--- keywords: - Infrastructure as Code - Quickstart - Grafana Cloud - Grafana Operator title: Manage folders, data sources, and dashboards using Grafana Operator weight: 100 canonical: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/as-code/infrastructure-as-code/grafana-operator/operator-dashboards-folders-datasources/ --- # Creating and managing folders, data sources, and dashboards using the Grafana Operator Learn how to manage data sources, folders and dashboard, using Grafana Operator. ## Prerequisites Before you begin, you should have the following available: - An existing Grafana Cloud stack. - Grafana Operator Installed in your Cluster, as shown in [Grafana Operator Installation](/docs/grafana-cloud/as-code/infrastructure-as-code/grafana-operator/#installing-the-grafana-operator). ## Grafana Operator Setup The Grafana Operator allows us to authenticate with the Grafana instance using the Grafana Custom Resource (CR). 1. **Create the Grafana API Token Secret:** Store the Grafana API Token in a secret with the following content in a file named `grafana-token.yml`: ```yaml apiVersion: v1 kind: Secret metadata: name: grafana-cloud-credentials namespace: <grafana-operator-namespace> stringData: GRAFANA_CLOUD_INSTANCE_TOKEN: <Grafana-API-Key> type: Opaque ``` Replace the following field values: - `<Grafana-API-Key>` with API key from the Grafana instance. To create an API key, refer [Grafana API Key Documentation](/docs/grafana/latest/administration/api-keys/). - `<grafana-operator-namespace>` with the namespace where the grafana-operator is deployed in Kubernetes Cluster. 2. **Configure the Grafana Custom Resource:** Set up connection to your Grafana Cloud instance by creating a file named `grafana-cloud.yml` with the following contents: ```yaml apiVersion: grafana.integreatly.org/v1beta1 kind: Grafana metadata: name: <Grafana-cloud-stack-name> namespace: <grafana-operator-namespace> labels: dashboards: <Grafana-cloud-stack-name> spec: external: url: https://<Grafana-cloud-stack-name>.grafana.net/ apiKey: name: grafana-cloud-credentials key: GRAFANA_CLOUD_INSTANCE_TOKEN ``` Replace the following field values: - `<Grafana-API-Key>` with API key from the Grafana instance. - `<Grafana-cloud-stack-name>` with the name of your Grafana Cloud Stack. - `<grafana-operator-namespace>` with the namespace where the grafana-operator is deployed in Kubernetes Cluster. ## Add a data source The following steps use the Prometheus data source. The required arguments vary depending on the data source you select. 1. **Create the Data Source Configuration:** Save a new YAML file `datasource.yml` with the following content: ```yaml apiVersion: grafana.integreatly.org/v1beta1 kind: GrafanaDatasource metadata: name: <data-source-name> namespace: <grafana-operator-namespace> spec: instanceSelector: matchLabels: dashboards: <Grafana-cloud-stack-name> allowCrossNamespaceImport: true datasource: access: proxy database: prometheus jsonData: timeInterval: 5s tlsSkipVerify: true name: <data-source-name> type: prometheus url: <data-source-url> ``` Replace the following field values: - `<data-source-name>` with the name of the data source to be added in Grafana. - `<data-source-url>` with URL of your data source. - `<Grafana-cloud-stack-name>` with the name of your Grafana Cloud Stack. - `<grafana-operator-namespace>` with the namespace where the grafana-operator is deployed in Kubernetes Cluster. ## Add a dashboard to a folder Use the following YAML definition to create a simple dashboard in the Grafana instance under a custom folder. If the folder defined under spec.folder fields doesnt not exist, The operator will create it before placing the dashboard inside the folder. 1. **Prepare the Dashboard Configuration File:** In `dashboard.yml`, define the dashboard and assign it to a folder: ```yaml apiVersion: grafana.integreatly.org/v1beta1 kind: GrafanaDashboard metadata: name: <folder-name> namespace: <grafana-operator-namespace> spec: instanceSelector: matchLabels: dashboards: <Grafana-cloud-stack-name> folder: "<folder-name>" json: > { "title": "as-code dashboard", “uid” : “ascode” } ``` Replace the following field values: - `<folder-name>` with the name of the folder in which you want the Dashboard to be created. - `<Grafana-cloud-stack-name>` with the name of your Grafana Cloud Stack. - `<grafana-operator-namespace>` with the namespace where the grafana-operator is deployed in Kubernetes Cluster. ## Apply Kubernetes Manifests In a terminal, run the following commands from the directory where all of the above Kubernetes YAML definitions are located. 1. Create Kubernetes Custom resources for all of the above configurations. ```shell kubectl apply -f grafana-token.yml grafana-cloud.yml datasource.yml dashboard.yml ``` ## Validation Once you apply the configurations, you should be able to verify the following: - A new data source is visible in Grafana. In the following image a datasource named `InfluxDB` was created.  - A new dashboard and folder in Grafana. In the following image a dashboard named `InfluxDB Cloud Demos` was created inside the `Demos` folder.  ## Conclusion In this guide, you created a data source, folder, and dashboard using the Grafana Operator. To learn more about managing Grafana using Grafana Operator, see the [Grafana Operator documentation](https://grafana.github.io/grafana-operator/docs/).