The only official certification offered by Grafana Labs is the Certified Grafana Associate exam. It is designed to validate a candidate's fundamental knowledge of the Grafana platform as a whole, rather than focusing on a single component like Loki.

The exam's syllabus is divided into several key domains, with a specific topic distribution for each. While the exact weighting can change, the general structure and topics remain consistent.

Syllabus and Topic Distribution

The exam covers four main domains:

Observability Fundamentals (10%): This section tests your understanding of core concepts that underpin the entire Grafana platform and the modern observability stack.

• What are the three pillars of observability: metrics, logs, and traces?

• Understanding common data sources like Prometheus, Loki, and Tempo.

• How to build a simple observability stack.

What are the three pillars of observability: metrics, logs, and traces?

Understanding common data sources like Prometheus, Loki, and Tempo.

How to build a simple observability stack.

Grafana Fundamentals (30%): This is the largest and most crucial section, focusing on your ability to navigate and use the Grafana UI and its core features.

• Dashboards and Panels: Creating, organizing, and managing dashboards. Understanding different panel types (e.g., graphs, stat panels, tables) and how to configure them.

• Data Sources: Connecting Grafana to various data sources.

• Variables: Using template variables to create dynamic and interactive dashboards.

• Annotations: Adding and using annotations to mark events on dashboards.

Dashboards and Panels: Creating, organizing, and managing dashboards. Understanding different panel types (e.g., graphs, stat panels, tables) and how to configure them.

Data Sources: Connecting Grafana to various data sources.

Variables: Using template variables to create dynamic and interactive dashboards.

Annotations: Adding and using annotations to mark events on dashboards.

Visualizations and Queries (30%): This domain tests your ability to query data from different sources and present it effectively.

• Query Languages: Understanding and writing basic queries for common data sources like PromQL (Prometheus), LogQL (Loki), and Flux (InfluxDB).

• Transformations: Using data transformations to manipulate data before visualization (e.g., joins, calculations, filters).

• Visualization Settings: Configuring axis, thresholds, and other display options to make visualizations clear and meaningful.

Query Languages: Understanding and writing basic queries for common data sources like PromQL (Prometheus), LogQL (Loki), and Flux (InfluxDB).

Transformations: Using data transformations to manipulate data before visualization (e.g., joins, calculations, filters).

Visualization Settings: Configuring axis, thresholds, and other display options to make visualizations clear and meaningful.

Alerting and Administration (30%): This section covers the proactive and administrative aspects of Grafana.

• Alerting: Creating and managing alert rules, contact points, and notification policies.

• User and Team Management: Understanding user roles, permissions, and how to manage teams and access control.

• Configuration: Knowledge of Grafana configuration files and basic administration tasks.

Alerting: Creating and managing alert rules, contact points, and notification policies.

User and Team Management: Understanding user roles, permissions, and how to manage teams and access control.

Configuration: Knowledge of Grafana configuration files and basic administration tasks.

A passing score is typically 75% or higher. The exam is multiple-choice and is administered remotely via a proctor.