grafana-util alert import

Purpose

Import alerting resource JSON files through the Grafana API.

When to use

• Recreate an exported alert bundle in Grafana.
• Update existing alert resources with --replace-existing.
• Preview import actions before making changes.

Key flags

• --input-dir points at the raw/ export directory.
• --replace-existing updates resources with matching identities.
• --dry-run previews the import.
• --json renders dry-run output as structured JSON.
• --dashboard-uid-map and --panel-id-map repair linked alert rules during import.

Before / After

• Before: recreate alert resources manually or paste JSON back into Grafana one object at a time.
• After: import one export bundle and let the command handle the resource set as a unit.

What success looks like

• Dry-run output matches the resources you intended to import.
• Live import restores the expected rules, contact points, mute timings, templates, and policies.
• Dashboard-linked alert rules still point at the right dashboards or panels after mapping.

Failure checks

• Make sure --input-dir points at the raw/ directory, not the parent export folder.
• If dashboard-linked rules move, supply the dashboard and panel mapping flags before importing.
• Use --replace-existing only when you expect to overwrite matching live resources.

Examples

# Purpose: Import alerting resource JSON files through the Grafana API.
grafana-util alert import --url http://localhost:3000 --input-dir ./alerts/raw --replace-existing

# Purpose: Import alerting resource JSON files through the Grafana API.
grafana-util alert import --url http://localhost:3000 --input-dir ./alerts/raw --replace-existing --dry-run --json

Related commands

• alert
• alert export
• alert diff