grafana-util snapshot

Root

Purpose: export and review Grafana snapshot inventory bundles.

When to use: when you want a local snapshot root that captures dashboard, datasource, and access inventory for later inspection.

Description: open this page when you need an offline snapshot of Grafana inventory that can be reviewed later without talking to the server again. The snapshot namespace is useful for handoff, backup, incident review, or any workflow where you want one local artifact before moving into deeper analysis. Snapshot exports now stage dashboard, datasource, and access lanes under one root and also write snapshot-metadata.json so later tooling can discover those lanes without guessing paths.

Before / After

• Before: snapshot-style review usually means re-querying Grafana or opening a pile of dashboards, datasources, and access records one by one.
• After: export first, then review the local bundle as a repeatable artifact without touching the live server again.

What success looks like

• you can hand off a snapshot root and another operator can inspect it without asking for live access
• export output is a durable artifact instead of a temporary UI session
• the snapshot root includes lane metadata that later analysis can resolve without rescanning the whole tree
• review output is clear enough to feed into a follow-up analysis or incident note

Failure checks

• if a snapshot export looks empty, verify the auth profile or live connection before assuming the source system is blank
• if review output looks surprising, confirm that you are pointing at the intended snapshot directory
• if automation reads the output, keep the chosen --output-format explicit so the downstream parser knows the contract

Key flags: the root command is a namespace; the operational flags live on export and review. The shared root flag is --color.

Examples:

# Purpose: Export a local snapshot bundle from live Grafana.
grafana-util snapshot export --url http://localhost:3000 --basic-user admin --basic-password admin --output-dir ./snapshot

# Purpose: Review the exported snapshot bundle as JSON.
grafana-util snapshot review --input-dir ./snapshot --output-format json

Related commands: grafana-util overview, grafana-util status staged, grafana-util change bundle.

export

Purpose: export dashboard, datasource, and access inventory into a local snapshot bundle.

When to use: when you need a local snapshot root that can be reviewed without Grafana access.

What gets written:

• snapshot/dashboards/
• snapshot/datasources/
• snapshot/access/users/
• snapshot/access/teams/
• snapshot/access/orgs/
• snapshot/access/service-accounts/
• snapshot/snapshot-metadata.json

Key flags: --output-dir, --overwrite, plus the shared Grafana connection and auth flags.

Examples:

# Purpose: export.
grafana-util snapshot export --url http://localhost:3000 --basic-user admin --basic-password admin --output-dir ./snapshot

# Purpose: export.
grafana-util snapshot export --profile prod --output-dir ./snapshot --overwrite

Related commands: snapshot review, change bundle, overview.

review

Purpose: review a local snapshot inventory without touching Grafana.

When to use: when you want to inspect an exported snapshot root as table, csv, text, json, yaml, or interactive output.

Review summary now includes access counts for users, teams, orgs, and service accounts alongside dashboard and datasource coverage.

Key flags: --input-dir, --interactive, --output-format.

Examples:

# Purpose: review an exported snapshot root as table, csv, text, json, yaml, or interactive output.
grafana-util snapshot review --input-dir ./snapshot --output-format table

# Purpose: review an exported snapshot root as table, csv, text, json, yaml, or interactive output.
grafana-util snapshot review --input-dir ./snapshot --interactive

Related commands: snapshot export, overview, status staged.