DashboardScene: Share change detection logic between saving and runtime (#81958)

Co-authored-by: Alexandra Vargas <alexa1866@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Dominik Prokop <dominik.prokop@grafana.com>

.betterer.results

@@ -2529,10 +2529,18 @@ exports[`better eslint`] = {
     "public/app/features/dashboard-scene/panel-edit/PanelDataPane/PanelDataPane.tsx:5381": [
       [0, 0, 0, "Do not use any type assertions.", "0"]
     ],
+    "public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/DetectChangesWorker.ts:5381": [
+      [0, 0, 0, "Unexpected any. Specify a different type.", "0"],
+      [0, 0, 0, "Unexpected any. Specify a different type.", "1"]
+    ],
     "public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/SaveDashboardForm.tsx:5381": [
       [0, 0, 0, "Use data-testid for E2E selectors instead of aria-label", "0"],
       [0, 0, 0, "Use data-testid for E2E selectors instead of aria-label", "1"]
     ],
+    "public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/getDashboardChanges.ts:5381": [
+      [0, 0, 0, "Do not use any type assertions.", "0"],
+      [0, 0, 0, "Do not use any type assertions.", "1"]
+    ],
     "public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/getSaveDashboardChange.ts:5381": [
       [0, 0, 0, "Do not use any type assertions.", "0"],
       [0, 0, 0, "Do not use any type assertions.", "1"]

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/DashboardSceneChangeTracker.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+import { Unsubscribable } from 'rxjs';
+
+import {
+  SceneDataLayers,
+  SceneGridItem,
+  SceneGridLayout,
+  SceneObjectStateChangedEvent,
+  SceneRefreshPicker,
+  SceneTimeRange,
+  SceneVariableSet,
+  behaviors,
+} from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { createWorker } from 'app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/createDetectChangesWorker';
+
+import { DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer } from '../scene/DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer';
+import { DashboardControls } from '../scene/DashboardControls';
+import { DashboardScene, PERSISTED_PROPS } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
+import { transformSceneToSaveModel } from '../serialization/transformSceneToSaveModel';
+import { isSceneVariableInstance } from '../settings/variables/utils';
+
+import { DashboardChangeInfo } from './shared';
+
+export class DashboardSceneChangeTracker {
+  private _changeTrackerSub: Unsubscribable | undefined;
+  private _changesWorker: Worker;
+  private _dashboard: DashboardScene;
+
+  constructor(dashboard: DashboardScene) {
+    this._dashboard = dashboard;
+    this._changesWorker = createWorker();
+  }
+
+  private onStateChanged({ payload }: SceneObjectStateChangedEvent) {
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof SceneRefreshPicker) {
+      if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(payload.partialUpdate, 'intervals')) {
+        this.detectChanges();
+      }
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof behaviors.CursorSync) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof SceneDataLayers) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof SceneGridItem) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof SceneGridLayout) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof DashboardScene) {
+      if (Object.keys(payload.partialUpdate).some((key) => PERSISTED_PROPS.includes(key))) {
+        this.detectChanges();
+      }
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof SceneTimeRange) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof DashboardControls) {
+      if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(payload.partialUpdate, 'hideTimeControls')) {
+        this.detectChanges();
+      }
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof SceneVariableSet) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+    if (payload.changedObject instanceof DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer) {
+      if (!Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(payload.partialUpdate, 'data')) {
+        this.detectChanges();
+      }
+    }
+    if (isSceneVariableInstance(payload.changedObject)) {
+      this.detectChanges();
+    }
+  }
+
+  private detectChanges() {
+    this._changesWorker?.postMessage({
+      changed: transformSceneToSaveModel(this._dashboard),
+      initial: this._dashboard.getInitialSaveModel(),
+    });
+  }
+
+  private updateIsDirty(result: DashboardChangeInfo) {
+    const { hasChanges } = result;
+
+    if (hasChanges) {
+      if (!this._dashboard.state.isDirty) {
+        this._dashboard.setState({ isDirty: true });
+      }
+    } else {
+      if (this._dashboard.state.isDirty) {
+        this._dashboard.setState({ isDirty: false });
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  public startTrackingChanges() {
+    this._changesWorker.onmessage = (e: MessageEvent<DashboardChangeInfo>) => {
+      this.updateIsDirty(e.data);
+    };
+
+    this._changeTrackerSub = this._dashboard.subscribeToEvent(
+      SceneObjectStateChangedEvent,
+      this.onStateChanged.bind(this)
+    );
+  }
+
+  public stopTrackingChanges() {
+    this._changeTrackerSub?.unsubscribe();
+  }
+
+  public terminate() {
+    this.stopTrackingChanges();
+    this._changesWorker.terminate();
+  }
+}

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/DetectChangesWorker.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+// Worker is not three shakable, so we should not import the whole loadash library
+// eslint-disable-next-line lodash/import-scope
+import debounce from 'lodash/debounce';
+
+import { getDashboardChanges } from './getDashboardChanges';
+
+self.onmessage = debounce((e: MessageEvent<{ initial: any; changed: any }>) => {
+  const result = getDashboardChanges(e.data.initial, e.data.changed, false, false);
+  self.postMessage(result);
+}, 500);

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/SaveDashboardDrawer.tsx

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { DashboardScene } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
 import { SaveDashboardAsForm } from './SaveDashboardAsForm';
 import { SaveDashboardForm } from './SaveDashboardForm';
 import { SaveProvisionedDashboardForm } from './SaveProvisionedDashboardForm';
-import { getSaveDashboardChange } from './getSaveDashboardChange';
+import { getDashboardChangesFromScene } from './getDashboardChangesFromScene';
 
 interface SaveDashboardDrawerState extends SceneObjectState {
   dashboardRef: SceneObjectRef<DashboardScene>;
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ export class SaveDashboardDrawer extends SceneObjectBase<SaveDashboardDrawerStat
 
   static Component = ({ model }: SceneComponentProps<SaveDashboardDrawer>) => {
     const { showDiff, saveAsCopy, saveTimeRange, saveVariables } = model.useState();
-    const changeInfo = getSaveDashboardChange(model.state.dashboardRef.resolve(), saveTimeRange, saveVariables);
+    const changeInfo = getDashboardChangesFromScene(model.state.dashboardRef.resolve(), saveTimeRange, saveVariables);
     const { changedSaveModel, initialSaveModel, diffs, diffCount } = changeInfo;
     const dashboard = model.state.dashboardRef.resolve();
     const isProvisioned = dashboard.state.meta.provisioned;

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/__mocks__/createDetectChangesWorker.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+const worker = {
+  postMessage: jest.fn(),
+  onmessage: jest.fn(),
+  terminate: jest.fn(),
+};
+
+jest.mocked(worker.postMessage).mockImplementation(() => {
+  worker.onmessage?.({
+    data: {
+      hasChanges: true,
+      hasTimeChanges: true,
+      hasVariableValueChanges: true,
+    },
+  } as unknown as MessageEvent);
+});
+
+const createWorker = () => worker;
+
+export { createWorker };

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/createDetectChangesWorker.ts

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export const createWorker = () => new Worker(new URL('./DetectChangesWorker.ts', import.meta.url));

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/getDashboardChanges.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+import { compare, Operation } from 'fast-json-patch';
+// @ts-ignore
+import jsonMap from 'json-source-map';
+import { flow, get, isEqual, sortBy, tail } from 'lodash';
+
+import { AdHocVariableModel, TypedVariableModel } from '@grafana/data';
+import { Dashboard } from '@grafana/schema';
+
+export function getDashboardChanges(
+  initial: Dashboard,
+  changed: Dashboard,
+  saveTimeRange?: boolean,
+  saveVariables?: boolean
+) {
+  const initialSaveModel = initial;
+  const changedSaveModel = changed;
+  const hasTimeChanged = getHasTimeChanged(changedSaveModel, initialSaveModel);
+  const hasVariableValueChanges = applyVariableChanges(changedSaveModel, initialSaveModel, saveVariables);
+
+  if (!saveTimeRange) {
+    changedSaveModel.time = initialSaveModel.time;
+  }
+
+  const diff = jsonDiff(initialSaveModel, changedSaveModel);
+
+  let diffCount = 0;
+  for (const d of Object.values(diff)) {
+    diffCount += d.length;
+  }
+  return {
+    changedSaveModel,
+    initialSaveModel,
+    diffs: diff,
+    diffCount,
+    hasChanges: diffCount > 0,
+    hasTimeChanges: hasTimeChanged,
+    isNew: changedSaveModel.version === 0,
+    hasVariableValueChanges,
+  };
+}
+
+export function getHasTimeChanged(saveModel: Dashboard, originalSaveModel: Dashboard) {
+  return saveModel.time?.from !== originalSaveModel.time?.from || saveModel.time?.to !== originalSaveModel.time?.to;
+}
+
+export function applyVariableChanges(saveModel: Dashboard, originalSaveModel: Dashboard, saveVariables?: boolean) {
+  const originalVariables = originalSaveModel.templating?.list ?? [];
+  const variablesToSave = saveModel.templating?.list ?? [];
+  let hasVariableValueChanges = false;
+
+  for (const variable of variablesToSave) {
+    const original = originalVariables.find(({ name, type }) => name === variable.name && type === variable.type);
+
+    if (!original) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    // Old schema property that never should be in persisted model
+    if (original.current && Object.hasOwn(original.current, 'selected')) {
+      delete original.current.selected;
+    }
+
+    if (!isEqual(variable.current, original.current)) {
+      hasVariableValueChanges = true;
+    }
+
+    if (!saveVariables) {
+      const typed = variable as TypedVariableModel;
+      if (typed.type === 'adhoc') {
+        typed.filters = (original as AdHocVariableModel).filters;
+      } else {
+        variable.current = original.current;
+        variable.options = original.options;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return hasVariableValueChanges;
+}
+
+export type Diff = {
+  op: 'add' | 'replace' | 'remove' | 'copy' | 'test' | '_get' | 'move';
+  value: unknown;
+  originalValue: unknown;
+  path: string[];
+  startLineNumber: number;
+};
+
+export type Diffs = {
+  [key: string]: Diff[];
+};
+
+export type JSONValue = string | Dashboard;
+
+export const jsonDiff = (lhs: JSONValue, rhs: JSONValue): Diffs => {
+  const diffs = compare(lhs, rhs);
+  const lhsMap = jsonMap.stringify(lhs, null, 2);
+  const rhsMap = jsonMap.stringify(rhs, null, 2);
+
+  const getDiffInformation = (diffs: Operation[]): Diff[] => {
+    return diffs.map((diff) => {
+      let originalValue = undefined;
+      let value = undefined;
+      let startLineNumber = 0;
+
+      const path = tail(diff.path.split('/'));
+
+      if (diff.op === 'replace' && rhsMap.pointers[diff.path]) {
+        originalValue = get(lhs, path);
+        value = diff.value;
+        startLineNumber = rhsMap.pointers[diff.path].value.line;
+      }
+      if (diff.op === 'add' && rhsMap.pointers[diff.path]) {
+        value = diff.value;
+        startLineNumber = rhsMap.pointers[diff.path].value.line;
+      }
+      if (diff.op === 'remove' && lhsMap.pointers[diff.path]) {
+        originalValue = get(lhs, path);
+        startLineNumber = lhsMap.pointers[diff.path].value.line;
+      }
+
+      return {
+        op: diff.op,
+        value,
+        path,
+        originalValue,
+        startLineNumber,
+      };
+    });
+  };
+
+  const sortByLineNumber = (diffs: Diff[]) => sortBy(diffs, 'startLineNumber');
+  const groupByPath = (diffs: Diff[]) =>
+    diffs.reduce<Record<string, Diff[]>>((acc, value) => {
+      const groupKey: string = value.path[0];
+      if (!acc[groupKey]) {
+        acc[groupKey] = [];
+      }
+      acc[groupKey].push(value);
+      return acc;
+    }, {});
+
+  //   return 1;
+  return flow([getDiffInformation, sortByLineNumber, groupByPath])(diffs);
+};

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/getDashboardChangesFromScene.test.ts

@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ import { transformSaveModelToScene } from '../serialization/transformSaveModelTo
 import { transformSceneToSaveModel } from '../serialization/transformSceneToSaveModel';
 import { findVizPanelByKey } from '../utils/utils';
 
-import { getSaveDashboardChange } from './getSaveDashboardChange';
+import { getDashboardChangesFromScene } from './getDashboardChangesFromScene';
 
-describe('getSaveDashboardChange', () => {
+describe('getDashboardChangesFromScene', () => {
   it('Can detect no changes', () => {
     const dashboard = setup();
-    const result = getSaveDashboardChange(dashboard, false);
+    const result = getDashboardChangesFromScene(dashboard, false);
     expect(result.hasChanges).toBe(false);
     expect(result.diffCount).toBe(0);
   });
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ describe('getSaveDashboardChange', () => {
 
     sceneGraph.getTimeRange(dashboard).setState({ from: 'now-1h', to: 'now' });
 
-    const result = getSaveDashboardChange(dashboard, false);
+    const result = getDashboardChangesFromScene(dashboard, false);
     expect(result.hasChanges).toBe(false);
     expect(result.diffCount).toBe(0);
     expect(result.hasTimeChanges).toBe(true);
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe('getSaveDashboardChange', () => {
 
     sceneGraph.getTimeRange(dashboard).setState({ from: 'now-1h', to: 'now' });
 
-    const result = getSaveDashboardChange(dashboard, true);
+    const result = getDashboardChangesFromScene(dashboard, true);
     expect(result.hasChanges).toBe(true);
     expect(result.diffCount).toBe(1);
   });
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ describe('getSaveDashboardChange', () => {
     const appVar = sceneGraph.lookupVariable('app', dashboard) as MultiValueVariable;
     appVar.changeValueTo('app2');
 
-    const result = getSaveDashboardChange(dashboard, false, false);
+    const result = getDashboardChangesFromScene(dashboard, false, false);
 
     expect(result.hasVariableValueChanges).toBe(true);
     expect(result.hasChanges).toBe(false);
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ describe('getSaveDashboardChange', () => {
     const appVar = sceneGraph.lookupVariable('app', dashboard) as MultiValueVariable;
     appVar.changeValueTo('app2');
 
-    const result = getSaveDashboardChange(dashboard, false, true);
+    const result = getDashboardChangesFromScene(dashboard, false, true);
 
     expect(result.hasVariableValueChanges).toBe(true);
     expect(result.hasChanges).toBe(true);
@@ -72,8 +72,9 @@ describe('getSaveDashboardChange', () => {
       dashboard.setState({ editPanel: editScene });
 
       editScene.state.vizManager.state.panel.setState({ title: 'changed title' });
+      editScene.commitChanges();
 
-      const result = getSaveDashboardChange(dashboard, false, true);
+      const result = getDashboardChangesFromScene(dashboard, false, true);
       const panelSaveModel = result.changedSaveModel.panels![0];
       expect(panelSaveModel.title).toBe('changed title');
     });

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/getDashboardChangesFromScene.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { DashboardScene } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
+import { transformSceneToSaveModel } from '../serialization/transformSceneToSaveModel';
+
+import { getDashboardChanges } from './getDashboardChanges';
+
+export function getDashboardChangesFromScene(scene: DashboardScene, saveTimeRange?: boolean, saveVariables?: boolean) {
+  const changeInfo = getDashboardChanges(
+    scene.getInitialSaveModel()!,
+    transformSceneToSaveModel(scene),
+    saveTimeRange,
+    saveVariables
+  );
+  return changeInfo;
+}

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/scene/DashboardScene.test.tsx

@@ -9,12 +9,14 @@ import {
   TestVariable,
   VizPanel,
   SceneGridRow,
+  behaviors,
 } from '@grafana/scenes';
-import { Dashboard } from '@grafana/schema';
+import { Dashboard, DashboardCursorSync } from '@grafana/schema';
 import appEvents from 'app/core/app_events';
 import { getDashboardSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/DashboardSrv';
 import { VariablesChanged } from 'app/features/variables/types';
 
+import { createWorker } from '../saving/createDetectChangesWorker';
 import { buildGridItemForPanel, transformSaveModelToScene } from '../serialization/transformSaveModelToScene';
 import { DecoratedRevisionModel } from '../settings/VersionsEditView';
 import { historySrv } from '../settings/version-history/HistorySrv';
@@ -26,6 +28,20 @@ import { DashboardScene, DashboardSceneState } from './DashboardScene';
 
 jest.mock('../settings/version-history/HistorySrv');
 jest.mock('../serialization/transformSaveModelToScene');
+jest.mock('../saving/getDashboardChangesFromScene', () => ({
+  // It compares the initial and changed save models and returns the differences
+  // By default we assume there are differences to have the dirty state test logic tested
+  getDashboardChangesFromScene: jest.fn(() => ({
+    changedSaveModel: {},
+    initialSaveModel: {},
+    diffs: [],
+    diffCount: 0,
+    hasChanges: true,
+    hasTimeChanges: false,
+    isNew: false,
+    hasVariableValueChanges: false,
+  })),
+}));
 jest.mock('../serialization/transformSceneToSaveModel');
 jest.mock('@grafana/runtime', () => ({
   ...jest.requireActual('@grafana/runtime'),
@@ -36,6 +52,9 @@ jest.mock('@grafana/runtime', () => ({
   },
 }));
 
+const worker = createWorker();
+mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker({ hasChanges: true, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: false });
+
 describe('DashboardScene', () => {
   describe('DashboardSrv.getCurrent compatibility', () => {
     it('Should set to compatibility wrapper', () => {
@@ -49,16 +68,29 @@ describe('DashboardScene', () => {
   describe('Editing and discarding', () => {
     describe('Given scene in edit mode', () => {
       let scene: DashboardScene;
+      let deactivateScene: () => void;
 
       beforeEach(() => {
         scene = buildTestScene();
+        deactivateScene = scene.activate();
         scene.onEnterEditMode();
+        jest.clearAllMocks();
       });
 
       it('Should set isEditing to true', () => {
         expect(scene.state.isEditing).toBe(true);
       });
 
+      it('Should start the detect changes worker', () => {
+        expect(worker.onmessage).toBeDefined();
+      });
+
+      it('Should terminate the detect changes worker when deactivate', () => {
+        expect(worker.terminate).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0);
+        deactivateScene();
+        expect(worker.terminate).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      });
+
       it('A change to griditem pos should set isDirty true', () => {
         const gridItem = sceneGraph.findObject(scene, (p) => p.state.key === 'griditem-1') as SceneGridItem;
         gridItem.setState({ x: 10, y: 0, width: 10, height: 10 });
@@ -70,6 +102,22 @@ describe('DashboardScene', () => {
         expect(gridItem2.state.x).toBe(0);
       });
 
+      it('A change to gridlayout children order should set isDirty true', () => {
+        const layout = sceneGraph.findObject(scene, (p) => p instanceof SceneGridLayout) as SceneGridLayout;
+        const originalPanelOrder = layout.state.children.map((c) => c.state.key);
+
+        // Change the order of the children. This happen when panels move around, then the children are re-ordered
+        layout.setState({
+          children: [layout.state.children[1], layout.state.children[0], layout.state.children[2]],
+        });
+
+        expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBe(true);
+
+        scene.exitEditMode({ skipConfirm: true });
+        const resoredLayout = sceneGraph.findObject(scene, (p) => p instanceof SceneGridLayout) as SceneGridLayout;
+        expect(resoredLayout.state.children.map((c) => c.state.key)).toEqual(originalPanelOrder);
+      });
+
       it.each`
         prop             | value
         ${'title'}       | ${'new title'}
@@ -77,6 +125,7 @@ describe('DashboardScene', () => {
         ${'tags'}        | ${['tag3', 'tag4']}
         ${'editable'}    | ${false}
         ${'links'}       | ${[]}
+        ${'meta'}        | ${{ folderUid: 'new-folder-uid', folderTitle: 'new-folder-title', hasUnsavedFolderChange: true }}
       `(
         'A change to $prop should set isDirty true',
         ({ prop, value }: { prop: keyof DashboardSceneState; value: unknown }) => {
@@ -123,6 +172,40 @@ describe('DashboardScene', () => {
         expect(sceneGraph.getTimeRange(scene)!.state.timeZone).toBe(prevState);
       });
 
+      it('A change to a cursor sync config should set isDirty true', () => {
+        const cursorSync = dashboardSceneGraph.getCursorSync(scene)!;
+        const initialState = cursorSync.state;
+
+        cursorSync.setState({
+          sync: DashboardCursorSync.Tooltip,
+        });
+
+        expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBe(true);
+
+        scene.exitEditMode({ skipConfirm: true });
+        expect(dashboardSceneGraph.getCursorSync(scene)!.state).toEqual(initialState);
+      });
+
+      it.each([
+        { hasChanges: true, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: false },
+        { hasChanges: true, hasTimeChanges: true, hasVariableValueChanges: false },
+        { hasChanges: true, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: true },
+      ])('should set the state to true if there are changes detected in the saving model', (diffResults) => {
+        mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker(diffResults);
+        scene.setState({ title: 'hello' });
+        expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBeTruthy();
+      });
+
+      it.each([
+        { hasChanges: false, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: false },
+        { hasChanges: false, hasTimeChanges: true, hasVariableValueChanges: false },
+        { hasChanges: false, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: true },
+      ])('should not set the state to true if there are no change detected in the dashboard', (diffResults) => {
+        mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker(diffResults);
+        scene.setState({ title: 'hello' });
+        expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBeFalsy();
+      });
+
       it('Should throw an error when adding a panel to a layout that is not SceneGridLayout', () => {
         const scene = buildTestScene({ body: undefined });
 
@@ -304,7 +387,11 @@ describe('DashboardScene', () => {
   });
 
   describe('When variables change', () => {
-    it('A change to griditem pos should set isDirty true', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      jest.clearAllMocks();
+    });
+
+    it('A change to variable values should trigger VariablesChanged event', () => {
       const varA = new TestVariable({ name: 'A', query: 'A.*', value: 'A.AA', text: '', options: [], delayMs: 0 });
       const scene = buildTestScene({
         $variables: new SceneVariableSet({ variables: [varA] }),
@@ -319,6 +406,57 @@ describe('DashboardScene', () => {
 
       expect(eventHandler).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     });
+
+    it('A change to the variable set should set isDirty true', () => {
+      const varA = new TestVariable({ name: 'A', query: 'A.*', value: 'A.AA', text: '', options: [], delayMs: 0 });
+      const scene = buildTestScene({
+        $variables: new SceneVariableSet({ variables: [varA] }),
+      });
+
+      scene.activate();
+      scene.onEnterEditMode();
+
+      const variableSet = sceneGraph.getVariables(scene);
+      variableSet.setState({ variables: [] });
+
+      expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('A change to a variable state should set isDirty true', () => {
+      mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker({ hasChanges: true, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: true });
+      const variable = new TestVariable({ name: 'A' });
+      const scene = buildTestScene({
+        $variables: new SceneVariableSet({ variables: [variable] }),
+      });
+
+      scene.activate();
+      scene.onEnterEditMode();
+
+      variable.setState({ name: 'new-name' });
+
+      expect(variable.state.name).toBe('new-name');
+      expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('A change to variable name is restored to original name should set isDirty back to false', () => {
+      const variable = new TestVariable({ name: 'A' });
+      const scene = buildTestScene({
+        $variables: new SceneVariableSet({ variables: [variable] }),
+      });
+
+      scene.activate();
+      scene.onEnterEditMode();
+
+      mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker({ hasChanges: true, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: false });
+      variable.setState({ name: 'B' });
+      expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBe(true);
+      mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker(
+        // No changes, it is the same name than before comparing saving models
+        { hasChanges: false, hasTimeChanges: false, hasVariableValueChanges: false }
+      );
+      variable.setState({ name: 'A' });
+      expect(scene.state.isDirty).toBe(false);
+    });
   });
 
   describe('When a dashboard is restored', () => {
@@ -379,6 +517,7 @@ function buildTestScene(overrides?: Partial<DashboardSceneState>) {
       timeZone: 'browser',
     }),
     controls: new DashboardControls({}),
+    $behaviors: [new behaviors.CursorSync({})],
     body: new SceneGridLayout({
       children: [
         new SceneGridItem({
@@ -427,6 +566,26 @@ function buildTestScene(overrides?: Partial<DashboardSceneState>) {
   return scene;
 }
 
+function mockResultsOfDetectChangesWorker({
+  hasChanges,
+  hasTimeChanges,
+  hasVariableValueChanges,
+}: {
+  hasChanges: boolean;
+  hasTimeChanges: boolean;
+  hasVariableValueChanges: boolean;
+}) {
+  jest.mocked(worker.postMessage).mockImplementationOnce(() => {
+    worker.onmessage?.({
+      data: {
+        hasChanges: hasChanges ?? true,
+        hasTimeChanges: hasTimeChanges ?? true,
+        hasVariableValueChanges: hasVariableValueChanges ?? true,
+      },
+    } as unknown as MessageEvent);
+  });
+}
+
 function getVersionMock(): DecoratedRevisionModel {
   const dash: Dashboard = {
     title: 'new name',

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/scene/DashboardScene.tsx

@@ -1,12 +1,9 @@
 import * as H from 'history';
-import { Unsubscribable } from 'rxjs';
 
 import { AppEvents, CoreApp, DataQueryRequest, NavIndex, NavModelItem, locationUtil } from '@grafana/data';
 import { locationService } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import {
-  dataLayers,
   getUrlSyncManager,
-  SceneDataLayers,
   SceneFlexLayout,
   sceneGraph,
   SceneGridItem,
@@ -15,9 +12,6 @@ import {
   SceneObject,
   SceneObjectBase,
   SceneObjectState,
-  SceneObjectStateChangedEvent,
-  SceneRefreshPicker,
-  SceneTimeRange,
   sceneUtils,
   SceneVariable,
   SceneVariableDependencyConfigLike,
@@ -36,6 +30,7 @@ import { DashboardDTO, DashboardMeta, SaveDashboardResponseDTO } from 'app/types
 import { ShowConfirmModalEvent } from 'app/types/events';
 
 import { PanelEditor } from '../panel-edit/PanelEditor';
+import { DashboardSceneChangeTracker } from '../saving/DashboardSceneChangeTracker';
 import { SaveDashboardDrawer } from '../saving/SaveDashboardDrawer';
 import { DashboardSceneRenderer } from '../scene/DashboardSceneRenderer';
 import { buildGridItemForPanel, transformSaveModelToScene } from '../serialization/transformSaveModelToScene';
@@ -66,7 +61,7 @@ import { PanelRepeaterGridItem } from './PanelRepeaterGridItem';
 import { ViewPanelScene } from './ViewPanelScene';
 import { setupKeyboardShortcuts } from './keyboardShortcuts';
 
-export const PERSISTED_PROPS = ['title', 'description', 'tags', 'editable', 'graphTooltip', 'links'];
+export const PERSISTED_PROPS = ['title', 'description', 'tags', 'editable', 'graphTooltip', 'links', 'meta'];
 
 export interface DashboardSceneState extends SceneObjectState {
   /** The title */
@@ -138,9 +133,9 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
    */
   private _initialUrlState?: H.Location;
   /**
-   * change tracking subscription
+   * Dashboard changes tracker
    */
-  private _changeTrackerSub?: Unsubscribable;
+  private _changeTracker: DashboardSceneChangeTracker;
 
   public constructor(state: Partial<DashboardSceneState>) {
     super({
@@ -153,6 +148,8 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
       ...state,
     });
 
+    this._changeTracker = new DashboardSceneChangeTracker(this);
+
     this.addActivationHandler(() => this._activationHandler());
   }
 
@@ -162,7 +159,7 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
     window.__grafanaSceneContext = this;
 
     if (this.state.isEditing) {
-      this.startTrackingChanges();
+      this._changeTracker.startTrackingChanges();
     }
 
     if (!this.state.meta.isEmbedded && this.state.uid) {
@@ -179,7 +176,7 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
     return () => {
       window.__grafanaSceneContext = prevSceneContext;
       clearKeyBindings();
-      this.stopTrackingChanges();
+      this._changeTracker.terminate();
       this.stopUrlSync();
       oldDashboardWrapper.destroy();
       dashboardWatcher.leave();
@@ -206,7 +203,8 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
 
     // Propagate change edit mode change to children
     this.propagateEditModeChange();
-    this.startTrackingChanges();
+
+    this._changeTracker.startTrackingChanges();
   };
 
   public saveCompleted(saveModel: Dashboard, result: SaveDashboardResponseDTO, folderUid?: string) {
@@ -217,7 +215,7 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
       version: result.version,
     };
 
-    this.stopTrackingChanges();
+    this._changeTracker.stopTrackingChanges();
     this.setState({
       version: result.version,
       isDirty: false,
@@ -231,7 +229,7 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
         folderUid: folderUid,
       },
     });
-    this.startTrackingChanges();
+    this._changeTracker.startTrackingChanges();
   }
 
   private propagateEditModeChange() {
@@ -265,7 +263,7 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
 
   private exitEditModeConfirmed() {
     // No need to listen to changes anymore
-    this.stopTrackingChanges();
+    this._changeTracker.stopTrackingChanges();
     // Stop url sync before updating url
     this.stopUrlSync();
 
@@ -380,53 +378,6 @@ export class DashboardScene extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardSceneState> {
     return this.state.viewPanelScene ?? this.state.body;
   }
 
-  private startTrackingChanges() {
-    this._changeTrackerSub = this.subscribeToEvent(
-      SceneObjectStateChangedEvent,
-      (event: SceneObjectStateChangedEvent) => {
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof SceneRefreshPicker) {
-          if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(event.payload.partialUpdate, 'intervals')) {
-            this.setIsDirty();
-          }
-        }
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof SceneDataLayers) {
-          this.setIsDirty();
-        }
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof dataLayers.AnnotationsDataLayer) {
-          if (!Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(event.payload.partialUpdate, 'data')) {
-            this.setIsDirty();
-          }
-        }
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof SceneGridItem) {
-          this.setIsDirty();
-        }
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof DashboardScene) {
-          if (Object.keys(event.payload.partialUpdate).some((key) => PERSISTED_PROPS.includes(key))) {
-            this.setIsDirty();
-          }
-        }
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof SceneTimeRange) {
-          this.setIsDirty();
-        }
-        if (event.payload.changedObject instanceof DashboardControls) {
-          if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(event.payload.partialUpdate, 'hideTimeControls')) {
-            this.setIsDirty();
-          }
-        }
-      }
-    );
-  }
-
-  private setIsDirty() {
-    if (!this.state.isDirty) {
-      this.setState({ isDirty: true });
-    }
-  }
-
-  private stopTrackingChanges() {
-    this._changeTrackerSub?.unsubscribe();
-  }
-
   public getInitialState(): DashboardSceneState | undefined {
     return this._initialState;
   }

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/serialization/transformSceneToSaveModel.ts

@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ export function vizPanelToPanel(
   }
 
   const panelLinks = dashboardSceneGraph.getPanelLinks(vizPanel);
-  panel.links = (panelLinks.state.rawLinks as DashboardLink[]) ?? [];
+  panel.links = (panelLinks?.state.rawLinks as DashboardLink[]) ?? [];
 
   if (panel.links.length === 0) {
     delete panel.links;

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/AnnotationsEditView.test.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import { map, of } from 'rxjs';
 
 import { AnnotationQuery, DataQueryRequest, DataSourceApi, LoadingState, PanelData } from '@grafana/data';
-import { SceneDataLayers, SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange, dataLayers } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { getPanelPlugin } from '@grafana/data/test/__mocks__/pluginMocks';
+import { setPluginImportUtils } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { SceneDataLayers, SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange, VizPanel, dataLayers } from '@grafana/scenes';
 
 import { AlertStatesDataLayer } from '../scene/AlertStatesDataLayer';
 import { DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer } from '../scene/DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer';
@@ -44,6 +46,11 @@ jest.mock('@grafana/runtime', () => ({
   },
 }));
 
+setPluginImportUtils({
+  importPanelPlugin: (id: string) => Promise.resolve(getPanelPlugin({})),
+  getPanelPluginFromCache: (id: string) => undefined,
+});
+
 describe('AnnotationsEditView', () => {
   describe('Dashboard annotations state', () => {
     let annotationsView: AnnotationsEditView;
@@ -188,7 +195,11 @@ async function buildTestScene() {
           y: 0,
           width: 10,
           height: 12,
-          body: undefined,
+          body: new VizPanel({
+            title: 'Panel A',
+            key: 'panel-1',
+            pluginId: 'table',
+          }),
         }),
       ],
     }),

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/DashboardLinksEditView.test.tsx

@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ import { render as RTLRender } from '@testing-library/react';
 import React from 'react';
 import { TestProvider } from 'test/helpers/TestProvider';
 
-import { behaviors, SceneGridLayout, SceneGridItem, SceneTimeRange } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { getPanelPlugin } from '@grafana/data/test/__mocks__/pluginMocks';
+import { setPluginImportUtils } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange, VizPanel, behaviors } from '@grafana/scenes';
 import { DashboardCursorSync } from '@grafana/schema';
 
 import { DashboardControls } from '../scene/DashboardControls';
@@ -23,6 +25,11 @@ jest.mock('react-router-dom', () => ({
   }),
 }));
 
+setPluginImportUtils({
+  importPanelPlugin: (id: string) => Promise.resolve(getPanelPlugin({})),
+  getPanelPluginFromCache: (id: string) => undefined,
+});
+
 function render(component: React.ReactNode) {
   return RTLRender(<TestProvider>{component}</TestProvider>);
 }
@@ -231,7 +238,11 @@ async function buildTestScene() {
           y: 0,
           width: 10,
           height: 12,
-          body: undefined,
+          body: new VizPanel({
+            title: 'Panel A',
+            key: 'panel-1',
+            pluginId: 'table',
+          }),
         }),
       ],
     }),

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/DashboardLinksEditView.tsx

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ export class DashboardLinksEditView extends SceneObjectBase<DashboardLinksEditVi
 function DashboardLinksEditViewRenderer({ model }: SceneComponentProps<DashboardLinksEditView>) {
   const { editIndex } = model.useState();
   const dashboard = getDashboardSceneFor(model);
-  const { links, overlay } = dashboard.useState();
+  const { links } = dashboard.useState();
   const { navModel, pageNav } = useDashboardEditPageNav(dashboard, model.getUrlKey());
   const linkToEdit = editIndex !== undefined ? links[editIndex] : undefined;
 
@@ -107,7 +107,6 @@ function DashboardLinksEditViewRenderer({ model }: SceneComponentProps<Dashboard
         onDuplicate={model.onDuplicate}
         onOrderChange={model.onOrderChange}
       />
-      {overlay && <overlay.Component model={overlay} />}
     </Page>
   );
 }

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/GeneralSettingsEditView.test.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import { behaviors, SceneGridLayout, SceneGridItem, SceneTimeRange } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { getPanelPlugin } from '@grafana/data/test/__mocks__/pluginMocks';
+import { setPluginImportUtils } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { behaviors, SceneGridLayout, SceneGridItem, SceneTimeRange, VizPanel } from '@grafana/scenes';
 import { DashboardCursorSync } from '@grafana/schema';
 
 import { DashboardControls } from '../scene/DashboardControls';
@@ -7,6 +9,11 @@ import { activateFullSceneTree } from '../utils/test-utils';
 
 import { GeneralSettingsEditView } from './GeneralSettingsEditView';
 
+setPluginImportUtils({
+  importPanelPlugin: (id: string) => Promise.resolve(getPanelPlugin({})),
+  getPanelPluginFromCache: (id: string) => undefined,
+});
+
 describe('GeneralSettingsEditView', () => {
   describe('Dashboard state', () => {
     let dashboard: DashboardScene;
@@ -129,7 +136,11 @@ async function buildTestScene() {
           y: 0,
           width: 10,
           height: 12,
-          body: undefined,
+          body: new VizPanel({
+            title: 'Panel A',
+            key: 'panel-1',
+            pluginId: 'table',
+          }),
         }),
       ],
     }),

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/GeneralSettingsEditView.tsx

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import React, { ChangeEvent } from 'react';
 
 import { PageLayoutType } from '@grafana/data';
-import { behaviors, SceneComponentProps, SceneObjectBase, sceneGraph } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { SceneComponentProps, SceneObjectBase, sceneGraph } from '@grafana/scenes';
 import { TimeZone } from '@grafana/schema';
 import {
   Box,
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import { DeleteDashboardButton } from 'app/features/dashboard/components/DeleteD
 
 import { DashboardScene } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
 import { NavToolbarActions } from '../scene/NavToolbarActions';
+import { dashboardSceneGraph } from '../utils/dashboardSceneGraph';
 import { getDashboardSceneFor } from '../utils/utils';
 
 import { DashboardEditView, DashboardEditViewState, useDashboardEditPageNav } from './utils';
@@ -64,13 +65,7 @@ export class GeneralSettingsEditView
   }
 
   public getCursorSync() {
-    const cursorSync = this._dashboard.state.$behaviors?.find((b) => b instanceof behaviors.CursorSync);
+    return dashboardSceneGraph.getCursorSync(this._dashboard);
-
-    if (cursorSync instanceof behaviors.CursorSync) {
-      return cursorSync;
-    }
-
-    return;
   }
 
   public getDashboardControls() {

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/PermissionsEditView.test.tsx

@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
-import { SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { getPanelPlugin } from '@grafana/data/test/__mocks__/pluginMocks';
+import { setPluginImportUtils } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange, VizPanel } from '@grafana/scenes';
 
 import { DashboardScene } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
 import { activateFullSceneTree } from '../utils/test-utils';
 
 import { PermissionsEditView } from './PermissionsEditView';
 
+setPluginImportUtils({
+  importPanelPlugin: (id: string) => Promise.resolve(getPanelPlugin({})),
+  getPanelPluginFromCache: (id: string) => undefined,
+});
+
 describe('PermissionsEditView', () => {
   describe('Dashboard permissions state', () => {
     let dashboard: DashboardScene;
@@ -44,7 +51,11 @@ async function buildTestScene() {
           y: 0,
           width: 10,
           height: 12,
-          body: undefined,
+          body: new VizPanel({
+            title: 'Panel A',
+            key: 'panel-1',
+            pluginId: 'table',
+          }),
         }),
       ],
     }),

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/VariablesEditView.test.tsx

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   VizPanel,
   AdHocFiltersVariable,
   SceneVariableState,
+  SceneTimeRange,
 } from '@grafana/scenes';
 import { mockDataSource } from 'app/features/alerting/unified/mocks';
 import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from 'app/features/variables/editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
@@ -308,6 +309,7 @@ async function buildTestScene() {
     meta: {
       canEdit: true,
     },
+    $timeRange: new SceneTimeRange({}),
     $variables: new SceneVariableSet({
       variables: [
         new CustomVariable({

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/VersionsEditView.test.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import { SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { getPanelPlugin } from '@grafana/data/test/__mocks__/pluginMocks';
+import { setPluginImportUtils } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { SceneGridItem, SceneGridLayout, SceneTimeRange, VizPanel } from '@grafana/scenes';
 
 import { DashboardScene } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
 import { activateFullSceneTree } from '../utils/test-utils';
@@ -8,6 +10,11 @@ import { historySrv } from './version-history';
 
 jest.mock('./version-history/HistorySrv');
 
+setPluginImportUtils({
+  importPanelPlugin: (id: string) => Promise.resolve(getPanelPlugin({})),
+  getPanelPluginFromCache: (id: string) => undefined,
+});
+
 describe('VersionsEditView', () => {
   describe('Dashboard versions state', () => {
     let dashboard: DashboardScene;
@@ -170,7 +177,11 @@ async function buildTestScene() {
           y: 0,
           width: 10,
           height: 12,
-          body: undefined,
+          body: new VizPanel({
+            title: 'Panel A',
+            key: 'panel-1',
+            pluginId: 'table',
+          }),
         }),
       ],
     }),

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/variables/utils.test.ts

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import {
   getOptionDataSourceTypes,
   getNextAvailableId,
   getVariableDefault,
+  isSceneVariableInstance,
 } from './utils';
 
 const templateSrv = {
@@ -98,6 +99,30 @@ describe('isEditableVariableType', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('isSceneVariableInstance', () => {
+  it.each([
+    CustomVariable,
+    QueryVariable,
+    ConstantVariable,
+    IntervalVariable,
+    DataSourceVariable,
+    AdHocFiltersVariable,
+    GroupByVariable,
+    TextBoxVariable,
+  ])('should return true for scene variable instances %s', (instanceType) => {
+    const variable = new instanceType({ name: 'MyVariable' });
+    expect(isSceneVariableInstance(variable)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('should return false for non-scene variable instances', () => {
+    const variable = {
+      name: 'MyVariable',
+      type: 'query',
+    };
+    expect(variable).not.toBeInstanceOf(QueryVariable);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('getVariableTypeSelectOptions', () => {
   describe('when groupByVariable is enabled', () => {
     beforeAll(() => {

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/settings/variables/utils.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ import {
   GroupByVariable,
   SceneVariable,
   MultiValueVariable,
+  sceneUtils,
+  SceneObject,
   AdHocFiltersVariable,
   SceneVariableState,
 } from '@grafana/scenes';
@@ -196,5 +198,26 @@ export function getOptionDataSourceTypes() {
   return optionTypes;
 }
 
+function isSceneVariable(sceneObject: SceneObject): sceneObject is SceneVariable {
+  return 'type' in sceneObject.state && 'getValue' in sceneObject;
+}
+
+export function isSceneVariableInstance(sceneObject: SceneObject): sceneObject is SceneVariable {
+  if (!isSceneVariable(sceneObject)) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return (
+    sceneUtils.isAdHocVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isConstantVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isCustomVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isDataSourceVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isIntervalVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isQueryVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isTextBoxVariable(sceneObject) ||
+    sceneUtils.isGroupByVariable(sceneObject)
+  );
+}
+
 export const RESERVED_GLOBAL_VARIABLE_NAME_REGEX = /^(?!__).*$/;
 export const WORD_CHARACTERS_REGEX = /^\w+$/;

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/utils/dashboardSceneGraph.test.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ import {
   SceneQueryRunner,
   SceneTimeRange,
   VizPanel,
+  behaviors,
 } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import { DashboardCursorSync } from '@grafana/schema';
 
 import { AlertStatesDataLayer } from '../scene/AlertStatesDataLayer';
 import { DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer } from '../scene/DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer';
@@ -20,10 +22,10 @@ import { findVizPanelByKey } from './utils';
 
 describe('dashboardSceneGraph', () => {
   describe('getPanelLinks', () => {
-    it('should throw if no links object defined', () => {
+    it('should return null if no links object defined', () => {
       const scene = buildTestScene();
       const panelWithNoLinks = findVizPanelByKey(scene, 'panel-1')!;
-      expect(() => dashboardSceneGraph.getPanelLinks(panelWithNoLinks)).toThrow();
+      expect(dashboardSceneGraph.getPanelLinks(panelWithNoLinks)).toBeNull();
     });
 
     it('should resolve VizPanelLinks object', () => {
@@ -199,6 +201,22 @@ describe('dashboardSceneGraph', () => {
       expect(() => getNextPanelId(scene)).toThrow('Dashboard body is not a SceneGridLayout');
     });
   });
+
+  describe('getCursorSync', () => {
+    it('should return cursor sync behavior', () => {
+      const scene = buildTestScene();
+      const cursorSync = dashboardSceneGraph.getCursorSync(scene);
+
+      expect(cursorSync).toBeInstanceOf(behaviors.CursorSync);
+    });
+
+    it('should return undefined if no cursor sync behavior', () => {
+      const scene = buildTestScene({ $behaviors: [] });
+      const cursorSync = dashboardSceneGraph.getCursorSync(scene);
+
+      expect(cursorSync).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 function buildTestScene(overrides?: Partial<DashboardSceneState>) {
@@ -207,6 +225,11 @@ function buildTestScene(overrides?: Partial<DashboardSceneState>) {
     uid: 'dash-1',
     $timeRange: new SceneTimeRange({}),
     controls: new DashboardControls({}),
+    $behaviors: [
+      new behaviors.CursorSync({
+        sync: DashboardCursorSync.Crosshair,
+      }),
+    ],
     $data: new SceneDataLayers({
       layers: [
         new DashboardAnnotationsDataLayer({

public/app/features/dashboard-scene/utils/dashboardSceneGraph.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,12 @@
-import { VizPanel, SceneGridItem, SceneGridRow, SceneDataLayers, sceneGraph, SceneGridLayout } from '@grafana/scenes';
+import {
+  VizPanel,
+  SceneGridItem,
+  SceneGridRow,
+  SceneDataLayers,
+  sceneGraph,
+  SceneGridLayout,
+  behaviors,
+} from '@grafana/scenes';
 
 import { DashboardScene } from '../scene/DashboardScene';
 import { LibraryVizPanel } from '../scene/LibraryVizPanel';
@@ -23,7 +31,7 @@ function getPanelLinks(panel: VizPanel) {
     return panel.state.titleItems[0];
   }
 
-  throw new Error('VizPanelLinks links not found');
+  return null;
 }
 
 function getVizPanels(scene: DashboardScene): VizPanel[] {
@@ -58,6 +66,16 @@ function getDataLayers(scene: DashboardScene): SceneDataLayers {
   return data;
 }
 
+export function getCursorSync(scene: DashboardScene) {
+  const cursorSync = scene.state.$behaviors?.find((b) => b instanceof behaviors.CursorSync);
+
+  if (cursorSync instanceof behaviors.CursorSync) {
+    return cursorSync;
+  }
+
+  return;
+}
+
 export function getNextPanelId(dashboard: DashboardScene): number {
   let max = 0;
   const body = dashboard.state.body;
@@ -119,4 +137,5 @@ export const dashboardSceneGraph = {
   getVizPanels,
   getDataLayers,
   getNextPanelId,
+  getCursorSync,
 };

public/app/features/dashboard/components/PanelEditor/getPanelFrameOptions.tsx

@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ export function getPanelFrameCategory2(panelManager: VizPanelManager): OptionsPa
   });
 
   const panelLinksObject = dashboardSceneGraph.getPanelLinks(panel);
-  const links = panelLinksObject.state.rawLinks;
+  const links = panelLinksObject?.state.rawLinks ?? [];
 
   return descriptor
     .addItem(
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ export function getPanelFrameCategory2(panelManager: VizPanelManager): OptionsPa
       }).addItem(
         new OptionsPaneItemDescriptor({
           title: 'Panel links',
-          render: () => <ScenePanelLinksEditor panelLinks={panelLinksObject} />,
+          render: () => <ScenePanelLinksEditor panelLinks={panelLinksObject ?? undefined} />,
         })
       )
     )
@@ -323,16 +323,16 @@ export function getPanelFrameCategory2(panelManager: VizPanelManager): OptionsPa
 }
 
 interface ScenePanelLinksEditorProps {
-  panelLinks: VizPanelLinks;
+  panelLinks?: VizPanelLinks;
 }
 
 function ScenePanelLinksEditor({ panelLinks }: ScenePanelLinksEditorProps) {
-  const { rawLinks: links } = panelLinks.useState();
+  const { rawLinks: links } = panelLinks ? panelLinks.useState() : { rawLinks: [] };
 
   return (
     <DataLinksInlineEditor
       links={links}
-      onChange={(links) => panelLinks.setState({ rawLinks: links })}
+      onChange={(links) => panelLinks?.setState({ rawLinks: links })}
       getSuggestions={getPanelLinksVariableSuggestions}
       data={[]}
     />

public/app/features/panel/panellinks/linkSuppliers.ts

@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ export const getScenePanelLinksSupplier = (
   panel: VizPanel,
   replaceVariables: InterpolateFunction
 ): LinkModelSupplier<VizPanel> | undefined => {
-  const links = dashboardSceneGraph.getPanelLinks(panel).state.rawLinks;
+  const links = dashboardSceneGraph.getPanelLinks(panel)?.state.rawLinks;
 
   if (!links || links.length === 0) {
     return undefined;

public/test/setupTests.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,11 @@ i18next.use(initReactI18next).init({
   lng: 'en-US', // this should be the locale of the phrases in our source JSX
 });
 
+// mock out the worker that detects changes in the dashboard
+// The mock is needed because JSDOM does not support workers and
+// the factory uses import.meta.url so we can't use it in CommonJS modules.
+jest.mock('app/features/dashboard-scene/saving/createDetectChangesWorker.ts');
+
 // our tests are heavy in CI due to parallelisation and monaco and kusto
 // so we increase the default timeout to 2secs to avoid flakiness
 configure({ asyncUtilTimeout: 2000 });