Hi Splunkers,
Welcome to the community Splunk Dashboard contest! This is your chance to show off how you build cool dashboards– from complex tokens and interactivity to the perfect aesthetic design. We’re looking forward to seeing your creative ideas and how you push the limits of Splunk dashboards.
What’s in it for you? Not only do you get to flex your dashboard skills, but (3) winners will receive a .conf26 pass!
Splunk is a powerful tool for data insights and Splunk dashboards are the way you visualize those insights for everyone from analysts to engineers to executives. Whenever customers share the dashboards they’ve created with us, we are always impressed with the ingenuity in how they are designed and implemented.
How long does the contest run?
The contest is live from May 7, 2026 9am PST to June 4, 2026, 9am PST.
Prizes
Okay, we all know this is what you’re really interested in. As mentioned above, the top 3 winners will win complementary conf26 passes (no travel or lodging) and 4 additional winners will win a $400 gift card redeemable on the Cisco store.
For additional information, refer to the contest Terms & Conditions.
Entry Requirements
Your submission must include all three of the following components. Incomplete submissions will be disqualified:
- Code File: Provide the complete source code (i.e., JSON dashboard definition file) used to build your dashboard.
- Screenshot(s): Provide at least one (1) clear, high-resolution screenshot of your completed, rendered dashboard as it appears in Splunk. Optionally, upload a video recording of the dashboard to showcase the interactions across tabs.
- Written Description: Provide a written description (minimum 150 words, maximum 500 words) explaining: (a) the purpose and use case of the dashboard; (b) the data sources or datasets used; (c) any notable design or technical decisions made; and (d) how a user would benefit from or interact with the dashboard.
For additional information, refer to the contest Terms & Conditions.
Judging Criteria
Your dashboards will be judged by a handful of Honorary SplunkTrust members by the criteria laid out below.
For additional information, refer to the Terms & Conditions.
| # | Criterion | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technical Complexity & Functionality | Quality and sophistication of the underlying code/SPL; effective use of Splunk features such as tokens, drilldowns, dynamic inputs, and advanced visualizations | 30% |
| 2 | Originality & Creativity | Uniqueness of the concept, innovative approach to data visualization, and creative use of Splunk's platform capabilities | 30% |
| 3 | Practical Value & Use Case Relevance | Real-world applicability of the dashboard; clarity of the problem it solves and value it provides | 15% |
| 4 | Visual Design & User Experience | Aesthetic quality, layout clarity, ease of navigation, and overall user-friendliness of the dashboard | 15% |
| 5 | Written Description Quality | Clarity, completeness, and insight of the written explanation; demonstrates the Participant's understanding of their own work | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
How to enter the contest
To enter this contest, you must submit your entry using this form .
Best practices when using AI prompts
Tips for a Strong Entry: Using AI
We encourage you to try using AI tools as part of your dashboard building process. If you have access to an AI assistant like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or GitHub Copilot, give it a shot.
Dashboard Studio dashboards are defined as JSON, so you can use AI to generate the definition and then copy and paste it straight into Dashboard Studio's source editor.
You can start open-ended and just chat with the AI about what you want. It helps to give them context first. Copy the template below into your conversation as a starting point, fill in the blanks, and then describe what you want to build.
Tip: Talk to it like a teammate. If something looks off, just say what to fix. The AI keeps context, so you don't need to start over.
Context + Prompt Template
Copy this into your AI conversation. Fill in the sections in [brackets] with your details.
I want you to help me build a Splunk Dashboard Studio dashboard.
Here is what you need to know about my setup and the dashboard format:
SPLUNK SETUP
- Splunk version: [e.g., Splunk Enterprise 10.2, Splunk Cloud 10.3.2512]
- App context: [e.g., search, or a custom app name]
DASHBOARD FORMAT
- Use Dashboard Studio JSON format
- The JSON definition gets pasted into Dashboard Studio's source editor
- Use absolute positioning layout with 1440px width
- All positions use x, y, w, h in pixels
MY DATA
- Index: [your index name, or "use makeresults to generate sample data"]
- Key fields: [list the important fields in your data]
- Time range: [e.g., last 24 hours, last 7 days]
GOAL AND AUDIENCE
- This dashboard is for: [e.g., SOC analysts, IT ops engineers, executives, NOC wall display]
- The main goal is to: [e.g., monitor service health, investigate threats, track KPIs]
LOOK AND FEEL
- Theme: [e.g., dark mode, light mode, or no preference]
- Color palette: [e.g., use red/orange/yellow for severity levels, blues and teals for a calm ops feel, match our brand colors #1A73E8 and #34A853, or no preference]
- Style: [e.g., dense command center with lots of data, clean executive summary with big KPIs, or no preference]
WHAT I WANT TO BUILD
[Describe your dashboard here. What's the use case? What do you want to see?
For example: "A security operations dashboard that shows alert volume over time, top threat sources in a table, and a network graph of attack paths."]
Custom Visualizations
Want to go beyond the built-in viz types? Check out Robert Castley's open-source Claude Code skill for building custom Splunk visualizations with Canvas 2D. It creates complete viz apps, includes working examples, and has a browser-based test harness so you can iterate without deploying to Splunk.
github.com/rcastley/splunk-custom-visualizations
We’re very excited to see what everyone comes up with. If you have any questions or concerns, please join the conversation in Slack.
For questions or suggestions check out User Slack Channel: #dashboard-studio or #dashboards-simple-xml.
To enter this contest, you must submit your entry using this form .
Best,
Splunk Dashboards Team
