Explore Metrics

Explore Metrics builds and compares PromQL time series. A view can contain several queries and formulas, which makes it useful for checking related signals or calculating ratios without first creating a dashboard.

Build a metric query

In Builder mode, choose a metric and then refine it with:

• Labels to filter the series. Equality, inequality, and regular-expression operators are available.
• Aggregation to combine matching series with functions such as sum, average, minimum, maximum, count, or percentile.
• Value As to use raw values, rates, or changes where the metric type supports them.
• Group By to keep separate lines for selected labels.

The builder identifies common counter and gauge types and chooses a useful starting calculation. Review that calculation before using the result for an alert or SLO.

Switch to Code to enter PromQL directly. Code-mode queries run when you select Run Query, which lets you finish editing a larger expression before sending it. See Metric Queries and Supported Subset for supported syntax.

Discover metrics by tag

Choose Discover metrics by tag when you know the workload label but not the metric names. Build a scope such as service_name = checkout, select the metrics you want, and paint them into the page as query panels.

The scope bar stays above the generated panels:

• Editing a scope filter updates every linked panel.
• Group by applies labels shared by all linked metrics.
• A panel detaches when its query is edited independently.
• Detach all keeps the current filters on each panel and stops later scope changes from updating them.

This workflow is especially useful for comparing several runtime or infrastructure metrics for the same service, namespace, pod, or cluster.

Queries and formulas

Use Add Query to place another metric beside the current one. Queries are assigned letters in page order. Collapse the query list when you want more room for charts, or clear all query panels while keeping any formulas you still need.

Use Add Formula to calculate from those query letters. For example:

(A / B) * 100

Formulas recompute when their source queries update. A formula can reference query panels, but it cannot reference another formula. If a query is removed, update or remove formulas that refer to its letter.

Analyze chart series

Each query and formula renders as a time-series chart. The legend identifies the labels that distinguish one series from another. Depending on the labels and connected integrations, a legend row can offer these drill actions:

• Open in Logs carries the series labels into a filtered Logs view.
• Open in Spans opens the matching service in Traces.
• Open Infra Map opens the related Kubernetes workload and its neighborhood.

An action appears only when the series contains enough information to build the destination. For example, Open in Spans needs a service label and Open Infra Map needs recognizable Kubernetes labels plus a connected cluster.

Anomalies and outliers

Use Detect anomalies to check the current series for unusually high spikes and low drops. Cardinal evaluates both directions and shows the periods that differ from the expected shape.

Use Find outliers when a query returns a cohort of comparable series, such as pods or hosts. It identifies members whose behavior differs from their peers. Outlier detection is available for query panels but not formulas because the cohort labels must be applied back to the original metric query.

These checks are starting points for investigation. Confirm a flagged period against the chart, related logs, deployments, and known traffic changes before treating it as a fault.

Correlation

Metrics can show two kinds of markers:

• Log correlation comes from Correlate to Metrics in Explore Logs. Select a marker to inspect the nearby matching log lines.
• Events come from connected sources such as Kubernetes or GitHub. Configure them with the Events button and select only the clusters, namespaces, repositories, or event types relevant to the chart.

See Using Explore correlation for Kubernetes setup. When a series contains Kubernetes resource labels, its legend may also open the Infra Map for a live view of the related workload.

Share and reuse

Share copies all active queries, formulas, scope links, and the time range into a link. Reset clears the page and returns it to an empty query.

Use Add to dashboard on a query or formula chart to create a reusable panel. Formula panels preserve the formula along with the resolved PromQL, so they can still be edited as formulas in the dashboard.