Plugins 〉Zipkin
Zipkin
Grafana Zipkin Data Source
Grafana plugin for the Zipkin data source.
Read more about it here:
https://docs.grafana.org/datasources/zipkin/
Getting started
Backend
Update Grafana plugin SDK for Go dependency to the latest minor version:
go get -u github.com/grafana/grafana-plugin-sdk-go go mod tidyBuild plugin backend binaries for Linux, Windows and Darwin:
mage -vList all available Mage targets for additional commands:
mage -l
Frontend
Install dependencies
npm installBuild plugin in development mode and run in watch mode
npm run devBuild plugin in production mode
npm run buildRun the tests (using Jest)
# Runs the tests and watches for changes, requires git init first npm run testExits after running all the tests
npm run test:ci
Spin up a Grafana instance and run the plugin inside it (using Docker)
npm run serverRun the E2E tests (using Playwright)
# Spins up a Grafana instance first that we tests against npm run serverIf you wish to start a certain Grafana version. If not specified will use latest by default
GRAFANA_VERSION=11.3.0 npm run server
Starts the tests
npm run e2e
Run the linter
npm run lintor
npm run lint:fix
Distributing your plugin
When distributing a Grafana plugin either within the community or privately the plugin must be signed so the Grafana application can verify its authenticity. This can be done with the @grafana/sign-plugin package.
Note: It's not necessary to sign a plugin during development. The docker development environment that is scaffolded with @grafana/create-plugin caters for running the plugin without a signature.
Initial steps
Before signing a plugin please read the Grafana plugin publishing and signing criteria documentation carefully.
@grafana/create-plugin has added the necessary commands and workflows to make signing and distributing a plugin via the grafana plugins catalog as straightforward as possible.
Before signing a plugin for the first time please consult the Grafana plugin signature levels documentation to understand the differences between the types of signature level.
- Create a Grafana Cloud account.
- Make sure that the first part of the plugin ID matches the slug of your Grafana Cloud account.
- You can find the plugin ID in the
plugin.jsonfile inside your plugin directory. For example, if your account slug isacmecorp, you need to prefix the plugin ID withacmecorp-.
- You can find the plugin ID in the
- Create a Grafana Cloud API key with the
PluginPublisherrole. - Keep a record of this API key as it will be required for signing a plugin
Signing a plugin
Using Github actions release workflow
If the plugin is using the github actions supplied with @grafana/create-plugin signing a plugin is included out of the box. The release workflow can prepare everything to make submitting your plugin to Grafana as easy as possible. Before being able to sign the plugin however a secret needs adding to the Github repository.
- Please navigate to "settings > secrets > actions" within your repo to create secrets.
- Click "New repository secret"
- Name the secret "GRAFANA_API_KEY"
- Paste your Grafana Cloud API key in the Secret field
- Click "Add secret"
Push a version tag
To trigger the workflow we need to push a version tag to github. This can be achieved with the following steps:
- Run
npm version <major|minor|patch> - Run
git push origin main --follow-tags
Learn more
Below you can find source code for existing app plugins and other related documentation.
Grafana Cloud Free
- Free tier: Limited to 3 users
- Paid plans: $55 / user / month above included usage
- Access to all Enterprise Plugins
- Fully managed service (not available to self-manage)
Self-hosted Grafana Enterprise
- Access to all Enterprise plugins
- All Grafana Enterprise features
- Self-manage on your own infrastructure
Grafana Cloud Free
- Free tier: Limited to 3 users
- Paid plans: $55 / user / month above included usage
- Access to all Enterprise Plugins
- Fully managed service (not available to self-manage)
Self-hosted Grafana Enterprise
- Access to all Enterprise plugins
- All Grafana Enterprise features
- Self-manage on your own infrastructure
Grafana Cloud Free
- Free tier: Limited to 3 users
- Paid plans: $55 / user / month above included usage
- Access to all Enterprise Plugins
- Fully managed service (not available to self-manage)
Self-hosted Grafana Enterprise
- Access to all Enterprise plugins
- All Grafana Enterprise features
- Self-manage on your own infrastructure
Grafana Cloud Free
- Free tier: Limited to 3 users
- Paid plans: $55 / user / month above included usage
- Access to all Enterprise Plugins
- Fully managed service (not available to self-manage)
Self-hosted Grafana Enterprise
- Access to all Enterprise plugins
- All Grafana Enterprise features
- Self-manage on your own infrastructure
Grafana Cloud Free
- Free tier: Limited to 3 users
- Paid plans: $55 / user / month above included usage
- Access to all Enterprise Plugins
- Fully managed service (not available to self-manage)
Self-hosted Grafana Enterprise
- Access to all Enterprise plugins
- All Grafana Enterprise features
- Self-manage on your own infrastructure
Installing Zipkin on Grafana Cloud:
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Warning
Plugin installation from this page will be removed in February 2026. Use the Plugin Catalog in your Grafana instance instead. Refer to Install a plugin in the Grafana documentation for more information.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Warning
Plugin installation from this page will be removed in February 2026. Use the Plugin Catalog in your Grafana instance instead. Refer to Install a plugin in the Grafana documentation for more information.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Warning
Plugin installation from this page will be removed in February 2026. Use the Plugin Catalog in your Grafana instance instead. Refer to Install a plugin in the Grafana documentation for more information.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Warning
Plugin installation from this page will be removed in February 2026. Use the Plugin Catalog in your Grafana instance instead. Refer to Install a plugin in the Grafana documentation for more information.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Warning
Plugin installation from this page will be removed in February 2026. Use the Plugin Catalog in your Grafana instance instead. Refer to Install a plugin in the Grafana documentation for more information.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
Warning
Plugin installation from this page will be removed in February 2026. Use the Plugin Catalog in your Grafana instance instead. Refer to Install a plugin in the Grafana documentation for more information.
Installing plugins on a Grafana Cloud instance is a one-click install; same with updates. Cool, right?
Note that it could take up to 1 minute to see the plugin show up in your Grafana.
For more information, visit the docs on plugin installation.
Installing on a local Grafana:
For local instances, plugins are installed and updated via a simple CLI command. Plugins are not updated automatically, however you will be notified when updates are available right within your Grafana.
1. Install the Data Source
Use the grafana-cli tool to install Zipkin from the commandline:
grafana-cli plugins install The plugin will be installed into your grafana plugins directory; the default is /var/lib/grafana/plugins. More information on the cli tool.
Alternatively, you can manually download the .zip file for your architecture below and unpack it into your grafana plugins directory.
Alternatively, you can manually download the .zip file and unpack it into your grafana plugins directory.
2. Configure the Data Source
Accessed from the Grafana main menu, newly installed data sources can be added immediately within the Data Sources section.
Next, click the Add data source button in the upper right. The data source will be available for selection in the Type select box.
To see a list of installed data sources, click the Plugins item in the main menu. Both core data sources and installed data sources will appear.
Changelog
12.4.2 (Unreleased)
Initial external release.



