From 471d6f5236b6521b09a0c5d95c7e6f33764a4865 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Isabel Matwawana <76437239+imatwawana@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:27:39 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Docs: Add suggested dashboards (#114729)

---
 docs/sources/datasources/_index.md            |  6 +++++
 .../create-dashboard/index.md                 | 24 ++++++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/docs/sources/datasources/_index.md b/docs/sources/datasources/_index.md
index e7da61ea2f5..28d46c9c600 100644
--- a/docs/sources/datasources/_index.md
+++ b/docs/sources/datasources/_index.md
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ For example, this video demonstrates the visual Prometheus query builder:
 
 For general information about querying in Grafana, and common options and user interface elements across all query editors, refer to [Query and transform data](ref:query-transform-data).
 
+## Build a dashboard from the data source
+
+After you've configured a data source, you can start creating a dashboard directly from it, by clicking the **Build a dashboard** button.
+
+For more information, refer to [Begin dashboard creation from data source configuration](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/<GRAFANA_VERSION>/visualizations/dashboards/build-dashboards/create-dashboard/#begin-dashboard-creation-from-connections).
+
 ## Special data sources
 
 Grafana includes three special data sources:
diff --git a/docs/sources/visualizations/dashboards/build-dashboards/create-dashboard/index.md b/docs/sources/visualizations/dashboards/build-dashboards/create-dashboard/index.md
index 3d5e765e0cd..10196a40811 100644
--- a/docs/sources/visualizations/dashboards/build-dashboards/create-dashboard/index.md
+++ b/docs/sources/visualizations/dashboards/build-dashboards/create-dashboard/index.md
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Dashboards and panels allow you to show your data in visual form. Each panel nee
 - Understand the query language of the target data source.
 - Ensure that data source for which you are writing a query has been added. For more information about adding a data source, refer to [Add a data source](ref:add-a-data-source) if you need instructions.
 
-**To create a dashboard**:
+To create a dashboard, follow these steps:
 
 {{< shared id="create-dashboard" >}}
 
@@ -171,6 +171,28 @@ Dashboards and panels allow you to show your data in visual form. Each panel nee
 
    Now, when you want to make more changes to the saved dashboard, click **Edit** in the top-right corner.
 
+### Begin dashboard creation from data source configuration
+
+You can start the process of creating a dashboard directly from a data source rather than from the **Dashboards** page.
+
+To begin building a dashboard directly from a data source, follow these steps:
+
+1. Navigate to **Connections > Data sources**.
+1. On the row of the data source for which you want to build a dashboard, click **Build a dashboard**.
+
+   The empty dashboard page opens.
+
+1. Do one of the following:
+   - Click **+Add visualization** to configure all the elements of the new dashboard.
+   - Select one of the suggested dashboards by clicking its **Use dashboard** button. This can be helpful when you're not sure how to most effectively visualize your data.
+     The suggested dashboards are specific to your data source type (for example, Prometheus, Loki, or Elasticsearch). If there are more than three dashboard suggestions, you can click **View all** to see the rest of them.
+
+   ![Empty dashboard with add visualization and suggested dashboard options](/media/docs/grafana/dashboards/screenshot-suggested-dashboards-v12.3.png)
+
+   {{< docs/public-preview product="Suggested dashboards" >}}
+
+1. Complete the rest of the dashboard configuration. For more detailed steps, refer to [Create a dashboard](#create-a-dashboard), beginning at step five.
+
 ## Copy a dashboard
 
 To copy a dashboard, follow these steps: