_ROOT="/backup/grafana"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
BACKUP_DIR="${BACKUP_ROOT}/${TIMESTAMP}"

mkdir -p "${BACKUP_DIR}"

echo "Starting Grafana backup: ${TIMESTAMP}"

# Backup database (PostgreSQL example)
echo "Backing up database..."
pg_dump -h localhost -U grafana -d grafana -F c -f "${BACKUP_DIR}/database.dump"

# Backup configuration
echo "Backing up configuration..."
cp /etc/grafana/grafana.ini "${BACKUP_DIR}/"
cp -r /etc/grafana/provisioning "${BACKUP_DIR}/" 2>/dev/null || true

# Backup plugins
echo "Backing up plugins..."
cp -r /var/lib/grafana/plugins "${BACKUP_DIR}/" 2>/dev/null || true

# Create archive
echo "Creating archive..."
tar -czf "${BACKUP_ROOT}/grafana-${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz" -C "${BACKUP_ROOT}" "${TIMESTAMP}"
rm -rf "${BACKUP_DIR}"

echo "Backup completed: ${BACKUP_ROOT}/grafana-${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz"

# Cleanup old backups (keep 30 days)
find "${BACKUP_ROOT}" -name "grafana-*.tar.gz" -mtime +30 -delete

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Restore procedures

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Restore SQLite database

Restore from a SQLite backup: 
# Stop Grafana
sudo systemctl stop grafana-server

# Backup current database
sudo mv /var/lib/grafana/grafana.db /var/lib/grafana/grafana.db.old

# Restore from backup
sudo cp /backup/grafana-20260309-120000.db /var/lib/grafana/grafana.db

# Set correct permissions
sudo chown grafana:grafana /var/lib/grafana/grafana.db

# Start Grafana
sudo systemctl start grafana-server

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Restore PostgreSQL database

Restore from a PostgreSQL backup: 
# Drop and recreate database
psql -h localhost -U postgres -c "DROP DATABASE grafana;"
psql -h localhost -U postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE grafana OWNER grafana;"

# Restore from backup
pg_restore -h localhost -U grafana -d grafana /backup/grafana-20260309-120000.dump

# Restart Grafana
sudo systemctl restart grafana-server

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Restore MySQL database

Restore from a MySQL backup: 
# Drop and recreate database
mysql -h localhost -u root -p -e "DROP DATABASE grafana;"
mysql -h localhost -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE grafana CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"

# Restore from backup
mysql -h localhost -u grafana -p grafana < /backup/grafana-20260309-120000.sql

# Restart Grafana
sudo systemctl restart grafana-server

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Restore configuration

Restore configuration files: 
# Extract backup
tar -xzf /backup/grafana-config-20260309-120000.tar.gz -C /tmp

# Stop Grafana
sudo systemctl stop grafana-server

# Restore configuration
sudo cp /tmp/grafana-config-20260309-120000/grafana.ini /etc/grafana/
sudo cp -r /tmp/grafana-config-20260309-120000/provisioning /etc/grafana/

# Set correct permissions
sudo chown -R root:grafana /etc/grafana

# Start Grafana
sudo systemctl start grafana-server

# Cleanup
rm -rf /tmp/grafana-config-20260309-120000

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Disaster recovery

For disaster recovery, follow this sequence:
  1. Install Grafana with the same version as the backup
  2. Stop the Grafana service
  3. Restore the database
  4. Restore configuration files
  5. Restore provisioning files
  6. Restore plugins if needed
  7. Set correct file permissions
  8. Start Grafana and verify functionality

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Backup best practices

  • Automate backups - Schedule regular automated backups
  • Test restores - Regularly test backup restoration procedures
  • Off-site storage - Store backups in a different location from your Grafana instance
  • Encryption - Encrypt backups containing sensitive data
  • Retention policy - Define and implement a backup retention policy
  • Version compatibility - Note the Grafana version when creating backups
  • Monitor backups - Alert on backup failures
  • Document procedures - Maintain up-to-date restoration documentation

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Database-specific considerations

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SQLite

  • Requires stopping Grafana for consistent backups (or use SQLite backup API)
  • Simple single-file backup and restore
  • Not recommended for high-availability deployments
  • Limited to single-instance deployments

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PostgreSQL

  • Supports online backups with pg_dump
  • Point-in-time recovery with WAL archiving
  • Recommended for production deployments
  • Supports high-availability configurations

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MySQL

  • Supports online backups with mysqldump --single-transaction
  • Binary log for point-in-time recovery
  • Suitable for production deployments
  • Supports replication for high availability
Refer to conf/defaults.ini:139 for database configuration options.

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Next steps