Area

An area chart shows trends over time with the area under the line filled in. Use it to highlight magnitude and compare multiple series.

An area chart shows trends over time with the area under the line filled in. Use it to emphasize magnitude and compare multiple series.

Area chart

Grouped area chart

Configure an area chart

Use the Plot panel to choose axes, grouping, and display settings.

Area chart options

Use these options to control how the area chart renders.

Option	What it controls	Typical values / notes
X-axis	Field used for the X axis.	Use timestamp for time-based charts. Use a label field for categorical charts (for example service, pod, host).
Y-axis	Numeric field to plot.	Common choices: value, cpu_usage, latency, error_rate.
Group by	Split into multiple series per group.	For example pod creates one area series per pod. Leave empty for a single series.
Y-axis label	Display label for the Y axis.	Cosmetic only. Example: “CPU Usage (%)”.
Y-axis scale	How values are scaled on the Y axis.	Linear for most data. Logarithmic for wide ranges.
Reference line	A horizontal threshold line.	Example: 80 for an SLA/limit line.
Legend	Show/hide legend.	Turn off for a single series or tight layouts.
Calculations	Summary overlays on the plotted data.	Min, Max, Avg, Count, Sum, P50, P90, P95, P99.
Smooth graph	Smooths the rendered curve/series.	Useful for long time ranges. Avoid for step-like data.
Custom color	Set fixed colors for series.	Helps keep colors consistent across dashboards.
Apply	Applies changes to the widget.	Changes do not render until you click Apply.

When to use an area chart

Use an area chart when you want to:

• Show trends over time while emphasizing magnitude

• Visualize accumulation or total volume (especially with stacked series)

• Compare series while keeping a strong sense of “how much”

• Spot spikes and sustained load more clearly than a thin line

Typical use cases:

• Traffic volume over time (bytes, requests)

• Resource usage over time (CPU, memory)

• Error volume over time

• Cost/usage over time

When not to use an area chart

Avoid an area chart when:

• You need exact comparisons across many categories (use Bar)

• You have many overlapping series and it becomes cluttered (use Line)

• You need record-level details (use Table/List/Details)