> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.obsidianlog.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Grafana

> Visualize archived logs in Grafana using the free Infinity datasource plugin, no custom plugin needed.

ObsidianLog has no persistent query HTTP API. Querying happens via
`obsidianlog query`, run on demand. To visualize results in Grafana, the
example in this repo bridges the two with the free
[Infinity datasource plugin](https://grafana.com/grafana/plugins/yesoreyeram-infinity-datasource/),
which reads JSON from a URL.

<Note>
  This is an example, not a shipped product. A dedicated Grafana datasource
  plugin is a possible future direction, not something ObsidianLog ships
  today.
</Note>

## How it works

Infinity reads from a **URL**, not a local file or a command, so a small
script exports a query to JSON and serves it over HTTP:

```sh theme={null}
obsidianlog query --format json > logs.json
python3 -m http.server 8787 --bind 127.0.0.1   # serves logs.json at :8787/logs.json
```

<Warning>
  `logs.json` contains decrypted log data. The example binds the temporary
  server to localhost deliberately. Do not expose it publicly. If Grafana runs
  on another host, put an authenticated, TLS-protected proxy in front of a
  purpose-built export path instead of opening this temporary server to the
  network.
</Warning>

The full, runnable version, with argument handling and the run
instructions, is
[`examples/integrations/grafana/export-and-serve.sh`](https://github.com/emmaglorypraise/ObsidianLog/blob/main/examples/integrations/grafana/export-and-serve.sh)
in the repo.

## Setting it up

1. Install the Infinity plugin: `grafana-cli plugins install
   yesoreyeram-infinity-datasource`, or via Grafana's in-app plugin catalog.
2. Register the datasource: apply
   [`datasource.yaml`](https://github.com/emmaglorypraise/ObsidianLog/blob/main/examples/integrations/grafana/datasource.yaml)
   via Grafana's provisioning mechanism, or add it manually through the UI.
3. Run the export script (leave it running):
   ```sh theme={null}
   ./export-and-serve.sh [path-to-config.toml] [port]
   ```
4. Import
   [`dashboard.json`](https://github.com/emmaglorypraise/ObsidianLog/blob/main/examples/integrations/grafana/dashboard.json)
   through Dashboards → Import, selecting your Infinity datasource when
   prompted.

You'll see a table of archived logs: timestamp, service, level, host, and
message (pulled from the original event's `msg`/`message` field, nested
under `raw` in the query output). See [obsidianlog query](/cli/query) for
the full field shape.

## Keeping it fresh

The export script is one-shot: it snapshots the current query results once.
For continuous refresh, wrap it in `watch -n 60 ./export-and-serve.sh`, a
cron job, or a systemd timer. These are deliberately not included, to keep
this an example rather than infrastructure to maintain.