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Prometheus Metrics

docs/content/en/guides/telemetry/prometheus-metrics.md

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The Telemetry → Metrics view is a Prometheus-native explorer. Where Grafana gives you ready-made dashboards to browse, Prometheus has none — so this view lets you do what Grafana cannot: discover metrics, write PromQL, preview the result live, and save the panels you care about into your own grid.

Prerequisites

  • A registered Prometheus [Connection]({{< ref "concepts/logical/connections/index.md" >}}) in the Connected or Registered state. Add a [Credential]({{< ref "concepts/logical/credentials.md" >}}) if your Prometheus requires authentication. See [Telemetry prerequisites]({{< ref "guides/telemetry/_index.md" >}}).

Open the Metrics view

  1. In the Meshery navigation, expand Telemetry and select Metrics.
  2. Use the connection picker to choose the Prometheus connection you want to query.
  3. Check the connection status indicator — it pings Prometheus and reports reachability and the detected server version.

Explore metrics and build a query

Open the metric explorer to compose a query:

  1. Search metrics — type to filter the list of available metric names served by your Prometheus.
  2. Inspect metadata — select a metric to see its type (counter, gauge, histogram, …), help text, and unit.
  3. Browse labels — list a metric's label names and their values to build precise matchers.
  4. Write PromQL — compose an expression in the editor. A live preview chart shows the result over the current time range as you refine it.

Grafana-style time macros (such as $__rate_interval and $__interval) are expanded automatically based on the selected time window and step, so expressions copied from Grafana panels work here too.

Save panels

When a query is showing what you want:

  1. Give the panel a title.
  2. Choose a visualization type — time series, stat, gauge, or bar.
  3. Optionally set a unit for axis/value formatting.
  4. Save the panel. It is added to your metrics grid.

Saved panels can be edited (title, type, unit) or deleted at any time. They are stored on the Prometheus connection itself, so your grid persists and travels with the connection.

Read the grid

  • The grid renders all saved panels, fetching their data in a single batched request per refresh.
  • The shared time range picker and refresh controls apply to the whole grid.
  • A failing panel shows its error inline without affecting the others.
  • [Grafana Dashboards]({{< ref "guides/telemetry/grafana-dashboards.md" >}}) — for browsing and rendering existing Grafana dashboards.
  • [Registering a Connection]({{< ref "guides/infrastructure-management/registering-a-connection.md" >}})