KB-004 Grafana Local User Management

Created by Logic Insight Support, Modified on Thu, 18 Dec at 7:53 AM by Logic Insight Support

Grafana Local User Management

Purpose

This Knowledge Base (KB) article provides step-by-step guidance for creating and managing local users in Grafana. It is intended for System Administrators and Platform Operators responsible for managing access to dashboards within the Logic Insight observability platform.

This document focuses specifically on local Grafana users (users stored in Grafana’s internal database), not LDAP, SAML, or OAuth-based authentication.

Scope

Creating local users via the Grafana Web UI
Assigning organization roles (Viewer, Editor, Admin)
Security and operational best practices
Common troubleshooting scenarios

This KB does not cover LDAP/Active Directory integration, SAML/OAuth, or fine-grained RBAC beyond organization roles.

Prerequisites

Overwatch is running
You have Grafana Admin privileges
Network access to the Grafana UI

High-Level Workflow

Log in to Grafana as an Admin
Create a local user (UI or API)
Assign the appropriate organization role
Validate dashboard and folder access
Apply security best practices

? Supported Methods

1. Grafana Web UI (Recommended)

This is the most efficient method for manual provisioning.

Feature	Details
Best For	Ad-hoc user creation & small teams
Access Level	Requires Server Admin privileges
Link	Official Grafana Documentation

Preparation

Before you begin, ensure you have the following information for the new user:

Full Name
Email Address (Required for the profile, even if SMTP is disabled)
Unique Username
Temporary Password

Step-by-Step Instructions

Access Admin Panel: Log in and click the Shield Icon (Server Admin) on the left-hand sidebar.
Open User List: Select Users from the Server Admin menu.
Initiate Creation: Click the green New user button in the top right.
Enter Credentials: Fill in the Name, Email, Username, and Password fields.
Finalize: Click Create user.

Pro-Tip: If you haven't configured an SMTP server, you will need to manually provide the temporary password to the user, as Grafana won't be able to send an automated "Welcome" email.

Roles and Permissions Overview

Grafana assigns permissions at the organization level using predefined roles:

Role	Description
Viewer	Read-only access to dashboards
Editor	Create and modify dashboards and alerts
Admin	Full organization-level control

Official RBAC documentation can be found here.

Security Best Practices

Logic Insight strongly recommends the following:

Maintain at least one local admin account for emergency access
Avoid shared accounts
Enforce strong passwords
Limit Grafana Admin privileges
Rotate credentials periodically

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

User Cannot Log In

Confirm the user is enabled
Verify the authentication method order
Check for conflicting external auth providers

User Cannot See Dashboards

Validate organization membership
Check folder-level permissions
Confirm role assignment

Revision History

Version	Date	Description
1.0	2025-12-18	Initial KB release Local User Administration Grafana