# How to Deploy Grafana With xCloud One Click Apps

> Deploy Grafana on xCloud from One Click Apps: pick a server, set the admin login, choose Demo Site or Go Live, then sign in and add your first data source.

You can run [Grafana](https://grafana.com/oss/grafana/) on your own server with xCloud without writing a Docker Compose file. Go to **New Site**, pick **Grafana** in the app catalog, choose a server, set the admin login, choose **Demo Site** or **Go Live**, and click **Next**. xCloud starts Grafana, keeps its data on persistent storage and serves it over HTTPS. This guide walks through each screen up to your first sign-in.

**Who this is for:** anyone who wants dashboards and alerts for the metrics, logs or databases they already have (Prometheus, Loki, MySQL and more), on a server they control. Grafana shows data from those sources; it does not collect data by itself.

## What the Grafana app includes

| Part | What you get |
|---|---|
| Grafana version | The official `grafana/grafana` image, version 12.4 (the newest 12.4 fix release when you install). |
| Web address | Grafana runs behind xCloud's Nginx on your domain, with an SSL certificate. |
| Saved data | Dashboards, data sources, users, plugins and alert rules are saved on the server, so they are kept when Grafana restarts or redeploys. |
| Admin login | You set the admin username and password in the install form. |
| Sign-up | Public sign-up is off. Only the admin can add users. |

## Before you start

- An xCloud account that can create sites.
- An **Nginx** server with Docker, or permission to create a new server during setup. See the recommended size on the Grafana install page.
- For **Go Live**: a domain you can point at the server. For a first try, **Demo Site** needs no domain.

## Step 1: Open New Site

From the xCloud dashboard, click **New Site**.

![The New Site button on the xCloud dashboard Overview page](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-1.png)

The **What would you like to host today?** page opens with the full app catalog.

## Step 2: Find Grafana in the app catalog

Type **Grafana** in the search box, then click the **Grafana** card.

![The Grafana card in the xCloud app catalog after searching for Grafana](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-2.png)

The Grafana page opens. It shows **Runs on Nginx, Docker** and the recommended server size.

## Step 3: Choose where Grafana will run

Under **Where should it run?**, pick one option:

- **Deploy on a new server:** xCloud creates and sets up a server only for Grafana.
- **An existing server:** click its card. Only servers that can run Grafana are listed, with their free RAM, CPU and disk.

Click **Continue**.

![An existing Nginx server selected under Where should it run? on the Grafana install page](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-3.png)

## Step 4: Fill in the site details and the admin login

The **Install Grafana Into** form opens.

1. Enter a **Site Title**, for example `Grafana`. **Add Tag (optional)** helps you group sites.
2. Under **Domain Setup**, choose one:
   - **Demo Site:** xCloud gives you a test domain, shown under **Domain Name**. Click **Regenerate** for a different one. Use this to try Grafana first.
   - **Go Live:** enter your own domain and point its DNS at the server.
3. Under **Admin Credentials**, keep or change the **Admin Username** (default `admin`; letters, numbers, dashes and underscores, up to 32 characters).
4. Enter an **Admin Password** of 8 to 64 characters, or leave it empty and xCloud generates a secure 24-character password.

![Demo Site selected under Domain Setup in the Install Grafana form, with the Admin Credentials fields below](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-4.png)

Click **Next** at the bottom of the form.

## Step 5: Wait for the setup to finish

xCloud shows a progress page with each stage: checking the server, installing Docker, setting up the app, SSL, HTTPS and monitoring. You can leave this page; the setup keeps running.

![The site setup progress list while xCloud installs Grafana](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-5.png)

When it finishes, open the site from **Sites** to reach its **Site Overview** page.

If a stage fails, open **Recent Events** on the site, click **View** on the failed event, and fix what it reports (often DNS for **Go Live**, or a server that is too small). Then try again or contact support with the event output.

## Step 6: Copy the Grafana admin login

On **Site Overview**, the **Grafana Credentials** card shows the **Username** and **Password**. Use **Copy** next to each one. Click the eye icon to show the password.

![The Grafana Credentials card with the admin username and password on the site's Site Overview page](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-6.png)

## Step 7: Sign in to Grafana

Click **Visit Site** at the top of the site page. Grafana opens its **Welcome to Grafana** page. Enter the username in **Email or username**, the password in **Password**, and click **Log in**.

![The Welcome to Grafana sign-in form with the Email or username and Password fields](/_landing/docs/deploy-grafana-with-xcloud-image-7.png)

You land on the Grafana home page. Your Grafana is ready.

## After your first sign-in

| Task | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Change the admin password | Your profile in Grafana | The password from the install form is only used when Grafana starts for the first time. After that, change it inside Grafana ([Grafana docs](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/#admin_password)). |
| Add a data source | **Connections → Data sources** in Grafana | Connect Prometheus, Loki, MySQL or another source, then build dashboards on it. |
| Add team members | **Administration** in Grafana | Public sign-up is off, so add each user yourself. |
| Turn on email | **Environment** on the xCloud site | Grafana needs SMTP for invites, password resets and alert emails. See below. |

### Turn on email (SMTP)

Open the site in xCloud, click **Environment**, add these lines with your mail provider's details, then click **Save & Redeploy**:

```bash
GF_SMTP_ENABLED=true
GF_SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com:587
GF_SMTP_USER=your-smtp-username
GF_SMTP_PASSWORD=your-smtp-password
GF_SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS=noreply@example.com
GF_SMTP_FROM_NAME=Grafana
```

The same **Environment** page takes other Grafana settings, such as `GF_AUTH_*` lines for sign-in with LDAP, OAuth or SAML.

## Update and back up Grafana

- **Update:** your site stays on Grafana 12.4. To move to a newer major or minor version, follow [Update a One Click App and edit its Docker Compose](/docs/update-a-one-click-app-and-edit-its-docker-compose-in-xcloud/).
- **Back up:** everything Grafana stores is in the `grafana_data` storage. See [Back up and restore Docker apps](/docs/backup-and-restore-docker-apps/) for what xCloud backs up and how to restore it.

## Common mistakes

- Choosing **Go Live** before the domain's DNS points at the server. Start with **Demo Site**, then [go live from the demo site](/docs/how-to-go-live-from-demo-site/).
- Changing the admin password in **Environment** (`GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD`) and expecting the login to change. Grafana reads it only on first start; change the password inside Grafana instead.
- Expecting Grafana to collect metrics by itself. Add a data source that already holds your data.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need to write a Docker Compose file to deploy Grafana on xCloud?

No. The Grafana One Click App already defines the Grafana container, its storage and the HTTPS proxy. You pick Grafana in the catalog, choose a server, fill in the form and click Next.

### What server does Grafana need on xCloud?

An Nginx server with Docker. The Grafana install page shows the recommended server size, and only servers that can run Grafana are listed. If you have no suitable server, choose Deploy on a new server and xCloud sets one up for you.

### Where do I find the Grafana admin password?

Open the site in xCloud. The Site Overview page shows a Grafana Credentials card with the username and password, each with a Copy button. If you left the password field empty in the install form, xCloud generated a 24-character password for you.

### Can people sign up for my Grafana themselves?

No. Public sign-up is turned off in this app. Sign in as the admin and add other people from Administration in Grafana.

## Related xCloud docs

- [Grafana hosting on xCloud](/grafana-hosting/): plans and what is included
- [All One Click Apps](/one-click-apps/): the full catalog
- [How to use One Click App templates](/docs/how-to-use-one-click-app-templates-in-xcloud/): App Actions, the Environment editor and events
- [Deploy Uptime Kuma with xCloud](/docs/deploy-uptime-kuma-with-xcloud/): uptime checks to pair with your dashboards

If you run into any issues while deploying Grafana, feel free to reach out to our [support team](/docs/access-built-in-support-portal-in-xcloud/).