fix: clarify that folder UIDs are stored as metadata.name, not metadata.uid

- Update tree.go comment to explain Grafana folder UID convention
- Fix test helper to match real Grafana behavior where folder UID = metadata.name
- Update tests to use proper folder naming (UID as name, separate K8s UID)

pkg/registry/apis/provisioning/jobs/export/resources_specific_test.go

@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 // Helper function to create folder objects
+// name should be the Grafana folder UID (which becomes metadata.name)
+// uid is the Kubernetes UID (metadata.uid)
+// title defaults to name but can be overridden via spec.title
 func createFolderObject(name, uid, parentFolderUID string) unstructured.Unstructured {
 	folder := unstructured.Unstructured{
 		Object: map[string]interface{}{
@@ -28,7 +31,7 @@ func createFolderObject(name, uid, parentFolderUID string) unstructured.Unstruct
 				"uid":  uid,
 			},
 			"spec": map[string]interface{}{
-				"title": name,
+				"title": name, // title defaults to name, tests can override if needed
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -88,9 +91,11 @@ func TestExportSpecificResources_Success(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	folderItems := []unstructured.Unstructured{
-		createFolderObject("team-a", "team-a-uid", ""),
-	}
+	// Create folder with UID as name (matching real Grafana behavior)
+	teamAFolder := createFolderObject("team-a-uid", "k8s-uid-1", "")
+	_ = unstructured.SetNestedField(teamAFolder.Object, "team-a", "spec", "title")
+
+	folderItems := []unstructured.Unstructured{teamAFolder}
 
 	dashboard1 := createDashboardObjectWithFolder("dashboard-1", "team-a-uid")
 	dashboard2 := createDashboardObject("dashboard-2")
@@ -312,10 +317,14 @@ func TestExportSpecificResources_FolderPathResolution(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Create folder hierarchy: team-a -> subteam
-	folderItems := []unstructured.Unstructured{
-		createFolderObject("team-a", "team-a-uid", ""),
-		createFolderObject("subteam", "subteam-uid", "team-a-uid"),
-	}
+	// In Grafana, folder UIDs are stored as metadata.name (matching real behavior)
+	parentFolder := createFolderObject("team-a-uid", "k8s-uid-1", "")
+	_ = unstructured.SetNestedField(parentFolder.Object, "team-a", "spec", "title")
+
+	childFolder := createFolderObject("subteam-uid", "k8s-uid-2", "team-a-uid")
+	_ = unstructured.SetNestedField(childFolder.Object, "subteam", "spec", "title")
+
+	folderItems := []unstructured.Unstructured{parentFolder, childFolder}
 
 	dashboard := createDashboardObjectWithFolder("dashboard-in-nested-folder", "subteam-uid")
 

pkg/registry/apis/provisioning/resources/tree.go

@@ -145,12 +145,11 @@ func (t *folderTree) AddUnstructured(item *unstructured.Unstructured) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("extract meta accessor: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Use UID as the identifier since GetFolder() returns UID
-	// In Grafana's folder API, folders are identified by UID
-	folderUID := string(item.GetUID())
+	// In Grafana, folder UIDs are stored as metadata.name
+	// The grafana.app/folder annotation contains the folder's metadata.name (which is its Grafana UID)
 	folder := Folder{
 		Title: meta.FindTitle(item.GetName()),
-		ID:    folderUID,
+		ID:    item.GetName(),
 	}
 	t.mu.Lock()
 	defer t.mu.Unlock()