grafana/docs/sources/developers/plugins/_index.md

+++ title = "Build a plugin" aliases = ["/docs/grafana/latest/plugins/developing/"] +++

Build a plugin

For more information on the types of plugins you can build, refer to the [Plugin Overview]({{< relref "../../plugins/_index.md" >}}).

Get started

The easiest way to start developing Grafana plugins is to use the Grafana Toolkit.

Open the terminal, and run the following command in your [plugin directory]({{< relref "../../administration/configuration.md#plugins" >}}):

npx @grafana/toolkit plugin:create my-grafana-plugin

If you want a more guided introduction to plugin development, check out our tutorials:

• [Build a panel plugin]({{< relref "/tutorials/build-a-panel-plugin.md" >}})
• [Build a data source plugin]({{< relref "/tutorials/build-a-data-source-plugin.md" >}})

Go further

Learn more about specific areas of plugin development.

Tutorials

If you're looking to build your first plugin, check out these introductory tutorials:

• [Build a panel plugin]({{< relref "/tutorials/build-a-panel-plugin.md" >}})
• [Build a data source plugin]({{< relref "/tutorials/build-a-data-source-plugin.md" >}})
• [Build a data source backend plugin]({{< relref "/tutorials/build-a-data-source-backend-plugin.md" >}})

Ready to learn more? Check out our other tutorials:

• [Build a panel plugin with D3.js]({{< relref "/tutorials/build-a-panel-plugin-with-d3.md" >}})

Guides

Improve an existing plugin with one of our guides:

• [Add authentication for data source plugins]({{< relref "add-authentication-for-data-source-plugins" >}})
• [Add support for annotations]({{< relref "add-support-for-annotations.md" >}})
• [Add support for Explore queries]({{< relref "add-support-for-explore-queries.md" >}})
• [Add support for variables]({{< relref "add-support-for-variables.md" >}})
• [Add a query editor help component]({{< relref "add-query-editor-help.md" >}})
• [Build a logs data source plugin]({{< relref "build-a-logs-data-source-plugin.md" >}})
• [Build a streaming data source plugin]({{< relref "build-a-streaming-data-source-plugin.md" >}})
• [Error handling]({{< relref "error-handling.md" >}})
• [Working with data frames]({{< relref "working-with-data-frames.md" >}})

Concepts

Deepen your knowledge through a series of high-level overviews of plugin concepts:

• [Data frames]({{< relref "data-frames.md" >}})

UI library

Explore the many UI components in our Grafana UI library.

Examples

For inspiration, check out our plugin examples.

API reference

Learn more about Grafana options and packages.

Metadata

• [Plugin metadata]({{< relref "metadata.md" >}})

Typescript

• [Grafana Data]({{< relref "../../packages_api/data/_index.md" >}})
• [Grafana Runtime]({{< relref "../../packages_api/runtime/_index.md" >}})
• [Grafana UI]({{< relref "../../packages_api/ui/_index.md" >}})

Go

• [Grafana Plugin SDK for Go]({{< relref "backend/grafana-plugin-sdk-for-go" >}})