Annotation Queries in Grafana

Introduction to Annotation Queries

Annotation queries in Grafana allow users to overlay annotations on top of graphs in dashboards. These annotations can represent events or important occurrences that help to provide context to the data being visualized. This tutorial will guide you through the process of setting up and using annotation queries in Grafana.

Setting Up Annotation Queries

To set up annotation queries, follow these steps:

1. Open your Grafana dashboard.
2. Click on the gear icon (⚙️) to access the dashboard settings.
3. Select the "Annotations" tab from the left menu.
4. Click on "Add Annotation Query".

Now you can configure your annotation query.

Configuring the Annotation Query

When you add an annotation query, you will need to configure several parameters:

• Name: Provide a name for your annotation query.
• DataSource: Select the data source you want to use for your annotations.
• Query: Write a query that retrieves the annotation data. This query should return a list of events with their timestamps.
• Time Field: Specify the field that contains the timestamp for each event.
• Text Field: Specify the field that contains the text description for each annotation.
• Tags Field: Optionally, specify any tags related to the annotations.

Here is an example of a simple annotation query:

Understanding the Query Output

The output of your annotation query should return a JSON object containing the annotations. A typical output might look like this:

{
    "annotations": [
        {
            "time": 1625683200000,
            "text": "Deployment of version 1.0",
            "tags": ["deployment", "version 1.0"]
        },
        {
            "time": 1625769600000,
            "text": "Database maintenance window",
            "tags": ["maintenance"]
        }
    ]
}

In this output, each annotation has a timestamp, description, and optional tags that can be used for filtering or categorization.

Visualizing Annotations on the Dashboard

Once your annotation query is configured and the query returns the expected output, you can visualize the annotations on your graphs. Annotations will appear as markers on the graph at the specified timestamps, allowing users to easily correlate important events with the data.

To ensure annotations are visible:

• Make sure your graph is set to display annotations.
• Check the annotation settings in your graph panel to customize the appearance of the annotations.

Conclusion

Annotation queries in Grafana provide a powerful way to enhance data visualization by adding context through important events and occurrences. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you should be able to set up and customize annotation queries to better understand your data trends and patterns.