# Build a dashboard A dashboard belongs to a business group; build it from an integration template or from scratch with twelve panel types, and export it whole to hand to someone else. Last reviewed 2026-10-10 Where this page ends: a dashboard owned by a business group, with at least one panel drawing real data, saved and exportable to hand to someone else. ## First decide: import a template or start empty[​](#first-decide-import-a-template-or-start-empty "Direct link to First decide: import a template or start empty") * Monitoring a common component (Linux, MySQL, Redis, Nginx…): a usable board almost certainly already ships with the template, and **importing then adjusting** beats drawing from scratch; * Monitoring your own business metrics: start empty. Either way, note one thing first: **the Add / Import / More buttons only appear once a specific business group is selected on the left.** While the sidebar sits on the preset filters "My business group dashboards" or "Public dashboards", the buttons are hidden — that is not a permission problem, click a real group and they come back. ## 1. Import from an integration template[​](#1-import-from-an-integration-template "Direct link to 1. Import from an integration template") **Explorer → Dashboards** (`/dashboards`), pick a business group on the left, then **Import**. ![Dashboard list](https://n9e.github.io/img/docs/query/dashboard-list.webp)![Dashboard list](https://n9e.github.io/img/docs/query/dashboard-list.dark.webp) The dialog has four tabs: | Tab | When to use it | | ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Import built-in dashboard** (default) | Pick a component (MySQL, Redis…), then tick the dashboards shipped with it. This is the usual path | | **Import Grafana dashboard URL** (recommended) | Converts nothing; creates an iframe-mode dashboard that embeds your Grafana page | | **Import Nightingale dashboard JSON** | Paste JSON exported from another Nightingale | | **Import Grafana dashboard (not recommended)** | Beta, converts Grafana dashboard JSON into Nightingale's model. Plenty of limits — see [Use Grafana with Nightingale](https://n9e.github.io/docs/query/grafana.md) | Expected result: the boards appear in the list and open with charts on them. **If the charts are empty, do not start editing the board** — the component's metrics probably are not arriving yet; go back to [Verify incoming data](https://n9e.github.io/docs/data/integrations/verify.md). The templates themselves live under **Integrations → Components**, which offers the same set of dashboards. Importing collector config and alert rules alongside them is covered in [Import dashboards and rules](https://n9e.github.io/docs/data/integrations/import.md). ## 2. Start empty and add the first panel[​](#2-start-empty-and-add-the-first-panel "Direct link to 2. Start empty and add the first panel") Click **Add**, give the dashboard a name (ident, tags and note are optional). Saving takes you straight to the detail page. Click **Add panel**. Besides the 12 visualization types, the dropdown offers **Row** (a collapsible horizontal divider) and **Paste panel** (panel config JSON copied elsewhere). Pick a type to open the panel editor. It is a full-screen modal with **two columns, not tabs**: * **Left**: the variable bar on top, a live preview in the middle, the query editor below. That query editor is the same one the [Metrics explorer](https://n9e.github.io/docs/query/metric-explorer.md) uses, so the preview updates as you type. Text and Iframe panels have no query editor. * **Right**: a stack of collapsible sections, of which a type-specific subset appears — **Panel options** (name, description, links, repeat by variable), **Graph styles**, Legend, Tooltip, **Value mappings**, **Standard options**, **Thresholds**, **Colors**, **Links**, Override. The modal header also carries the visualization-type selector and a time range picker. **Change the chart type there** rather than deleting the panel and adding a new one. Click **Save** to return to the dashboard, then drag a panel's edge to resize it and its title to move it. ## 3. The twelve panel types[​](#3-the-twelve-panel-types "Direct link to 3. The twelve panel types") | Type | What it is for | | --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Time series | The default. One or more lines over time | | Bar chart | Comparing categories, or counts bucketed by time | | Stat | One big number, coloured by threshold | | Table NG (Beta) | The newer table with more features; use it for new panels | | Table | The older table, still used by existing panels | | Pie chart | Proportions | | Hexmap | Many instances on one screen, spot the outlier by colour | | Bar gauge | Top N as horizontal bars | | Text | Prose and links; queries nothing | | Gauge | A single value against a range | | Heatmap | How a distribution changes over time | | Iframe | Embeds an external page | Switching Table to Table NG raises a confirmation offering **Auto upgrade** (carry the old options over where possible) or **Switch type only** (start the options fresh). ## 4. Rows, time range and links[​](#4-rows-time-range-and-links "Direct link to 4. Rows, time range and links") * **Rows**: `Add panel → Row` inserts a collapsible divider. Deleting one asks whether to **delete the row and its panels** or **delete the row only**. * **Time range and auto refresh**: top right. The selected range goes into the URL (`__from` / `__to` / `__refresh`) and is remembered per dashboard in the browser. Refresh intervals are 5s / 10s / 20s / 30s / 1m / 2m / 3m / 5m / 10m. **A refresh interval shorter than the query step buys nothing**, and the UI says so. * **Links**: the link icon in the title bar configures jump targets (name, URL, open in a new tab), which is how you chain related boards together. * **Dashboard settings** (the gear): name, ident, tags, note, plus two behaviour switches — **Graph tooltip** (Default / Shared crosshair / Shared tooltip) and **Graph zoom** (Default / Update time range). * **Variables**: the entry point sits at the end of the variable bar, showing "Add variable" while there are none. See [Variables and filters](https://n9e.github.io/docs/query/variables.md). ## Save, export, move a panel elsewhere[​](#save-export-move-a-panel-elsewhere "Direct link to Save, export, move a panel elsewhere") **Changes are not saved automatically.** After adding panels and adjusting the layout, click **Save dashboard** in the title bar; leaving with unsaved changes prompts first. * **A whole board**: **Export** on the list row gives you JSON, with **Download JSON** and **Copy JSON to clipboard**. Paste it back elsewhere through "Import Nightingale dashboard JSON". **The JSON in that box can be selected and copied, but editing it writes nothing back** — there is no edit-JSON feature. * **Into another business group**: use **Clone**. The copy is independent; the two are maintained separately from then on. * **A single panel**: the panel's own menu has **Copy**, which puts that panel's config JSON on the clipboard; on the target dashboard use `Add panel → Paste panel`. The same menu also holds Refresh / Edit / Clone / Share / Inspect / Delete, and table panels add **Export (CSV)**. ## Next[​](#next "Direct link to Next") * Make one board serve many hosts: [Variables and filters](https://n9e.github.io/docs/query/variables.md) * Show it to someone without an account: [Anonymous time-limited sharing](https://n9e.github.io/docs/query/sharing.md) * Import the template's rules too: [Import dashboards and rules](https://n9e.github.io/docs/data/integrations/import.md)