Install Grafana on Fedora 42 [Step-by-Step]

Grafana is an open source analytics and interactive visualization platform. It connects to a wide range of data sources – Prometheus, InfluxDB, Elasticsearch, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and many others – and turns raw metrics into dashboards, graphs, and alerts you can act on.

This guide walks through installing Grafana OSS 12.x on Fedora 42 from the official Grafana RPM repository, configuring the systemd service, opening the firewall, and logging in for the first time.

Prerequisites

A server or workstation running Fedora 42
Root or sudo access
Internet connectivity to download packages from the Grafana repository
Port 3000/tcp available (Grafana default HTTP port)

Step 1: Add the Grafana RPM Repository

Grafana maintains an official RPM repository at rpm.grafana.com. Import the GPG key first, then create the repo file.

Import the Grafana GPG signing key:

sudo rpm --import https://rpm.grafana.com/gpg.key

Create the repository file:

sudo vi /etc/yum.repos.d/grafana.repo

Add the following content:

[grafana]
name=grafana
baseurl=https://rpm.grafana.com
repo_gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://rpm.grafana.com/gpg.key
sslverify=1
sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt

Verify the repository is available:

sudo dnf repolist | grep grafana

Step 2: Install Grafana on Fedora 42

With the repository configured, install the Grafana OSS package:

sudo dnf install -y grafana

After installation completes, confirm the installed version:

grafana-server -v

The installation creates a grafana system user and group, sets up the configuration file at /etc/grafana/grafana.ini, and places the SQLite database at /var/lib/grafana/grafana.db. Logs go to /var/log/grafana/.

Step 3: Start and Enable the Grafana Service

Grafana ships with a systemd unit file. Enable it to start on boot and start the service immediately:

sudo systemctl enable --now grafana-server

Verify the service is running:

$ systemctl status grafana-server
● grafana-server.service - Grafana instance
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/grafana-server.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2026-03-21 10:15:32 UTC; 5s ago
       Docs: http://docs.grafana.org
   Main PID: 4512 (grafana-server)
      Tasks: 18 (limit: 4520)
     Memory: 58.2M
        CPU: 1.320s
     CGroup: /system.slice/grafana-server.service
             └─4512 /usr/sbin/grafana-server --config=/etc/grafana/grafana.ini --pidfile=/var/run/grafana/grafana-server.pid ...

The service runs as the grafana user and listens on port 3000 by default. If you need to change the port or bind address, edit /etc/grafana/grafana.ini under the [server] section.

Step 4: Configure the Firewall

Fedora 42 ships with firewalld enabled by default. Open port 3000/tcp so you can reach the Grafana dashboard from other machines on the network:

sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=3000/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Confirm the rule is active:

sudo firewall-cmd --list-ports

You should see 3000/tcp in the output.

Step 5: Access the Grafana Web Interface

Open a browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or hostname on port 3000:

http://your-server-ip:3000

The default login credentials are:

Username: admin
Password: admin

After logging in, Grafana prompts you to set a new admin password. Choose a strong password and save it – this is the only account with full administrative access.

Step 6: Add a Data Source

Grafana needs at least one data source to display anything useful. The most common pairing is Grafana with Prometheus and Node Exporter for system metrics monitoring.

To add a data source:

Go to Connections > Data sources in the left sidebar
Click Add data source
Select your data source type (Prometheus, InfluxDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.)
Enter the connection URL and authentication details
Click Save & test to verify the connection

Once connected, you can import pre-built dashboards from the Grafana dashboard library or build your own from scratch. For example, you can monitor PostgreSQL with Prometheus and Grafana using community dashboards that give you immediate visibility into database performance.

Optional: Run Grafana in a Container

If you prefer containers over system packages, Grafana also ships as an official Docker image. See our guide on running Grafana Server in a Docker container for that approach.

For Kubernetes environments, you can deploy Grafana alongside Prometheus using Helm charts – covered in our guide on installing Prometheus and Grafana on Kubernetes.

Conclusion

Grafana OSS is now installed and running on Fedora 42 with the official RPM repository configured for automatic updates. You have the systemd service enabled, the firewall open on port 3000, and the web interface ready for dashboard creation.

For production deployments, consider placing Grafana behind a reverse proxy with TLS termination (Nginx or Apache), switching the backend database from SQLite to PostgreSQL or MySQL for better concurrency, and setting up LDAP or OAuth authentication for team access control.