Line

A line chart shows trends over time by connecting data points. Use it for time series metrics and comparisons across multiple series.

A line chart shows trends over time by connecting data points. Use it for time series metrics and comparing multiple series.

Line chart

Grouped line chart

Configure a line chart

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

Line chart options

Use these options to control how the line 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 bar series per group.	For example pod creates one 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 a line chart

Use a line chart when you want to:

• Track a metric over time (trends and seasonality)

• Compare multiple time series (via Group by)

• Spot spikes, drops, regressions, or slow drifts

• Validate the impact of deploys or incidents across a time window

Typical use cases:

• CPU / memory utilization over time

• Request rate and throughput

• Latency percentiles (P50/P95/P99)

• Error rate and saturation signals

When not to use a line chart

Avoid a line chart when:

• You need a part-to-whole view (use Pie/Disk)

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

• You’re comparing many categories at one timestamp (use Bar)