Import a dashboard

If you exported a dashboard from another Kibana space, instance, deployment, or project, you can import it into your own in one of these ways:

The JSON methods are recommended because they rely on the Dashboards API.

Recreate a dashboard from its JSON file without writing an API request. Kibana checks the file as soon as you select it, so you can see what it removes and what the dashboard depends on before you import.

Prerequisites

  • A dashboard JSON file of 1 MB or less, from Export JSON or from the Dashboards API.
  • All privilege for the Dashboard feature in Kibana. Without it, Import dashboard doesn't appear.

Import the file

  1. Go to Dashboards.
  2. From the application menu, select Import dashboard.
  3. In the Import dashboard flyout, select your file under Select a JSON file. Kibana checks the file right away.
  4. Review any messages in the flyout. If Kibana shows an error, select a different file. If it shows a warning, review it before you continue.
  5. Select Import.

Kibana creates a new dashboard in the current space, closes the flyout, shows a confirmation message, and refreshes the list of dashboards so the new dashboard appears. It never updates an existing dashboard, so importing the same file again creates another dashboard.

Messages after you select a file

Message What it means What to do
The selected file is too large. The maximum size is 1 MB. The file is larger than 1 MB. Import stays unavailable. Select a smaller file.
The selected file does not contain valid JSON. The file isn't valid JSON. Import stays unavailable. Select a different file.
The file could not be imported. Kibana can't validate the file, for example because it isn't a full dashboard definition. Import stays unavailable. Select a different file. Make sure the file comes from Export JSON or from the Dashboards API.
Unsupported properties were removed. The file includes panel types or properties that the Dashboards API doesn't support. Kibana leaves them out of the imported dashboard. Import stays available. Select Show details to see what Kibana removed.
Review import warnings. The file references related items, such as data views, tags, or library visualizations. Kibana imports only the dashboard. This warning also lists any removed properties. Import stays available. Select Show details to see each item's type and ID. Make sure these items exist in the space or cluster where you import.

Recreate the dashboard by sending its JSON definition to the Dashboards API.

Prerequisites

  • The dashboard's API-compatible JSON. Refer to Export and share Kibana dashboards to produce it.
  • All privilege for the Dashboard feature in Kibana.
  • A way to call the API, such as Kibana Dev Tools Console or an API key.

Send the JSON to the Dashboards API in the target instance, deployment, or project. The API creates the dashboard in the space identified by the request path, or updates it in place when you send it with an existing ID. The JSON export flow can open a pre-populated request in Kibana Dev Tools Console, where you set the space in the request path before sending it.

For the imported dashboard to work, the objects it references, such as data views and library visualizations, must also exist in the target environment. To version-control dashboards and keep their references portable across environments, refer to Manage dashboards as code.

Import the dashboard and its related objects from an NDJSON file on the Saved Objects page.

Prerequisites

  • An NDJSON file containing the dashboard and its related objects. To produce one, refer to Export saved objects.
  • All privilege for the Dashboard and Saved Objects Management features in Kibana.
  • Access to Stack Management in Kibana.

Import the dashboard from the Saved Objects page under Stack Management. When you import a dashboard, you also import its related objects, such as data views and visualizations. Import options control how the import handles these related objects:

  • Check for existing objects: When selected, objects are not imported when another object with the same ID already exists in this space or cluster. For example, if you import a dashboard that uses a data view which already exists, the data view is not imported and the dashboard uses the existing data view instead. You can also choose which of the imported or existing objects to keep by selecting Request action on conflict.
  • Create new objects with random IDs: All related objects are imported and are assigned a new ID to avoid conflicts.

Import panel

To automate the import, use the import saved objects API instead.

Note

To move a dashboard to another space within the same deployment, you don't need to export and import it. Instead, copy it to the target space from the Saved Objects page, together with its related objects. To automate this, use the copy saved objects to space API.