Welcome to Grafana 11.6! This minor release includes a number of dashboarding features that are now generally available including one-click data links and actions, Cron syntax support for annotations, and WebGL-powered geomaps for better performance. We’ve also fully migrated from API keys to service accounts in Grafana for better security. Read on to learn more about version history for Grafana Managed Alerts, label-based access control (LBAC) for Mimir metrics, and more in Grafana v11.6.
For even more detail about all the changes in this release, refer to the changelog. For the specific steps we recommend when you upgrade to v11.6, check out our Upgrade Guide.
Last year we introduced one-click data links and actions for canvas visualizations in public preview and experimentally respectively. With the One click switch toggled on, it takes just a single click to open a data link or trigger an action. Now, both of these features are generally available for the canvas visualization.
With the promotion to general availability, the One click switch has been moved into the dialog box where you configure the data link or action, at element level. You can only have one One click data link or action, so if you enable it for one, the feature is automatically disabled for others.
There’s supposed to be a video here, but for some reason there isn’t. Either we entered the id wrong (oops!), or Vimeo is down. If it’s the latter, we’d expect they’ll be back up and running soon. In the meantime, check out our blog!
There’s supposed to be a video here, but for some reason there isn’t. Either we entered the id wrong (oops!), or Vimeo is down. If it’s the latter, we’d expect they’ll be back up and running soon. In the meantime, check out our blog!
Actions for visualizations are now generally available. With actions, you can trigger basic, unauthenticated API calls from a dashboard panel. Previously experimental, actions are now generally available for the following visualizations:
Time series
Bar chart
Candlestick
State timeline
Status history
Table
Trend
XY chart
You can find actions under the Data links and actions section of the panel editor pane (previously the Data links section).
The table visualization now includes a new Actions cell type, which lets you trigger actions directly from table cells. This enhancement allows you to define custom actions, such as triggering external workflows, from within a table column:
Using Cron syntax, you can define more granular schedules than previously possible with just weekday and time selections. For example, it is now possible to create a single time region query that marks periods like “At 21:00 on the second Tuesday of every other month” or “Weekdays 9-5.” To try it out create an Annotation, toggle the Advanced switch and use Cron syntax to set more granular time region controls.
We’ve moved over to WebGL for geomap marker layers. You can expect a significant increase in performance and stability, which is especially noticeable for larger datasets.
The following examples show a comparison of before and after switching to WebGL.
In previous releases, we added support for dashboard variables to a small number of transformations.
Now this functionality has been added to all transformations, where applicable.
All text input fields in transformations accept variable syntax:
When you use dashboard variables in transformations, the variables are automatically interpolated before the transformations are applied to the data.
Grafana Managed Alerts now supports version history. You can view, compare, and restore your alert’s historical versions by navigating to the alert details view of any Grafana Managed Alert rule and clicking the Version tab.
In response to the recent deprecation of OpsGenie, Grafana Alerting has added support for Jira Service Management as a Grafana Managed contact point. You can ensure you don’t miss any critical alerts by updating your OpsGenie contact points to use Jira Service Management.
ExperimentalData sourcesAuthentication and authorizationMetrics
It can be hard for teams to collaborate on dashboards when they have to use different data sources. Grafana instances can become cluttered and confusing with hundreds of data sources.
LBAC (Label Based Access Control) for data sources - metrics is our second step towards seamless management of access for Mimir metrics. Each team views the same data source filtered by their team’s label permissions.
Standardized links for plugins to simplify user-developer interactions
We’re pleased to announce an improvement to the Grafana plugin catalog that benefits both Grafana users and plugin developers. By introducing standardized links on plugin details pages, we’re making it easier for users to engage with developers, and find the essential information they need to get the most out of a plugin. Developers, in turn, will gain valuable feedback and support from their audience.
Generally AvailableSecurityAuthentication and authorization
We’ve fully deprecated API keys in Grafana, and all existing API keys have been automatically migrated to Service Accounts. No action is needed on your part—your API integrations will continue to work seamlessly while benefiting from improved security and management features.
Why Service Accounts:
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) – Assign roles (for example, Viewer, Editor, Admin) and scope access to specific teams for improved security.
Audited Automation – Service Accounts are integrated with Grafana’s identity management system, ensuring all actions are logged for better tracking and compliance.
Seamless Token Rotation – Manage multiple tokens per service account effortlessly, allowing for smooth rotation without downtime.
