> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/grafana/grafana/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Explore Overview

> Learn how to use Grafana Explore for ad-hoc queries and data investigation

# Explore Overview

Explore is Grafana's query and investigation interface designed for ad-hoc data exploration. Unlike dashboards that are designed for visualization and monitoring, Explore provides a focused environment for investigating data, troubleshooting issues, and iterating on queries.

## What is Explore?

Explore provides an area for quick query iteration for any connected data source. Once you select a data source, it populates the query editor at the top, and when queries are executed, results are displayed in the main section below. The data source determines:

* What kind of query editor is available
* What result visualizations are supported (graphs, logs, traces, tables, etc.)
* What supplementary features are enabled

<Info>
  All state in Explore is managed via URL parameters, making it easy to share your investigations with team members by simply copying the URL.
</Info>

## Key Features

### Split View

Explore supports side-by-side split views, allowing you to:

* Compare data from different data sources
* Correlate metrics with logs
* View the same query across different time ranges
* Follow trace relationships across services

<Tip>
  Use the Split button in the toolbar to open a second pane. Each pane maintains its own independent state.
</Tip>

### Multiple Visualizations

Depending on your data source and query results, Explore automatically displays appropriate visualizations:

* **Graph** - Time series metrics visualization
* **Logs** - Structured log viewing with filtering and context
* **Table** - Tabular data display
* **Trace View** - Distributed tracing visualization
* **Node Graph** - Service dependency visualization
* **Flame Graph** - Performance profiling visualization
* **Raw Prometheus** - Native Prometheus data format

### Content Outline

The content outline provides quick navigation between different result sections. Toggle it using the outline icon in the toolbar to:

* Jump between different visualization types
* See which visualizations have data
* Quickly navigate large result sets

## Getting Started

### Accessing Explore

1. Click the **Explore** icon in the left sidebar navigation
2. Or navigate from a dashboard panel by clicking the panel title > **Explore**
3. Or use the keyboard shortcut `Cmd/Ctrl + E` from any panel

### Basic Workflow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select a data source">
    Choose your data source from the dropdown in the toolbar. Grafana supports Prometheus, Loki, Tempo, Jaeger, and many other data sources.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Build your query">
    Use the query editor to construct your query. Each data source provides its own query builder or editor interface.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set time range">
    Select the time range for your query using the time picker in the toolbar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the query">
    Click **Run query** or press `Shift + Enter` to execute your query.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Analyze results">
    Explore automatically displays appropriate visualizations based on your results. Use the content outline to navigate between different views.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Toolbar Actions

The Explore toolbar provides several key actions:

| Action                 | Description                                             |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Data source picker** | Select which data source to query                       |
| **Time picker**        | Set the time range for queries                          |
| **Run query**          | Execute the current queries (or cancel running queries) |
| **Split**              | Open a second Explore pane side-by-side                 |
| **Share**              | Generate a shortened URL to share your investigation    |
| **Outline**            | Toggle the content outline panel                        |

## Query Management

### Multiple Queries

You can add multiple queries to compare different metrics or data:

1. Click **+ Add query** below the query editor
2. Each query gets a unique reference ID (A, B, C, etc.)
3. Results from all queries are combined in the visualizations

<Warning>
  Some data sources (like tracing) may have limitations on displaying multiple query results simultaneously.
</Warning>

### Query History

Explore maintains a history of your queries:

1. Click the **Query history** button to open the history drawer
2. Browse previous queries by data source and time
3. Click any query to load it back into the editor
4. Star frequently used queries for quick access

## Live Tail

For log data sources like Loki, Explore supports live tailing:

1. Click the **Live** button in the toolbar
2. New logs stream in real-time as they're ingested
3. Use **Pause** to temporarily stop the stream while reviewing
4. Click **Stop** to exit live mode

## Data Links and Correlations

Explore supports data links that connect related data across different sources:

* Click on trace IDs in logs to view the corresponding trace
* Follow service dependencies in node graphs
* Jump from metrics to related logs
* Navigate exemplars from Prometheus to traces

<Info>
  Data links can be configured at the data source level or defined through Grafana's correlations feature.
</Info>

## Keyboard Shortcuts

| Shortcut        | Action                              |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `Shift + Enter` | Run query                           |
| `Cmd/Ctrl + K`  | Focus data source picker            |
| `Esc`           | Clear time selection / Close modals |

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Querying Metrics" icon="chart-line" href="./querying-metrics">
    Learn how to query and visualize time-series metrics data
  </Card>

  <Card title="Querying Logs" icon="file-lines" href="./querying-logs">
    Explore log data with filtering, parsing, and context viewing
  </Card>

  <Card title="Distributed Tracing" icon="diagram-project" href="./tracing">
    Investigate distributed traces and service dependencies
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Additional Resources

* [Data Sources Documentation](/datasources)
* [Dashboard Creation Guide](/dashboards)
* [Query Variables](/variables)