grafana/docs/sources/getting-started/build-first-dashboard.md

aliases	description	title	weight
../guides/getting_started/ ../guides/gettingstarted/ getting-started/	Learn how to get started with Grafana by adding a preconfigured dashboard.	Build your first dashboard	200

Build your first dashboard

This topic helps you get started with Grafana and build your first dashboard using the built-in Grafana data source. To learn more about Grafana, refer to [Introduction to Grafana]({{< relref "../introduction" >}}).

{{% admonition type="note" %}} Grafana also offers a free account with Grafana Cloud to help getting started even easier and faster. You can install Grafana to self-host or get a free Grafana Cloud account. {{% /admonition %}}

Install Grafana

Grafana can be installed on many different operating systems. For a list of the minimum hardware and software requirements, as well as instructions on installing Grafana, refer to [Install Grafana]({{< relref "../setup-grafana/installation" >}}).

Sign in to Grafana

To sign in to Grafana for the first time:

1. Open your web browser and go to http://localhost:3000/.

   The default HTTP port that Grafana listens to is 3000 unless you have configured a different port.

2. On the sign-in page, enter admin for the username and password.

3. Click Sign in.

   If successful, you will see a prompt to change the password.

4. Click OK on the prompt and change your password.

{{% admonition type="note" %}} We strongly recommend that you change the default administrator password. {{% /admonition %}}

Create a dashboard

If you've already set up a data source that you know how to query, refer to [Create a dashboard]({{< relref "../dashboards/build-dashboards/create-dashboard" >}}) instead.

To create your first dashboard using the built-in Grafana data source:

1. Click Dashboards in the left-side menu.

2. On the Dashboards page, click New and select New Dashboard from the dropdown menu.

3. On the dashboard, click + Add visualization.

   

4. In the New dashboard/Edit panel view, go to the Query tab.

5. Configure your [query]({{< relref "../panels-visualizations/query-transform-data#add-a-query" >}}) by selecting -- Grafana -- from the data source selector.

   This generates the Random Walk dashboard.

6. Click the Refresh dashboard icon to query the data source.

   

7. When you've finished editing your panel, click Save to save the dashboard.

   Alternatively, click Apply if you want to see your changes applied to the dashboard first. Then click the save icon in the dashboard header.

8. Add a descriptive name for the dashboard, and then click Save.

Congratulations, you have created your first dashboard and it is displaying results.

Next steps

Continue to experiment with what you have built, try the [explore workflow]({{< relref "../explore" >}}) or another visualization feature. Refer to [Data sources]({{< relref "../datasources" >}}) for a list of supported data sources and instructions on how to [add a data source]({{< relref "../administration/data-source-management#add-a-data-source" >}}). The following topics will be of interest to you:

• [Panels and visualizations]({{< relref "../panels-visualizations" >}})
• [Dashboards]({{< relref "../dashboards" >}})
• [Keyboard shortcuts]({{< relref "../dashboards/use-dashboards#keyboard-shortcuts" >}})
• Plugins

Admins

The following topics are of interest to Grafana server admin users:

• [Grafana configuration]({{< relref "../setup-grafana/configure-grafana" >}})
• [Authentication]({{< relref "../setup-grafana/configure-security/configure-authentication" >}})
• [User permissions and roles]({{< relref "../administration/roles-and-permissions" >}})
• [Provisioning]({{< relref "../administration/provisioning" >}})
• [Grafana CLI]({{< relref "../cli" >}})