Set a custom home dashboard in Grafana

Star the dashboard you want, open your user profile or preferences, select it as the home dashboard, and save. That personal choice takes precedence over the team, organization, and server defaults.

Set your personal home dashboard

1. Open the dashboard and mark it as a favorite using the star beside its title.
2. Open your user menu and choose Profile or the preferences page used by your Grafana version.
3. Select the dashboard in Home Dashboard and save.

The home entry now uses that dashboard for your account. Navigation labels and menu positions vary between Grafana versions, so avoid relying on a specific corner of the screen.

Set an organization or team default

An organization administrator can change the home dashboard under the organization's default preferences. In versions with the current administration navigation, look under Administration → General → Default preferences.

For a team, open Administration → Users and access → Teams, select the team, and edit its settings. A team administrator or organization administrator can set the team's home dashboard where their permissions allow it.

Users still need access to the selected dashboard. Choosing a home dashboard does not grant dashboard permissions.

Configure the server fallback

For self-managed Grafana, set a dashboard JSON path in the active configuration:

[dashboards]
default_home_dashboard_path = /var/lib/grafana/dashboards/home.json

Or set the equivalent environment variable:

GF_DASHBOARDS_DEFAULT_HOME_DASHBOARD_PATH=/var/lib/grafana/dashboards/home.json

Make that JSON file available and readable inside each Grafana instance, then restart Grafana after changing its configuration. This changes the default dashboard used when a more specific preference has not selected another dashboard; it does not override every user's choice.

FAQ

Why does my setting appear to have no effect? Check the preference levels in this order: user, team, organization, then server. A personal setting can override an organization default. Also verify the active organization, dashboard permissions, and any configured custom home-page behavior.

Can I use a wallboard as the home dashboard? Yes. Selecting the home dashboard determines where users land; kiosk display is a separate setting. Open the dashboard's kiosk controls, or use the kiosk shortcut available in your Grafana version, to hide navigation for a display.

Sources

This guide is based on the documentation below; the examples have not been tested against a live deployment.

• Grafana organization preferences
• Grafana user preferences
• Grafana server configuration