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Replace grafanactl with gcx (upstream deprecation) — the binary-download install path is broken anyway #94

Description

@PascalTemel

Two findings that resolve into one action.

1. Upstream deprecated grafanactl. Grafana Labs is retiring grafanactl in favor of gcx (github.com/grafana/gcx, v0.4.3 as of 2026-07-01, public preview) — the grafanactl README carries an explicit deprecation/archival notice. gcx is also a strictly better fit for how the team actually uses Grafana tooling: unlike grafanactl (resource management only), gcx does LogQL queries against Loki, traces, metrics, and dashboards — which is exactly what our cli-grafana.md doc describes doing today via logcli + raw HTTP API.

2. The grafanactl binary-download path has never worked. lib/installers/grafanactl.js:184-185 builds grafanactl_${version}_${osName}_${archName}.tar.gz (lowercase os, amd64, version in name). Actual release assets are grafanactl_Darwin_arm64.tar.gz / grafanactl_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz — capitalized OS, x86_64, no version in the filename (verified against v0.1.10). The URL 404s and the curl | tar fails; only the go install path functions.

Proposal

  • Swap the installer to gcx (go install / release binary — copy the asset-name handling from logcli.js, which is correct and hardened: mkdtemp, execFileSync, version validation).
  • Keep logcli as the stable logs-only path.
  • Update cli-grafana.md accordingly (tracked with the other doc fixes in the sibling docs issue).

Found during the 2026-07 CLI stack review (index in environment-setup).

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