Dashboard Server

RobotFramework Dashboard includes a built-in server that lets you host the dashboard on a separate machine. This allows you to centrally serve the HTML dashboard, and remotely add, list, or remove test result outputs from other clients. The server is built using FastAPI, FastAPI-offline and Uvicorn, and comes with a set of Pydantic models to validate request payloads.

Tip: The server is not installed by default see Installation & Version Info for more info!

Why Use the Dashboard Server

• Host a centralized, always-available dashboard accessible via HTTP
• Enable remote clients to push or delete runs in your database
• Provide a web-based admin interface for manual management
• Secure access via optional basic authentication (username/password)
• The server automatically uses offline CDN (js/css) because FastAPI-offline is used, making it compatible with --offlinedependencies for full offline usage!

Tip: To implement your server into your test runs look at the example listener integration!

Starting the Server

You can start the server using the robotdashboard CLI with the --server (or -s) option:

Basic usage

robotdashboard --s  
robotdashboard --server  
robotdashboard --server default

Bind to a specific host / port

robotdashboard -s 127.0.0.1:8543

Enable authentication for the admin page

robotdashboard -s default:user:password

Or with a custom host and port plus authentication:

robotdashboard -s host:port:user:password

Once the server is running, open your browser at the configured address (for example, http://127.0.0.1:8543/) to access:

• The admin page (for manual control), this page lives on the default url: http://127.0.0.1:8543/
  • On the admin page a menu option Swagger API Docs is available to open the swagger openapi documentation
  • On the admin page a menu option Redoc API Docs is available to open the redoc openapi documentation
  • On the admin page a menu option Dashboard is available to open the dashboard
• The dashboard HTML , this page lives on /dashboard: http://127.0.0.1:8543/dashboard
  • On the dashboard page a menu option Admin is available to open the admin page
• The Swagger API documentation, this page lives on /docs: http://127.0.0.1:8543/docs
• The Redoc API documentation, this page lives on /redoc: http://127.0.0.1:8543/redoc

Server Features & Endpoints

The built-in server exposes several HTTP endpoints to manage and serve dashboard data:

Endpoint	Purpose
/	Admin page for manual management of runs / dashboard / config, not callable through scripts
/dashboard	Serves the HTML dashboard (reflects current database), not callable through scripts
/get-outputs	Returns a JSON list of stored runs (run_start, alias, tags), callable
/add-outputs	Accepts new output data via JSON (file path, raw XML or folder), callable
/remove-outputs	Deletes runs by index, alias, run_start, or tags, callable
/add-log	Upload HTML log files and associate them with runs (for uselogs), callable
/remove-log	Remove previously uploaded log files, callable

All API endpoints are documented and described in the server’s own OpenAPI schema, accessible via the admin interface under “API Docs”, after starting the server.

Security: Basic Auth (Optional)

If you start the server with a username and password, the admin page will be protected. Only someone providing the correct credentials can:

• Add or remove outputs manually
• Change server-side dashboard configuration

The dashboard itself (the HTML) does not require authentication. API calls as of now do also not require authentication.

Working Programmatically with the Server

You can interact with the server programmatically using HTTP, Python, or Robot Framework. There are example scripts in the example/server folder:

• interact.http
• interact.py
• interact.robot

These scripts demonstrate how to:

• List existing outputs
• Add a new output.xml by path or by raw XML content
• Remove runs by index, alias, or timestamp
• Upload log files for runs
• Remove log files

Tip: to implement your server into your test runs look at the example listener integration!

Admin JSON Config

The Dashboard Server includes a special setting on the Admin Page called the Admin JSON Config.
This configuration allows you to apply a JSON-based dashboard setup to all dashboards hosted by the server.

How it Works

1. Copy & Paste:

   • You can copy the "JSON Config" from an existing dashboard and paste it into the Admin Page input field.
   • If you want to empty the admin JSON Config just put in {} and apply.

2. Propagation:

   • This setting will automatically apply to dashboards on other machines if all of the following conditions are met:
     • It is the first load of the dashboard on that browser or machine. (Otherwise their previous settings are used)
     • No --jsonconfig option was provided via the CLI when starting the server. (Otherwise that is used)
     • You can enforce the admin config to apply by Settings > JSON > Reset Settings JSON

3. Persistence:

   • The "Admin JSON Config" exists only while the server is running.
   • If the server is turned off, the configuration is lost.
   • When the server starts and you open the Admin Page, the browser's local storage will automatically restore the previous "Admin JSON Config" on the server, provided you are using the same machine/browser where it was previously set.

Important Notes

• This setting cannot be applied via API endpoints—it must be set through the Admin Page.
• It ensures a consistent dashboard layout and settings across multiple machines when the above conditions are met.