Documentation Grafana Cloud Observe and act Connect to data sources Data sources TestData Configure

Configure the TestData data source

This document explains how to configure the TestData data source. TestData requires no external connection or authentication, so configuration is minimal.

For general information on managing data sources, refer to Data source management.

Before you begin

You must have the Organization administrator role to add and configure data sources.

Add the data source

To add the TestData data source:

1. Click Connections in the left-side menu.
2. Click Add new connection.
3. Type TestData in the search bar.
4. Select TestData.
5. Click Add new data source.

Grafana takes you to the Settings tab.

Configuration options

TestData doesn’t require any settings beyond the standard options common to all data sources.

Verify the connection

Click Save & test to verify the data source. A successful test displays the message:

Data source is working

If the test fails, refer to Troubleshoot TestData for common issues and solutions.

Provision the data source

You can define and configure the data source in YAML files as part of the Grafana provisioning system. For more information about provisioning, refer to Provisioning data sources.

TestData doesn’t require any jsonData or secureJsonData fields.

YAML example

YAML Copy

apiVersion: 1

datasources:
  - name: TestData
    type: grafana-testdata-datasource
    access: proxy

Provision with Terraform

To provision the data source with Terraform, use the grafana_data_source resource:

hcl Copy

resource "grafana_data_source" "testdata" {
  name = "TestData"
  type = "grafana-testdata-datasource"
}

For all available configuration options, refer to the Grafana provider data source resource documentation.

Next steps

After configuring your TestData data source, you can:

• Write queries using the 33 available scenarios to generate simulated data.
• Use template variables to create dynamic, reusable dashboards.
• Set up alerting to prototype and test alert rules with simulated data.
• Troubleshoot issues if you encounter problems with your data source.