@grafana/data

The foundational data-handling package. Defines the types and helpers that every other Grafana package and every plugin builds on top of. Source under packages/grafana-data/.

Core types

DataFrame and Field

A DataFrame is Grafana's columnar dataframe — the universal in-memory representation of query results. Every datasource returns DataFrame[]. Defined in packages/grafana-data/src/types/dataFrame.ts.

interface DataFrame {
  name?: string;
  refId?: string;
  meta?: QueryResultMeta;
  fields: Field[];
  length: number;
}

interface Field<T = any> {
  name: string;
  type: FieldType; // 'time' | 'number' | 'string' | 'boolean' | ...
  config: FieldConfig;
  values: T[]; // or Vector<T>
  state?: FieldState;
}

Helpers like toDataFrame, getFieldDisplayName, applyFieldOverrides make it straightforward to construct, transform, and pretty-print frames.

LoadingState and query lifecycle

The query execution result type PanelData carries a LoadingState (NotStarted | Loading | Streaming | Done | Error) along with series: DataFrame[], error?, request?. Used by panels and Explore to know what to render.

TimeRange and TimeZone

Time math helpers — dateMath.parse('now-1h'), range comparison, time zone resolution — are in packages/grafana-data/src/datetime/.

Themes

createTheme(name) produces a GrafanaTheme2 (packages/grafana-data/src/themes/) with token shapes for colors, typography, spacing, shape, transitions, breakpoints. Both @grafana/ui and apps consume themes via useTheme2() / useStyles2(getStyles).

Themes are extensible — apps and plugins can extend tokens and even register custom palettes. Generated SCSS variables for legacy code paths live alongside via themes:generate.

Value formatters

packages/grafana-data/src/valueFormats/ catalogues every unit available in panel field-config (bytes, percent, seconds, currencies, locales). The categories.ts file is one of the largest in the package — it's the registry of every formatter, indexed by family.

Field configuration and overrides

Per-field display configuration (units, decimals, color thresholds, mappings) plus the override system (regex/glob/byName matchers) lives in packages/grafana-data/src/field/. applyFieldOverrides is what panels call to resolve defaultsAndOverrides → effectiveConfig.

Transformations

The data transformation pipeline is in packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/. Each transformer (rename, filter, group by, calculate field, …) implements a stable interface; the registry lets the dashboard UI present them in the panel-edit "Transform" tab.

Plugin metadata

Types like PanelPlugin, DataSourcePlugin, AppPlugin, PluginMeta, and the various PluginsExtensionRegistry shapes come from @grafana/data. External plugin packages depend on these for their public surface.

Selectors and registries

registryFactory (packages/grafana-data/src/utils/Registry.ts) is the small generic registry used by units, transformers, and themes.

What does NOT live here

• React components — those go in @grafana/ui.
• Network helpers — getBackendSrv() is in @grafana/runtime.
• Imperative singletons — getDataSourceSrv() is in @grafana/runtime.

Key source files

File	Purpose
packages/grafana-data/src/types/dataFrame.ts	DataFrame & Field types
packages/grafana-data/src/types/featureToggles.gen.ts	Generated feature-toggles type
packages/grafana-data/src/themes/	Theme tokens
packages/grafana-data/src/valueFormats/categories.ts	Unit registry
packages/grafana-data/src/transformations/	Transformation pipeline