Documentation Plugins Honeycomb data source Installation

Install and upgrade the Honeycomb data source plugin

This document covers how to install, upgrade, and verify the Honeycomb data source plugin across different Grafana deployment environments. After the plugin is installed, refer to Configure the Honeycomb data source to set up a connection.

Before you begin

Verify the following requirements before installing:

Install the plugin

Choose the installation method that matches your Grafana deployment.

Grafana Cloud

Enterprise plugins must be activated for your organization before they appear as installable in the plugin catalog.

1. Go to your Grafana Cloud organization settings and sign in with your Grafana Cloud account.
2. Select your organization.
3. Navigate to the Plugins tab and verify that the Honeycomb plugin is activated. If it isn’t listed, confirm your Cloud plan includes Enterprise plugins.
4. In your Grafana Cloud instance, navigate to Administration > Plugins and data > Plugins.
5. Search for Honeycomb and click Install.

Self-managed Grafana (CLI)

Bash Copy

grafana cli plugins install grafana-honeycomb-datasource

Restart Grafana after installation:

Bash Copy

sudo systemctl restart grafana-server

Docker

Set the GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS environment variable:

YAML Copy

environment:
  - GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS=grafana-honeycomb-datasource
  - GF_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_TEXT=<YOUR_LICENSE>

Kubernetes (Helm chart)

Add the plugin to your Helm values:

YAML Copy

plugins:
  - grafana-honeycomb-datasource

envFromSecret: grafana-license-secret

Or use the GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS environment variable in your deployment spec:

YAML Copy

env:
  - name: GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS
    value: "grafana-honeycomb-datasource"
  - name: GF_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_TEXT
    valueFrom:
      secretKeyRef:
        name: grafana-license
        key: license.jwt

Kubernetes (init container)

If you don’t control the Helm chart (for example, on a shared platform cluster), use an init container to download the plugin before Grafana starts:

YAML Copy

initContainers:
  - name: install-plugins
    image: curlimages/curl:latest
    command:
      - sh
      - -c
      - |
        curl -sL https://grafana.com/api/plugins/grafana-honeycomb-datasource/versions/latest/download \
          -o /plugins/grafana-honeycomb-datasource.zip && \
        unzip /plugins/grafana-honeycomb-datasource.zip -d /plugins/
    volumeMounts:
      - name: plugins
        mountPath: /plugins

Mount the same volume at /var/lib/grafana/plugins in the Grafana container.

Air-gapped (offline) installation

For environments without internet access:

1. Download the plugin ZIP from your Grafana account portal on a machine with internet access.

2. Transfer the ZIP to the Grafana server.

3. Extract to the plugins directory:

   Bash Copy

   unzip grafana-honeycomb-datasource-<version>.linux_amd64.zip -d /var/lib/grafana/plugins/

4. Set ownership:

   Bash Copy

   chown -R grafana:grafana /var/lib/grafana/plugins/grafana-honeycomb-datasource

5. Restart Grafana.

The Honeycomb plugin is signed, and official downloads from your Grafana account portal include a valid signature. If Grafana reports a signature error, don’t disable signature verification. Instead, resolve the underlying cause:

• Confirm you downloaded the official ZIP and didn’t modify or repackage its contents.
• Extract the complete plugin directory, including the MANIFEST.txt signature file, into the plugins directory.
• Verify the plugin folder is named grafana-honeycomb-datasource to match the plugin ID.
• Confirm the ZIP matches your server architecture and the plugin’s supported Grafana version.

Verify the installation

After installing, confirm the plugin is loaded:

1. Navigate to Administration > Plugins and data > Plugins.
2. Search for Honeycomb and verify the plugin appears with a status of Installed.
3. Navigate to Connections > Add new connection and search for Honeycomb to confirm it’s available as a data source.
4. If the plugin doesn’t appear, check the Grafana server logs for errors and refer to Troubleshoot installation issues.

Upgrade the plugin

Upgrade steps depend on your Grafana deployment environment.

Grafana Cloud

Plugins are automatically updated on Grafana Cloud. No manual action is required. If you experience issues after an automatic update, contact Grafana Support.

Self-managed Grafana

1. Update the plugin:

   Bash Copy

   grafana cli plugins update grafana-honeycomb-datasource

2. Restart Grafana.

3. Verify each data source connection with Save & test.

To install a specific version:

Bash Copy

grafana cli plugins install grafana-honeycomb-datasource <version>

For Docker or Kubernetes, append the version to the plugin name:

YAML Copy

environment:
  - GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS=grafana-honeycomb-datasource <version>

Roll back to a previous version

If an upgrade causes issues on a self-managed instance, pin a specific plugin version:

Bash Copy

grafana cli plugins install grafana-honeycomb-datasource 2.15.4

Restart Grafana after the rollback.

Uninstall the plugin

To remove the Honeycomb plugin from a self-managed Grafana instance:

Bash Copy

grafana cli plugins remove grafana-honeycomb-datasource

Restart Grafana after uninstalling. Existing data source configurations are preserved in the Grafana database but become non-functional until the plugin is reinstalled.

For Docker or Kubernetes, remove grafana-honeycomb-datasource from the GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS variable and redeploy.

Troubleshoot installation issues

The following sections address common installation problems.

Plugin doesn’t appear in the catalog (Grafana Cloud)

Cause: The Enterprise plugin isn’t activated for your organization.

Solution:

1. Go to your Grafana Cloud organization settings.
2. Select your organization and navigate to the Plugins tab.
3. Verify that the Honeycomb plugin is listed and activated.
4. Confirm your Cloud plan is Pro or Advanced. Free and Starter plans don’t include Enterprise plugins.

“Plugin not found” or install button missing

Cause: Your Grafana instance doesn’t have access to the Enterprise plugin repository.

Solution:

• Grafana Cloud: Verify plugin activation in your Grafana Cloud organization settings.
• Self-managed: Verify your Grafana Enterprise license is active. The license must be set via the GF_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_TEXT environment variable or the license path. Refer to Activate an Enterprise license.

License key errors (self-managed)

Cause: The GF_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_TEXT environment variable contains an invalid or malformed license key.

Solution:

1. Verify the license key doesn’t contain extra whitespace, line breaks, or truncated characters.
2. Confirm the key is for the correct Grafana instance URL.
3. Check that the license hasn’t expired in your Grafana Cloud organization settings.
4. For license activation help, refer to Activate an Enterprise license.

Signature error (air-gapped installs)

Cause: The plugin was installed from a ZIP file and Grafana can’t verify its signature. The Honeycomb plugin is signed, so this usually means the ZIP was modified, repackaged, or extracted without its signature file.

Solution:

1. Download the ZIP from the official Grafana account portal. Official downloads are signed. Don’t modify or repackage the contents.
2. Extract the complete plugin directory, including the MANIFEST.txt signature file, and confirm the folder is named grafana-honeycomb-datasource.
3. Confirm the ZIP matches your server architecture and the plugin’s supported Grafana version.
4. Restart Grafana.