To recreate Grafana without losing its intended setup, preserve its data directory and redeploy its provisioning files. They solve different problems: persistent storage retains Grafana’s database state, while provisioning files rebuild the resources declared in those files. A volume alone does not recreate file-defined dashboards, and provisioning alone does not preserve every part of an instance’s database.
What a container replacement can erase
Grafana’s Docker image uses an embedded SQLite database by default to store configuration, users, dashboards, and other data. If changes exist only in the container’s writable filesystem, removing that container removes those changes too. Grafana recommends using a Docker volume or bind mount for data that must persist. See Grafana’s Run Grafana Docker image documentation.
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For Docker, the documented data path is /var/lib/grafana. Mount persistent storage there, or at the data path if your Grafana configuration customizes it. Check the configuration used by the image you deploy rather than assuming every instance uses the default. Grafana documents its Docker paths in Configure a Grafana Docker image.
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Persistent data retains instance state
A persistent volume or bind mount keeps data written under Grafana’s data path available to a replacement container. This is the layer to use for database state that must survive container removal. Docker volumes and bind mounts are both documented persistence options; choose according to how your deployment manages storage and host paths.
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Provisioning files rebuild what you declare
Grafana’s classic provisioning reads YAML files at startup to configure resources such as data sources and dashboards. Dashboard provider configuration points Grafana to a directory containing dashboard definitions, so the provider file and the referenced definitions must both be available in the replacement instance. The standard Docker provisioning path is /etc/grafana/provisioning, though it may be customized. Keep the files in version control and make them available at the configured paths in every replacement container. See Provision Grafana.
In Docker, this usually means providing the data directory and provisioning content separately: mount persistent storage at the configured data path, and include provisioning files in the image or mount them at the configured provisioning path. A volume that preserves the database does not supply missing dashboard JSON or YAML, and a mounted provisioning directory does not preserve unrelated database state.
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Make file provisioning repeatable—and account for its effects
Provisioning makes declared resources reproducible, but it also establishes a source of truth. Grafana can reconfigure an existing data source to match its provisioning file. A data-source file’s deleteDatasources list deletes the named sources before configured sources are added or updated; prune: true removes provisioned data sources that are no longer present in the file. Review these settings before deploying changes that remove or rename entries.
File-provisioned dashboards have a related consequence: a later update from the source can overwrite edits made in Grafana’s UI. Grafana ignores the dashboard JSON version value for this reconciliation. Removing a dashboard’s provisioning source can delete that dashboard unless its provider has disableDeletion: true. Treat edits to file-managed dashboards as changes to the source files when those files are authoritative.
Versioning the provisioning files and dashboard definitions lets a team review changes and roll them back; automation can then deploy the reviewed configuration consistently. Grafana describes Git collaboration, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code tools as parts of an as-code workflow in Provision Grafana and its as-code workflows overview.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Deliver provisioning and persistence on Kubernetes
The same two-layer distinction applies to Kubernetes. Use persistent storage for Grafana data that must survive pod replacement, and separately ensure each replacement pod receives the provisioning configuration and referenced dashboard files. Grafana’s Kubernetes guide demonstrates a PersistentVolumeClaim supplying provisioning files through a mounted directory, then restarting the pod to apply the resources; that example does not define a universal production storage design. See Deploy Grafana on Kubernetes.
Choose storage and configuration delivery to suit the cluster and workload. A mounted provisioning directory answers how files reach the pod; it does not, by itself, establish that Grafana’s database directory is persistent. Confirm both separately in the deployment manifests and the paths configured for that Grafana release.
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Recovery checklist for a replacement instance
- Confirm which Grafana version, configuration, and data and provisioning paths the replacement uses. Defaults documented for Docker are
/var/lib/grafanaand/etc/grafana/provisioning; customized paths take precedence. - Verify that persistent storage is mounted at Grafana’s configured data path if database state must survive replacement.
- Verify that provisioning YAML files and every referenced dashboard definition are present at the configured paths in the new container or pod.
- Review dashboard provider deletion behavior and data-source deletion or pruning settings before applying file changes.
- Start or restart Grafana as appropriate for the deployment, then inspect the resulting dashboards and data sources to confirm they match the intended configuration.
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