Troubleshooting

Grafana Cloud Enterprise

Last reviewed: July 10, 2026

Troubleshoot Drone data source issues

This document provides solutions to common issues you might encounter when configuring or using the Drone data source. For configuration instructions, refer to Configure the Drone data source.

Installation errors

These errors occur when the plugin can’t install or load, most often because of a Grafana version mismatch. The Drone data source requires Grafana 10.3.3 or later.

“Plugin not found, no installed plugin with that id”

This error appears when Grafana can’t load the Drone plugin after installation.

Symptoms:

A Plugin not found, no installed plugin with that id error.
The plugin shows as not installed after a page refresh.

Possible causes and solutions:

Cause	Solution
Grafana version too old	Upgrade to Grafana 10.3.3 or later, which the plugin requires.
Incomplete installation	Reinstall the plugin and restart the Grafana server so it loads on startup.
Enterprise license not active	Confirm you have a Grafana Cloud Pro or Advanced plan or an activated Grafana Enterprise license, since this is an Enterprise plugin.

For Grafana Cloud, plugins are managed for you. If the plugin still doesn’t load, contact Grafana Support.

Understand the Save & test error

When you click Save & test, Grafana runs a health check that requests the list of repositories from your Drone instance using the Repo List query. If the health check fails for any reason, Grafana shows the same generic error:

health check failed for 'Repo List' query

Because this one message covers both authentication and connection problems, check both:

Confirm the Token is valid and has the required permissions, as described in Authentication errors.
Confirm the URL and network path are correct, as described in Connection errors.

Authentication errors

These errors occur when the Drone API token is missing, invalid, or lacks the required permissions. Find your token on the <YOUR_DRONE_URL>/account page of your Drone instance.

Save & test fails with an authentication error

This error appears when Drone rejects the provided token.

Symptoms:

Save & test fails with health check failed for 'Repo List' query.
Queries fail or return no data.

Possible causes and solutions:

Cause	Solution
Token field is empty	Enter your Drone API token and click Save & test again.
Expired or revoked token	Generate a new token on the `<YOUR_DRONE_URL>/account` page, update the token field, and save again.
Token copied incorrectly	Re-copy the full token without extra spaces, paste it into the token field, and save again.
Insufficient permissions	Verify the token’s account has access to the repositories you query.

Connection errors

These errors occur when Grafana can’t reach your Drone instance.

Connection refused, timeout, or URL errors

These errors indicate a malformed URL or a network problem between Grafana and Drone.

Symptoms:

Save & test fails with health check failed for 'Repo List' query, and the token is correct.
The data source test times out or fails to connect.
Queries fail with network errors.

Possible causes and solutions:

Cause	Solution
Missing protocol in the URL	Include the protocol in the URL field, such as `https://drone.company.com`.
Trailing slash in the URL	Remove the trailing slash from the URL field.
Network or firewall restriction	Verify outbound connectivity from the Grafana server to your Drone instance and confirm firewall rules allow outbound HTTPS.
Drone instance unreachable	Confirm the Drone instance is running and reachable from the Grafana server.

Query errors

These errors occur when running repository or build queries.

“No data” or empty results

A query can succeed but return no data.

Symptoms:

The query runs without error but returns no data.
Panels show a No data message.

Possible causes and solutions:

Cause	Solution
Repository is inactive	The repository drop-downs list only active repositories. Activate the repository in Drone if it should be queryable.
Wrong repository or build selected	Verify you selected the correct repository and build number.
Permissions issue	Verify the API token has access to the requested repository.

Build List returns only 100 builds

The Build List action returns at most the 100 most recent builds, not all builds for a repository.

Symptoms:

Older builds are missing from a Build List query.

Solutions:

To query a specific older build, use the Build Info action and type in the build number directly. The Build number field accepts values that aren’t in the drop-down.

Template variable errors

These errors occur when using template variables with the data source.

Variables return no values

A query variable can return an empty list.

Solutions:

Verify the data source connection by running Save & test in the data source settings.
Confirm the variable uses the Repo List action.
Verify the API token has permission to list repositories.

Enable debug logging

To capture detailed error information for troubleshooting:

Set the Grafana log level to debug in the configuration file:
ini
```
[log]
level = debug
```
Review logs in /var/log/grafana/grafana.log or your configured log location.
Look for Drone data source entries that include request and response details.
Reset the log level to info after troubleshooting to avoid excessive log volume.

Get additional help

If you’ve tried the previous solutions and still encounter issues:

Check the Grafana community forums for similar issues.
Consult the Drone documentation for service-specific guidance.
Contact Grafana Support through your Grafana Enterprise or Grafana Cloud support channel.
When reporting issues, include:
- Grafana version
- Error messages, with sensitive information redacted
- Steps to reproduce
- Relevant configuration, with credentials redacted