importing of dashboards and saved objects fails via api

[ghost]

Kibana version:
6.4

Elasticsearch version:
6.4

Server OS version:
CentOS Linux release 7.1.1503 (Core)

Original install method (e.g. download page, yum, from source, etc.):
yum

Describe the bug:
I'm trying to import a dashboard (including saved objects) via the api as documented here:
https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/kibana/current/dashboard-import-api-import.html
This however fails, following error is returned:

"Bad Request", "message": ""value" must be an object", "statusCode": 400

Steps to reproduce:

1. Create a dashboard
2. Export via Management > Saved Objects
3. Reimport the exported json file via the api.

Expected behavior:
An imported dashboard including saved objects
Any additional context:
Same question was asked on kibana forum but no answer yet: https://discuss.elastic.co/t/importing-kibana-json-files-using-kibana-api-call/155344/2

[hieutle2011]

It seems that you can only import the exported json file the same way you exported it; as the different ways produce different json file (Kibana UI will produce json file with a list, API will produce json file with an object). In your case, you exported file via Kibana UI and using API to import it, that's the reason.

[craigboman]

The better question is, why do the two export methods result in different file formats? The two exports should be identical and we should be able to import/export via either method using the same .ndjson file.

[rudolf]

Kibana 7.2 and later introduced the Saved Objects Import/Export API which are compatible with the files generated from the Import/Export UI https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/kibana/current/saved-objects-api-import.html