Kibana Vega

Create and manage Kibana dashboards and Vega visualizations with ES|QL data sources.

Overview

Vega is a declarative visualization grammar for creating custom charts in Kibana. Combined with ES|QL queries, it enables highly customized visualizations beyond standard Kibana charts.

Important Version Requirement: This skill strictly supports ES|QL data sources and requires Serverless Kibana or version 9.4+ (SNAPSHOT). It will not work reliably on older versions or with older Lucene/KQL data source definitions.

Quick Start

Environment Configuration

Kibana connection is configured via environment variables. Run node scripts/kibana-vega.js test to verify the connection. If the test fails, suggest these setup options to the user, then stop. Do not try to explore further until a successful connection test.

Option 1: Elastic Cloud (recommended for production)

export KIBANA_CLOUD_ID="deployment-name:base64encodedcloudid" export KIBANA_API_KEY="base64encodedapikey"

Option 2: Direct URL with API Key

export KIBANA_URL="https://your-kibana:5601" export KIBANA_API_KEY="base64encodedapikey"

Option 3: Basic Authentication

export KIBANA_URL="https://your-kibana:5601" export KIBANA_USERNAME="elastic" export KIBANA_PASSWORD="changeme"

Option 4: Local Development with start-local

For local development and testing, use start-local to quickly spin up Elasticsearch and Kibana using Docker or Podman:

curl -fsSL https://elastic.co/start-local | sh

After installation completes, Elasticsearch runs at http://localhost:9200 and Kibana at http://localhost:5601 . The script generates a random password for the elastic user, stored in the .env file inside the created elastic-start-local folder.

To configure the environment variables for this skill, source the .env file and export the connection settings:

source elastic-start-local/.env export KIBANA_URL="$KB_LOCAL_URL" export KIBANA_USERNAME="elastic" export KIBANA_PASSWORD="$ES_LOCAL_PASSWORD"

Then run node scripts/kibana-vega.js test to verify the connection.

Optional: Skip TLS verification (development only)

export KIBANA_INSECURE="true"

Basic Workflow

Test connection

node scripts/kibana-vega.js test

Create visualization directly from stdin (no intermediate file needed)

echo '<json-spec>' | node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations create "My Chart" -

Get visualization spec for review/modification

node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations get <vis-id>

Update visualization from stdin

echo '<json-spec>' | node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations update <vis-id> -

Create dashboard

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards create "My Dashboard"

Add visualization with grid position

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards add-panel <dashboard-id> <vis-id> --x 0 --y 0 --w 24 --h 15

Apply a complete layout from stdin

echo '<layout-json>' | node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards apply-layout <dashboard-id> -

Note: Use - as the file argument to read JSON from stdin. This enables direct spec creation without intermediate files.

Minimal Vega Spec with ES|QL

IMPORTANT: Always use proper JSON format (not HJSON with triple quotes) to avoid parse errors.

{ "$schema": "https://vega.github.io/schema/vega-lite/v6.json", "title": "My Chart", "autosize": { "type": "fit", "contains": "padding" },

"config": { "axis": { "domainColor": "#444", "tickColor": "#444" }, "view": { "stroke": null } },

"data": { "url": { "%type%": "esql", "query": "FROM logs-* | STATS count = COUNT() BY status | RENAME status AS category" } },

"mark": { "type": "bar", "color": "#6092C0" }, "encoding": { "x": { "field": "category", "type": "nominal" }, "y": { "field": "count", "type": "quantitative" } } }

ES|QL Data Source Options

| Property | Description | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | --------- | | %type%: "esql" | Required. Use ES | QL parser | | %context%: true | Apply dashboard filters | | %timefield%: "@timestamp" | Enable time range with ?_tstart /?_tend |

Examples

Stdin Examples

Create visualization directly from JSON

echo '{"$schema":"https://vega.github.io/schema/vega-lite/v6.json",...}' |
node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations create "My Chart" -

Update visualization

echo '{"$schema":...}' | node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations update <id> -

Apply layout directly

echo '{"panels":[{"visualization":"<id>","x":0,"y":0,"w":24,"h":10}]}' |
node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards apply-layout <dash-id> -

Dashboard Layout Design

Grid System

Kibana dashboards use a 48-column grid:

Width Columns Use Case

Full 48 Timelines, heatmaps, wide charts

Half 24 Side-by-side comparisons

Third 16 Three-column layouts

Quarter 12 KPI metrics, small summaries

Above the Fold (Critical)

Primary information must be visible without scrolling.

Resolution Visible Height Layout Budget

1080p ~30 units 2 rows: h:10 + h:12

1440p ~40 units 3 rows: h:12 + h:12 + h:12

Height guidelines:

• h: 10 — Compact bar charts (≤7 items), fits above fold

• h: 12-13 — Standard charts, timelines

• h: 15+ — Detailed views, use below fold

Layout Pattern: Operational Dashboard

┌───────────────────────┬───────────────────────┐ y:0 │ Current State A │ Current State B │ h:10 (compact) ├───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┤ y:10 │ Primary Timeline │ h:12 (main trend) ├ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ FOLD ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┤ y:22 (1080p fold) │ Secondary Timeline │ h:12 (below fold OK) ├───────────────────────┬───────────────────────┤ y:34 │ Complementary 1 │ Complementary 2 │ h:10 └───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┘

Creating Layouts

Option 1: Add panels with positions

Row 1: Two compact half-width charts (above fold)

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards add-panel $DASH $VIS1 --x 0 --y 0 --w 24 --h 10 node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards add-panel $DASH $VIS2 --x 24 --y 0 --w 24 --h 10

Row 2: Full-width timeline (above fold)

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards add-panel $DASH $VIS3 --x 0 --y 10 --w 48 --h 12

Row 3: Below fold content

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards add-panel $DASH $VIS4 --x 0 --y 22 --w 48 --h 12

Option 2: Apply layout file

Create layout.json :

{ "title": "My Dashboard", "panels": [ { "visualization": "<vis-id-1>", "x": 0, "y": 0, "w": 24, "h": 10 }, { "visualization": "<vis-id-2>", "x": 24, "y": 0, "w": 24, "h": 10 }, { "visualization": "<vis-id-3>", "x": 0, "y": 10, "w": 48, "h": 12 }, { "visualization": "<vis-id-4>", "x": 0, "y": 22, "w": 48, "h": 12 } ] }

Apply it:

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards apply-layout <dashboard-id> layout.json

Design Checklist

• Above the fold: Primary info in top ~22 height units (1080p)

• Compact heights: Use h:10 for bar charts with ≤7 items

• Prioritize: Most important info top-left

• Group: Related charts side-by-side for comparison

• Timelines: Full width (w:48), h:12 for compact

• Below fold: Complementary/detailed panels OK to scroll

Guidelines

Use JSON, not HJSON triple-quotes — ''' multi-line strings cause parse errors in Kibana; use single-line queries with escaped quotes "

Rename dotted fields — room.name breaks Vega (interpreted as nested path); use ES|QL RENAME room.name AS room

Don't set width/height — use autosize: { type: fit, contains: padding }

Set labelLimit on axes — horizontal bar chart labels truncate; use axis: { "labelLimit": 150 }

Sort bars by value — pre-sort in ES|QL with SORT field DESC and use sort: null in encoding (preserves data order); avoid sort: "-x" in layered specs (bar + text labels) as it causes "conflicting sort properties" warnings

Time axis: no rotated labels — use axis: { "labelAngle": 0, "tickCount": 8 } , let Vega auto-format dates

Descriptive titles replace axis titles — good title/subtitle makes axis titles redundant; use title: null on axes

Use color sparingly — color is a precious visual attribute; use a single default color (#6092C0 ) for bar charts where position already encodes value; reserve color encoding for categorical distinction (e.g., multiple lines in a time series)

Dark theme compatibility — always include config to avoid bright white borders:

"config": { "axis": { "domainColor": "#444", "tickColor": "#444" }, "view": { "stroke": null } }

CLI Commands

Dashboards

node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards list [search] node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards get <id> node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards create <title> node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards delete <id> node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards add-panel <dash-id> <vis-id> [--x N] [--y N] [--w N] [--h N] node scripts/kibana-vega.js dashboards apply-layout <dash-id> <file|->

Visualizations (use - for stdin instead of file)

node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations list [vega] node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations get <id> node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations create <title> <file|-> node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations update <id> <file|-> node scripts/kibana-vega.js visualizations delete <id>

Full Documentation

• Dashboard Layout Reference — Grid system, layout patterns, design best practices

• Vega-Lite Reference — Complete Vega-Lite grammar, chart patterns, best practices

• ES|QL in Vega Reference — ES|QL data source configuration, time filtering, parameters

• Example Specs — Ready-to-use chart templates

Common Issues

Error Solution

"End of input while parsing an object" Don't use HJSON ''' triple-quotes; use JSON with single-line queries

Labels show "undefined" Rename dotted fields: RENAME room.name AS room

Bars invisible / not rendering Remove complex scale.domain , use simpler color schemes

Y-axis labels truncated Add axis: { "labelLimit": 150 } to encoding

Panels stacked vertically Use --x --y --w --h options or apply-layout command

"width/height ignored" Remove dimensions, use autosize

Bright white borders on dark theme Add config: { "view": { "stroke": null }, "axis": { "domainColor": "#444", "tickColor": "#444" } }

"401 Unauthorized" Check KIBANA_USERNAME/PASSWORD

"conflicting sort properties" Don't use sort: "-x" in layered specs; pre-sort in ES|QL and use sort: null

"404 Not Found" Verify dashboard/visualization ID