Reporting & PDF/CSV Exports from Grafana

Reporting & PDF/CSV exports from Grafana empower DevOps engineers and SREs to automate dashboard sharing, generate scheduled snapshots, and export data for stakeholder updates without manual intervention. This feature turns dynamic visualizations into static, distributable formats like PDF reports and CSV files, ideal for executive summaries, compliance audits, or offline analysis.[1][3]

Why Reporting & PDF/CSV Exports Matter for DevOps and SRE Teams

In high-stakes environments, real-time dashboards are essential, but stakeholders often need portable, scheduled deliverables. Reporting & PDF/CSV exports from Grafana address this by capturing dashboard states—including panels, variables, and time ranges—as PDFs for visual reports or CSVs for raw table data. Key benefits include:

• Automation: Schedule hourly, daily, or custom reports to email recipients automatically.[1][3]
• Customization: Control layout, orientation, time zones, and attachments like images or links.[3]
• Data Portability: CSV exports from table panels enable further analysis in tools like Excel or Python.[1]
• Compliance and Auditing: Generate timestamped snapshots reflecting dashboard changes for historical records.[3]

Enable the newShareReportDrawer feature toggle in your Grafana configuration for full access, or contact Grafana Cloud support if needed.[3]

Setting Up Reporting & PDF/CSV Exports from Grafana

Access Reporting & PDF/CSV exports from Grafana via the Dashboards menu or directly from a dashboard. Navigate to Dashboards > Reporting for a centralized view of all reports, or use the per-dashboard workflow for quick setup.[3][5]

Step-by-Step: Create a Report from a Dashboard

1. Open your target dashboard.
2. Click the Share dropdown in the top-right corner and select Schedule report. This opens the Schedule Report drawer, listing existing reports for that dashboard.[3]
3. Configure Dashboards:
   • Select the source dashboard (pre-filled if created from it).
   • Set time range (e.g., Last 6 hours default, or custom like 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z to 2026-01-02T00:00:00Z).[3]
   • Define variables as JSON key-value pairs if overriding dashboard defaults (e.g., {"env": "prod"}).[1]
4. Set Schedule:
   • Frequency: once, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, last (last day of month), or custom (e.g., every 2 weeks with intervalAmount: 2, intervalFrequency: "weeks").[1]
   • Start time, time zone (e.g., UTC), end date, and weekday restrictions (Mon-Fri only).[3]
5. Configure Email Settings:
   • Subject, message body, reply-to emails.
   • Toggle dashboard links, embedded images, combined PDFs for multi-dashboard reports.[3]
6. Choose Formats: pdf (default), csv (per-table attachments), image (embedded visuals).[1]
7. Preview with Send preview or Preview PDF/Download CSV, then Schedule report or Save draft

For Azure Managed Grafana, start from the workspace Endpoint URL, then Reporting > Reports > + Create a new report.[2]

Organization-Wide Report Settings

Customize templates for all reports at Dashboards > Reporting > Report settings. Adjust branding, default layouts (grid/simple), orientations (portrait/landscape), and appendices for table data in PDFs.[3][4][5]

Practical Examples: Automating Reporting & PDF/CSV Exports

Example 1: Daily SRE Uptime Report (PDF with CSV Appendix)

For a cluster uptime dashboard, schedule a daily PDF emailed to execs, with CSV exports of table panels for detailed MTTR analysis.

{
  "name": "Daily SRE Uptime Report",
  "recipients": "sre-team@company.com,execs@company.com",
  "frequency": "daily",
  "timeZone": "UTC",
  "orientation": "landscape",
  "layout": "grid",
  "formats": ["pdf", "csv"],
  "dashboards": [{
    "dashboard.uid": "uptime-dashboard-uid",
    "timeRange": {
      "from": "now-24h",
      "to": "now"
    },
    "reportVariables": "{\"cluster\":\"prod\"}"
  }],
  "enableDashboardUrl": true
}

Send via UI or API; table panels auto-generate CSVs with full data beyond visible rows.[1][3]

Example 2: Weekly DevOps Metrics Export (API-Driven CSV)

Use the Reporting API for CI/CD pipeline exports. Authenticate with API keys, then POST to create/send reports programmatically.[1]

curl -X POST "http://your-grafana/api/reports" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Weekly Pipeline Metrics",
    "recipients": "devops@company.com",
    "formats": ["csv"],
    "frequency": "weekly",
    "dashboards": [{"dashboard.uid": "pipeline-metrics-uid"}]
  }'

To send an existing report:

curl -X POST "http://your-grafana/api/reports/{report-id}/send" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "emails": "export@company.com",
    "useEmailsFromReport": false
  }'

This overrides recipients and attaches CSVs for each table, perfect for scripting in Ansible or Terraform workflows.[1]

Example 3: Incident Response Snapshots (Multi-Dashboard PDF)

Combine alert dashboards into one PDF for post-mortems, embedding images and links.

• Select multiple UIDs in the UI.
• Enable "Combine all dashboard PDFs in one file" and "Embed dashboard image".[3]
• Schedule monthly with last frequency for EOM reviews.

Managing and Troubleshooting Reporting & PDF/CSV Exports

Monitor at Reporting page: edit, pause, delete, or view schedules. Drafts won't send until finalized.[3]

Common issues:

• API Unstable: Reporting API is in development; test thoroughly.[1]
• Missing Data: Ensure time ranges align; use appendices for full tables.[3]
• Permissions: Viewer role suffices for reports; Editor+ for management.
• Cloud vs. OSS: Feature parity high, but enable toggles in self-hosted.[3]

Changes to source dashboards propagate automatically to future reports.[3]

Advanced Tips for SEO-Optimized Reporting & PDF/CSV Exports

• Variables: Pass JSON like {"region": "us-east-1"} for dynamic reports.[1]
• Integrations: Hook into Grafana IRM for incident-linked exports or OpenNMS for templated PDFs.[6][7]
• Scalability: Limit concurrent renders; use custom intervals for bursty loads.[1]
• Actionable Next Steps: Test with Preview PDF/Download CSV, then automate via API in your CI/CD.

Mastering Reporting & PDF/CSV exports from Grafana streamlines observability sharing, freeing SREs for core incident respons