> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.costory.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create and Organize Dashboards

> Create cloud cost dashboards from Explorer queries, add widgets manually, duplicate widgets, and organize dashboards with tags and teams.

Create dashboards when a cost question becomes a view you want to revisit. A dashboard can start from an [Explorer](/features/cost-explorer) query, a template, or an empty canvas.

## Create a dashboard from Explorer

Use this workflow when an investigation produces a view worth monitoring.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Build the query">
    Open [Explorer](/features/cost-explorer), select the metrics or formulas, apply filters, choose the group-by, and add event context if it helps explain the chart.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save as a dashboard">
    Click **Save as dashboard** and choose whether to create a new dashboard or add the view to an existing dashboard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Adjust the widget">
    Rename the widget, choose the visualization, and place it next to related widgets.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the dashboard">
    The widget keeps the Explorer query and refreshes as new billing data arrives.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  If you are starting from a common FinOps workflow, use a [dashboard template](/features/dashboards/templates) instead of building each widget manually.
</Tip>

<Tip>
  Skip the canvas entirely: ask the [Costory MCP](/features/mcp) to *"create a dashboard tracking cost per team with a budget widget"* and it builds the widgets for you to review.
</Tip>

## Add a widget manually

Use manual widgets when you already know the metric, grouping, and chart you want.

<Frame caption="Adding a widget to a dashboard from the widget picker">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/costory/s5FmeAaMQRERi1nL/images/dashboard/add-widget-light.gif?s=c60086a9bc49dd6be646b8955f26c395" alt="Adding a widget manually to a Costory dashboard" width="1332" height="720" data-path="images/dashboard/add-widget-light.gif" />
</Frame>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open a dashboard">
    Navigate to an existing dashboard or create a new one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a widget">
    Click **Add Widget** and choose a widget type.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the query">
    Select the cost metric, filters, group-by, and visualization. You can use any dimension available in Explorer, including [dimensions](/features/tagging/dimensions) and custom formulas.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the widget">
    Click **Save**. The widget updates after each data refresh.
  </Step>
</Steps>

For chart options, see [Widgets and chart types](/features/dashboards/widgets).

## Duplicate a widget

Duplicate widgets when you need the same chart structure with a different filter. For example, duplicate a cost trend widget and swap the team filter to create the same view for another team.

<Frame caption="Duplicating a widget to reuse its configuration with different filters">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/costory/s5FmeAaMQRERi1nL/images/dashboard/dashboard-widget-actions-menu.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=s5FmeAaMQRERi1nL&q=85&s=1e4fd6884ef8a4eb5fb827bde499afc4" alt="Dashboard action menu showing the option to duplicate a widget in Costory" width="1646" height="794" data-path="images/dashboard/dashboard-widget-actions-menu.png" />
</Frame>

## Organize dashboards with tags

Use dashboard tags to group dashboards by team, workflow, reporting cadence, or FinOps process. Tags appear on the **View all dashboards** page.

<Frame caption="Dashboard tags on the View all dashboards page">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/costory/4RO_44YBsKyrvvT3/images/dashboard/dashboard-list-view.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=4RO_44YBsKyrvvT3&q=85&s=8b4ca0907778f751266175f6fe57b6ea" alt="Dashboard tags on the View all dashboards page" width="1919" height="945" data-path="images/dashboard/dashboard-list-view.png" />
</Frame>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open all dashboards">
    Navigate to **Dashboards** and click **View all dashboards**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select dashboards">
    Select one or more dashboards you want to tag.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit tags">
    Click **Edit tags**, add the tags you want, and remove tags that no longer apply.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the changes">
    Save the tag changes. The dashboard list updates with the new tags.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Dashboard tags organize dashboards only. They do not change widget filters, team scopes, or [dimensions](/features/tagging/dimensions).

## Assign dashboards to teams

Assign dashboards to a [Team](/features/teams) when a dashboard belongs to a specific group. Team dashboards appear by default for team members, and private dashboards are restricted to team members.

This is useful for:

* Team showback dashboards
* Product-line dashboards
* Budget owner dashboards
* Platform or SRE dashboards

## Related links

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Dashboard templates" icon="copy" href="/features/dashboards/templates">
    Start from common FinOps dashboard layouts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Widgets and chart types" icon="chart-simple" href="/features/dashboards/widgets">
    Choose the right widget for each cost question.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quick Share" icon="share-nodes" href="/features/dashboards/quickshare">
    Share dashboard context with teammates or external collaborators.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cost Reports" icon="paper-plane" href="/features/slack-reports">
    Deliver dashboards to Slack, Teams, or email on a schedule.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>