Documentation

Work with Prometheus gauges

Use Flux to query and transform Prometheus gauge metrics stored in InfluxDB.

A gauge is a metric that represents a single numerical value that can arbitrarily go up and down.

Prometheus metric types

Example gauge metric in Prometheus data
# HELP example_gauge_current Current number of items as example gauge metric
# TYPE example_gauge_current gauge
example_gauge_current 128

Generally gauge metrics can be used as they are reported and don’t require any additional processing.

The examples below include example data collected from the InfluxDB OSS 2.x /metrics endpoint using prometheus.scrape() and stored in InfluxDB.

Prometheus metric parsing formats

Query structure depends on the Prometheus metric parsing format used to scrape the Prometheus metrics. Select the appropriate metric format version below.

Calculate the rate of change in gauge values

  1. Filter results by the prometheus measurement and counter metric name field.
  2. Use derivative() to calculate the rate of change between gauge values. By default, derivative() returns the rate of change per second. Use the unit parameter to customize the rate unit. To replace negative derivatives with null values, set the nonNegative parameter to true.
from(bucket: "example-bucket")
    |> range(start: -1m)
    |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "prometheus" and r._field == "go_goroutines")
    |> derivative(nonNegative: true)
Raw Prometheus gauge metric in InfluxDB
Derivative of Prometheus gauge metrics in InfluxDB

View example input and output data

  1. Filter results by the counter metric name measurement and gauge field.
  2. Use derivative() to calculate the rate of change between gauge values. By default, derivative() returns the rate of change per second. Use the unit parameter to customize the rate unit. To replace negative derivatives with null values, set the nonNegative parameter to true.
from(bucket: "example-bucket")
    |> range(start: -1m)
    |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "go_goroutines" and r._field == "gauge")
    |> derivative(nonNegative: true)
Raw Prometheus gauge metric in InfluxDB
Derivative of Prometheus gauge metrics in InfluxDB

View example input and output data

Calculate the average rate of change in specified time windows

  1. Import the experimental/aggregate package.

  2. Filter results by the prometheus measurement and counter metric name field.

  3. Use aggregate.rate() to calculate the average rate of change per time window.

    • Use the every parameter to define the time window interval.
    • Use the unit parameter to customize the rate unit. By default, aggregate.rate() returns the per second (1s) rate of change.
    • Use the groupColumns parameter to specify columns to group by when performing the aggregation.
import "experimental/aggregate"

from(bucket: "example-bucket")
    |> range(start: -1m)
    |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "prometheus" and r._field == "go_goroutines")
    |> aggregate.rate(every: 10s, unit: 1s)
Raw Prometheus gauge metric in InfluxDB
Calculate the average rate of change of Prometheus gauge metrics per time window with Flux

View example input and output data

  1. Import the experimental/aggregate package.

  2. Filter results by the counter metric name measurement and gauge field.

  3. Use aggregate.rate() to calculate the average rate of change per time window.

    • Use the every parameter to define the time window interval.
    • Use the unit parameter to customize the rate unit. By default, aggregate.rate() returns the per second (1s) rate of change.
    • Use the groupColumns parameter to specify columns to group by when performing the aggregation.
import "experimental/aggregate"

from(bucket: "example-bucket")
    |> range(start: -1m)
    |> filter(fn: (r) => r._measurement == "go_goroutines" and r._field == "gauge")
    |> aggregate.rate(every: 10s, unit: 1s)
Raw Prometheus gauge metric in InfluxDB
Calculate the average rate of change of Prometheus gauge metrics per time window with Flux

View example input and output data


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InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0: API tokens are hashed by default

Stronger token security in InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 — tokens are hashed on disk by default. Existing tokens are hashed on first startup and can’t be recovered afterward. Capture any plaintext tokens you still need before you upgrade.

View InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 release notes

Hashed tokens authenticate exactly like unhashed tokens — clients and integrations keep working.

Also new in 2.9.0:

  • Configurable backup compression
  • Restore support for backups containing hashed tokens
  • Tighter Edge Data Replication queue validation
  • Flux upgrade
  • Compaction reliability improvements

Key enhancements in Explorer 1.9

Explorer 1.9 is now available with InfluxQL support, an AI-assisted Flux to SQL converter (beta), and new live sample data simulators.

View Explorer 1.9 release notes

Explorer 1.9 includes new features and improvements that make it easier to query, visualize, and manage data.

Highlights:

  • Flux to SQL converter (beta): Convert Flux queries to SQL with an AI-assisted converter.
  • InfluxQL support: Query data with InfluxQL in the Data Explorer and dashboards, and save and load InfluxQL queries.
  • InfluxQL visualizations: Render line and bar charts from InfluxQL results with per-tag series grouping.
  • Query error history: Review a history of query errors in the query tool.
  • Live sample data simulators: Generate continuous live sample data with new bird data and signal generator simulators.

For more details, see Explorer 1.9 release notes

InfluxDB 3.10 is now available

InfluxDB 3 Core 3.10 adds an automatic catalog format upgrade, a configurable query-concurrency limit, and processing engine improvements.

Key updates in InfluxDB 3 Core 3.10:

  • Catalog format upgrade: the on-disk catalog automatically upgrades from format v2 to v3 on first 3.10 startup. Migration is one-way—back up your catalog before upgrading.
  • --max-concurrent-queries: limit concurrent queries (adjustable at runtime).
  • GET /ready endpoint for readiness probes.
  • Processing engine: cross-database queries and trigger lockdown flags.

For more information, see the InfluxDB 3 Core release notes.

InfluxDB 3.10 is now available

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.10 adds automated backup and restore, row-level deletions, and user management, with an automatic catalog format upgrade and performance preview improvements.

Key updates in InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.10:

  • Catalog format upgrade: the on-disk catalog automatically upgrades from format v2 to v3 on first 3.10 startup. Migration is one-way—back up your catalog before upgrading.
  • Automated backup and restore (beta)
  • Row-level deletions
  • User management (authentication and RBAC) — preview
  • Performance preview improvements

Backup and restore, row-level deletions, and the performance preview require the Enterprise storage engine upgrade (opt-in beta). Beta and preview features are subject to breaking changes and aren’t recommended for production use.

For more information, see the InfluxDB 3 Enterprise release notes

Telegraf Enterprise is now generally available

Telegraf Enterprise is now generally available, along with Telegraf Controller v1.0.

Telegraf Enterprise combines Telegraf Controller, a centralized management console for Telegraf, with official support from InfluxData. Manage configurations, monitor fleet health, and operate tens of thousands of Telegraf agents from a single system.

InfluxDB Docker latest tag changing to InfluxDB 3 Core

On September 15, 2026, the latest tag for InfluxDB Docker images will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments.

If using Docker to install and run InfluxDB, the latest tag will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments. For example, if using Docker to run InfluxDB v2, replace the latest version tag with a specific version tag in your Docker pull command–for example:

docker pull influxdb:2