Query a data source on Grafana Labs

About queries

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

About queries

Queries are how Grafana panels communicate with data sources to get data for the visualization. A query is a question written in the query language used by the data source. How often the query is sent to the data source and how many data points are collected can be adjusted in the panel data source options.

Use you a query editor to write a query. Each data source has its own query editor that we have customized to include the features and capabilities of the data source. Grafana supports up to 26 queries per panel.

Important! You must be familiar with the query language of the data source. For more information about data sources, refer to Data sources.

Query editors

Depending on your data source, the query editor might provide auto-completion, metric names, or variable suggestions.

Because of the difference between query languages, data sources have query editors that look different. Here are two examples of query editors.

InfluxDB query editor

Prometheus (PromQL) query editor

Query syntax

Data sources use different query languages to return data. Here are two query examples:

PostgreSQL

SELECT hostname FROM host  WHERE region IN($region)

PromQL

query_result(max_over_time(<metric>[${__range_s}s]) != <state>)

Data sources used in queries

In addition to the data sources that you have configured in Grafana, there are three special data sources available:

Grafana - A built-in data source that generates random walk data, which can be useful for testing visualizations and running experiments.
Mixed - Select this option to query multiple data sources in the same panel. When you select this data source, Grafana enables you to select a data source for every new query that you add.
- The first query uses the data source that was selected before you selected Mixed.
- You cannot change an existing query to use the Mixed Data Source.
Dashboard - Select this option to use a result set from another panel in the same dashboard.

You can combine data from multiple data sources onto a single dashboard, but each panel is tied to a specific data source that belongs to a particular Organization.

Navigate the query tab

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Navigate the query tab

The Query tab consists of the following elements:

Data source selector: Use the data source selector to select the source of the data you want to query. For more information about data sources, refer to Data sources.
Query options: Enables you to set maximum data retrieved parameters and query execution time intervals.
Query inspector button: Open the query inspector panel where you can view and optimize your query.
Query editor list: Lists the queries you have written.
Expressions: Use the expression builder to create alert expressions. For more information about expressions, refer to Use expressions to manipulate data.

Add a query

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Add a query

A query returns data that Grafana visualizes in dashboards. When you create a panel, Grafana automatically selects the default data source.

Before you begin

Add a data source.
Ensure that you know the query language of the data source.
Add a panel.

To add a query:

Edit the panel to which you are adding a query.
Click the Query tab.
Click the Data source drop-down menu and select a data source.
Click Query options to configure the maximum number of data points returned by the query and how frequently you want the query to request data from the data source.

For more information about query options, refer to Reference: Query options.
Write the query.
Click Apply.

The system queries the data source and presents the data in the visualization.

Use expressions to manipulate data

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Use expressions to manipulate data

Server-side expressions enable you to manipulate data returned from queries with math and other operations. Expressions create new data and do not manipulate the data returned by data sources.

Manage queries

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Manage queries

Queries are organized in collapsible query rows. Each query row contains a query editor and is identified with a letter (A, B, C, and so on).

You can:

Icon	Description
	Toggle query editor help. If supported by the data source, click this icon to display information on how to use the query editor or provide quick access to common queries.
	Copy a query. Duplicating queries is useful when working with multiple complex queries that are similar and you want to either experiment with different variants or do minor alterations.
	Hide a query. Grafana does not send hidden queries to the data source.
	Remove a query. Removing a query permanently deletes it, but sometimes you can recover deleted queries by reverting to previously saved versions of the panel.
	Reorder queries. Change the order of queries by clicking and holding the drag icon, then drag queries where desired. The order of results reflects the order of the queries, so you can often adjust your visual results based on query order.

Share query results with another panel

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Grafana let you use the query result from one panel for any other panel in the dashboard. Sharing query results across panels reduces the number of queries made to your data source, which can improve the performance of your dashboard.

The Dashboard data source lets you select a panel in your dashboard that contains the queries ‌you want to share the results for. Instead of sending a separate query for each panel, Grafana sends one query and other panels use the query results to construct visualizations.

This strategy can drastically reduce the number of queries being made when you for example have several panels visualizing the same data.

To share data source queries with another panel:

Create a dashboard.
Add a panel to a dashboard.
Change the title to “Source panel”. You’ll use this panel as a source for the other panels.
Define the query or queries that you want share.

If you don’t have a data source available, use the Grafana data source, which returns a random time series that you can use for testing.
Add a second panel and select the Dashboard data source in the query editor.
In the Use results from panel list, select the first panel you created.

All queries defined in the source panel are now available to the new panel. Queries made in the source panel can be shared with multiple panels.

You can click on any of the queries to go to the panel where they are defined.

Download raw query results

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Download raw query results

Grafana generates a CSV file that contains your data, including any transformations to that data. You can choose to view the data before or after the panel applies field options or field option overrides.

Before you begin

To download raw query results:

Edit the panel that contains the query data you want to download.
In the query editor, click Query Inspector.
Click Data.

If your panel contains multiple queries or queries multiple nodes, then you have additional options.
- Select result: Choose which result set data you want to view.
- Transform data
- Join by time: View raw data from all your queries at once, one result set per column. Click a column heading to reorder the data.
To see data before the system applies field overrides, click the Formatted data toggle.
To download a CSV file specifically formatted for Excel, click the Download for Excel toggle .
Click Download CSV.

Inspect query performance

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Inspect query performance

The Stats tab displays statistics that tell you how long your query takes, how many queries you send, and the number of rows returned. This information can help you troubleshoot your queries, especially if any of the numbers are unexpectedly high or low.

Before you begin

To inspect query performance:

Edit the panel that contains the query with performance you want to inspect.
In the query editor, click Query Inspector.
Click Stats.

Statistics are displayed in read-only format.

Inspect query request and response data

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:26:57 +0000

Inspect query request and response data

Inspect query request and response data when you want to troubleshoot a query that returns unexpected results, or fails to return expected results.

Before you begin

To inspect query request and response data:

Edit the panel that contains the query you want to export.
In the query editor, click Query Inspector.
Click Refresh.

The panel populates with response data.
Make adjustments, as necessary and re-run the query.
To download the query request and response data, click the Copy to clipboard icon and paste the results into another application.