Working with Grafana panels on Grafana Labs

Navigate the Grafana panel editor

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

Navigate the Grafana panel editor

This page describes the parts of the Grafana panel editor.

Panel header: The header section lists the dashboard in which the panel appears and the following controls:
- Dashboard settings (gear) icon - Click to access the dashboard settings.
- Discard - Discards changes you have made to the panel since you last saved the dashboard.
- Save - Saves changes you made to the panel.
- Apply - Applies changes you made and closes the panel editor, returning you to the dashboard. You will have to save the dashboard to persist the applied changes.
Visualization preview: The visualization preview section contains the following options:
- Table view - Convert any visualization to a table so that you can see the data. Table views are useful for troubleshooting.
- Fill - The visualization preview fills the available space. If you change the width of the side pane or height of the bottom pane the visualization changes to fill the available space.
- Actual - The visualization preview will have the exact size as the size on the dashboard. If not enough space is available, the visualization will scale down preserving the aspect ratio.
- Time range controls - For more information, refer to Time range controls.
Data section: The data section contains tabs where you enter queries, transform your data, and create alert rules (if applicable).
- Query tab - Select your data source and enter queries here. For more information, refer to Add a query.
- Transform tab - Apply data transformations. For more information, refer to Transform data.
- Alert tab - Write alert rules. For more information, refer to Overview of Grafana 8 alerting.
Panel display options: The display options section contains tabs where you configure almost every aspect of your data visualization, including:

Not all options are available for each visualization.

Add a panel to a dashboard

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

Add a panel to a dashboard

Panels allow you to show your data in visual form. Each panel needs at least one query to display a visualization.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have the proper organization role or permissions.
Identify the dashboard to which you want to add the panel.
Understand the query language of the target data source.
Ensure that data source for which you are writing a query has been added. For more information about adding a data source, refer to Add a data source if you need instructions.

To add a panel to a dashboard:

Navigate to the dashboard to which you want to add a panel.
Click the Add panel icon.
Click Add an empty panel.

Grafana creates an empty time-series panel and selects the default data source.
In the first line of the Query tab, click the drop-down list and select a data source.
Write or construct a query in the query language of your data source.

For more information about data sources, refer to Data sources for specific guidelines.
In the Visualization list, select a visualization type.

Grafana displays a preview of your query results with the visualization applied.

For more information about individual visualizations, refer to Visualizations options.
Refer to the following documentation for ways you adjust panel settings.

While not required, most visualizations need some adjustment before they properly display the information that you need.
Add a note to describe the visualization (or describe your changes) and then click Save in the upper-right corner of the page.

Notes can be helpful if you need to revert the dashboard to a previous version.

Add a title and description to a panel

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

Add a title and description to a panel

Add a title and description to a panel to share with users any important information about the visualization. For example, use the description to document the purpose of the visualization.

Before you begin:

Add a panel to a dashboard.

To add a title and description to a panel:

Open a panel.
In the panel display options pane, locate the Panel options section.
Enter a Title.

Text entered in this field is displayed at the top of your panel in the panel editor and in the dashboard.

You can use variables you have defined in either field, but not global variables.
Write a description of the panel and the data you are displaying.

Text entered in this field is displayed in a tooltip in the upper left corner of the panel.

You can use variables you have defined in either field, but not global variables.

Format a standard field

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

Format a standard field

The data model used in Grafana, namely the data frame, is a columnar-oriented table structure that unifies both time series and table query results. Each column within this structure is called a field. A field can represent a single time series or table column.

Field options allow you to change how the data is displayed in your visualizations. Options and overrides that you apply do not change the data, they change how Grafana displays the data. When you change an option, it is applied to all fields, meaning all series or columns. For example, if you change the unit to percentage, then all fields with numeric values are displayed in percentages.

For a complete list of field formatting options, refer to Reference: Standard field definitions.

You can apply standard options to most built-in Grafana panels. Some older panels and community panels that have not updated to the new panel and data model will be missing either all or some of these field options.

Before you begin

Add a panel to a dashboard.

To format a standard field:

Open a dashboard, click the panel title, and click Edit.
In the panel display options pane, locate the Standard options section.
Select the standard options you want to apply.

For more information about standard options, refer to Reference: Standard field definitions.
To preview your change, click outside of the field option box you are editing or press Enter.

Apply color to series and fields

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

Apply color to series and fields

In addition to specifying color based on thresholds, you can configure the color of series and field data. The color options and their effect on the visualization depends on the visualization you are working with. Some visualizations have different color options.

You can specify a single color, or select a continuous (gradient) color schemes, based on a value. Continuous color interpolates a color using the percentage of a value relative to min and max.

Before you begin

Add a panel to a dashboard.

To apply color to series and fields:

In panel display options, scroll to the Standard options or override section.
Click the Standard options Color scheme drop-down, and select one of the following palettes:

Color mode	Description
Single color	Specify a single color, useful in an override rule
From thresholds	Informs Grafana to take the color from the matching threshold
Classic palette	Grafana will assign color by looking up a color in a palette by series index. Useful for Graphs and pie charts and other categorical data visualizations
Green-Yellow-Red (by value)	Continuous color scheme
Blue-Yellow-Red (by value)	Continuous color scheme
Blues (by value)	Continuous color scheme (panel background to blue)
Reds (by value)	Continuous color scheme (panel background color to blue)
Greens (by value)	Continuous color scheme (panel background color to blue)
Purple (by value)	Continuous color scheme (panel background color to blue)	.

Add a link to a panel

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

Add a link to a panel

Each panel can have its own set of links that are shown in the upper left corner of the panel. You can link to any available URL, including dashboards, panels, or external sites. You can even control the time range to ensure the user is zoomed in on the right data in Grafana.

For more information, refer to Panel links.

Configure a legend

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

Configure a legend

A panel includes a legend that you can use to interpret data displayed in a visualization. Each legend option adds context and clarity to the data illustrated in a visualization.

Isolate series data in a visualization

Visualizations can often be visually complex, and include many data series. You can simplify the view by removing series data from the visualization, which isolates the data you want to see. Grafana automatically creates a new override in the Override tab.

When you apply your changes, the visualization changes appear to all users of the panel.

Before you begin

Add a panel to a dashboard.

To isolate series data in a visualization:

Open the panel.
In the legend, click the label of the series you want to isolate.

The system removes from view all other series data.
To incrementally add series data to an isolated series, press the Ctrl or Command key and click the label of the series you want to add.
To revert back to the default view that includes all data, click any series label twice.
To save your changes so that they appear to all viewers of the panel, click Apply.

This topic currently applies to the following visualizations:

Add values to a legend

As way to add more context to a visualization, you can add series data values to a legend. You can add as many values as you’d like; after you apply your changes, you can horizontally scroll the legend to see all values.

Before you begin

Add a panel

To add values to a legend:

Open a panel.
In the panel display options pane, locate the Legend section.
In the Legend values field, select the values you want to appear in the legend.
Click Apply to save your changes are navigate back to the dashboard.

Change a series color

By default, Grafana specifies the color of your series data, which you can change.

Before you begin

Add a panel

To change a series color, perform the following steps:

Open the panel.
In the legend, click the color bar associated with the series.
Select a pre-set color or a custom color from the color palette.
Click Apply to save your changes are navigate back to the dashboard.

Sort series

Change legend mode to Table and choose calculations to be displayed in the legend. Click the calculation name header in the legend table to sort the values in the table in ascending or descending order.

The sort order affects the positions of the bars in the Bar chart panel as well as the order of stacked series in the Time series and Bar chart panels.

Note: This feature is only supported in these panels: Bar chart, Histogram, Time series, XY Chart.

Organize a dashboard

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

Organize a dashboard

You can place any panel in any location you want and controls its size. The changes you make impact other users of the dashboard.

Before you begin

Add two or more panels
Ensure that you sign in with Editor permissions

To organize a dashboard:

Hover your cursor over the panel, and click-and-drag the panel to its new location.
To resize a panel, click the zoom in (+) and zoom out (-) icons.

Tips and shortcuts

Click the graph title and in the dropdown menu quickly duplicate the panel.
Click the colored icon in the legend to change a series color or the y-axis.
Click series name in the legend to hide series.
Ctrl/Shift/Meta + click legend name to hide other series.
Hover your cursor over a panel and press e to open the panel editor.
Hover your cursor over a panel and press v to open the panel in full screen view..

Navigate the Grafana Inspector panel

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

Navigate the Grafana Inspector panel

The panel inspector helps you understand and troubleshoot your panels. You can inspect the raw data for any Grafana panel, export that data to a comma-separated values (CSV) file, view query requests, and export panel and data JSON.

Note: Not all panel types include all tabs. For example, dashboard list panels do not have raw data to inspect, so they do not display the Stats, Data, or Query tabs.

The panel inspector consists of the following options:

The panel inspector displays Inspect: at the top of the pane. Click the arrow in the upper right corner to expand or reduce the pane.
Data tab - Shows the raw data returned by the query with transformations applied. Field options such as overrides and value mappings are not applied by default.
Stats tab - Shows how long your query takes and how much it returns.
JSON tab - Allows you to view and copy the panel JSON, panel data JSON, and data frame structure JSON. This is useful if you are provisioning or administering Grafana.
Query tab - Shows you the requests to the server sent when Grafana queries the data source.
Error tab - Shows the error. Only visible when query returns error.

View a panel JSON model

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

View a panel JSON model

Explore and export panel, panel data, and data frame JSON models.

Before you begin:

Add a panel to a dashboard.

To view a panel JSON model:

Open the panel inspector and then click the JSON tab or in the panel menu click Inspect > Panel JSON.
In Select source, choose one of the following options:
- Panel JSON - Displays a JSON object representing the panel.
- Panel data - Displays a JSON object representing the data that was passed to the panel.
- DataFrame structure - Displays the raw result set with transformations, field configuration, and overrides configuration applied.
You can expand or collapse portions of the JSON to explore it, or you can click Copy to clipboard and paste the JSON in another application.

Download query results

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

Download query results

Grafana generates a text (.txt) file that contains the results of a query, which you can download.

Before you begin

Add a query.

To download query results:

Open the panel inspector.
Inspect the query results.
Click Download.