The Grafana image packages the Grafana server binary and web UI assets together with plugin and provisioning directories, configuration templates, CA certs and minimal OS libraries needed at runtime. It exposes configuration via environment variables and mounted files, and ships the plugin loader and data source/auth connectors required to query metrics, logs and traces.
In containerized and production environments it runs under an orchestrator or container runtime, typically deployed statelessly with external storage for dashboards, alerts and metric indices. Typical workloads include time-series dashboarding, log aggregation and trace visualization, alert rule evaluation, and rendering for headless or embedded use.
Teams evaluate a Grafana hardened image in secure or regulated environments to reduce attack surface, enforce stricter filesystem and user permissions, obtain signed/reproducible builds, accelerate CVE remediation, and enable optional crypto/FIPS configurations or audit controls for compliance.
The Minimus Grafana image differs from typical Grafana container images by being built from scratch with only the essential runtime and libraries, avoiding full distribution base layers, package managers, and extraneous tooling. This minimalist construction reduces the attack surface, yields a smaller and faster artifact with quicker startup and lower resource overhead, and makes updates and vulnerability management simpler for engineering teams.
The Minimus hardened Grafana image goes further by applying industry-standard hardening and operational controls—aligned with NIST SP 800-190 guidance and CIS Benchmarks—such as least-privilege execution, minimized capabilities, immutable filesystem patterns, and hardened defaults in the build pipeline. For security-focused operators, that means an image that is easier to assess, maintain, and integrate into compliant deployment pipelines.
You can show a container image in Grafana by using the built-in Image panel. Add a panel, choose Image, and set the image URL to a publicly accessible image of your container (PNG/JPG or a hosted thumbnail). If the image is private, serve it from a URL Grafana can access and enable CORS or authentication as needed.
Example configuration:
// In the Image panel, set the image URL to your container image
Image URL: https://registry.example.com/path/to/image.png<img src="https://registry.example.com/path/to/image.png" alt="container image"/>If you run Grafana in a hardened Grafana image, ensure the registry URL is reachable and TLS is configured, and consider placing credentials in Grafana's secure data sources or a proxy.
This guide shows how to build a hardened Grafana image.
Start from the Grafana base image, copy provisioning, dashboards, and data sources, and install plugins as needed.
FROM grafana/grafana:9.5.0
COPY provisioning /etc/grafana/provisioning
RUN grafana-cli plugins install grafana-clock-panel
USER grafana
Build and run with minimal permissions, and supply admin credentials via environment variables to keep the container secure.
docker build -t my-grafana:latest .
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -e GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=secret my-grafana:latestGrafana is an open-source platform for visualizing time-series data from multiple sources. It lets you build dashboards, explore metrics, logs, and traces, and set up alerts. It supports many data sources (Prometheus, Graphite, InfluxDB, Elasticsearch, and more) and provides a rich set of visualization panels and plugins. It is widely used to monitor applications, infrastructure, and business metrics.
In containerized deployments, you typically run Grafana as a container using a hardened Grafana image. For production, follow security best practices (least privilege, up-to-date base images, and restricted network access).