Documentation

Use annotations in dashboards

This page documents an earlier version of InfluxDB OSS. InfluxDB 3 Core is the latest stable version.

API token hashing is enabled by default in InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0

Stronger token security: tokens are stored as hashes on disk, so a copy of the database file doesn’t expose usable tokens. Existing tokens are hashed on first startup and the original strings can’t be recovered afterward — capture any plaintext tokens you still need before you upgrade.

For more information, see Token hashing.

Add annotations to your dashboards to provide useful, contextual information about single points in time. After an annotation is created, edit the annotation by updating the text or timestamp, or delete the annotation.

Annotations may be useful to highlight operations or anomalies for your team to reference.

Create an annotation

  1. In the navigation menu on the left, select Boards (Dashboards).

  2. Select an existing dashboard to add the annotation to, or create a new dashboard, and then click the Annotations button.

  3. In a dashboard cell, do one of the following:

    • Press Shift and click the graph at the time you want to annotate.
    • To add an annotation to a time range, press Shift, click the start time, and then drag your cursor to the end time.
  4. On the Add Annotation page:

    1. Verify the time or time range, and update if needed.
    2. Enter a message (maximum of 255 characters) to associate with the selected time or time range.
    3. Click Save Annotation. The annotation appears in the cell (dotted lines indicate the selected time or time range).

Edit an annotation

  1. In the navigation menu on the left, select Boards (Dashboards).

  2. Open the dashboard with the annotation to edit, and then click the annotation to open it.

  3. Update the text (maximum of 255 characters) or timestamp, and then click Save Annotation.

View or hide annotations

By default, annotations are visible.

  1. In the navigation menu on the left, select Boards (Dashboards).

  2. Open a dashboard with annotations:

    • To hide annotations, click the Annotations button. The button is gray when annotations are hidden.
    • To show annotations, click the Annotations button. The button is purple when annotations are visible.

Delete an annotation

  1. In the navigation menu on the left, select Boards (Dashboards).

  2. Open a dashboard with the annotation to delete, click the dotted annotation line, and then click Delete Annotation.


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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 1.8

Explorer 1.8 is now available with streaming data subscriptions (beta), line protocol preview, and query history & saved queries.

View Explorer 1.8 release notes

Explorer 1.8 includes new features and improvements that make it easier to ingest, explore, and manage data.

Highlights:

  • Streaming data subscriptions (beta): Stream data into Explorer from MQTT, Kafka, and AMQP sources.
  • Line protocol preview: Preview line protocol, schema, and parse errors before data is written.
  • Custom sample data: Generate custom sample datasets with line protocol and schema preview.
  • Query history and saved queries: Browse query history and save/re-run named queries.
  • Retention period management: Set, update, or clear retention periods on databases and tables.

For more details, see Explorer 1.8 release notes

InfluxDB 3.9: Performance upgrade preview

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.9 includes a beta of major performance upgrades with faster single-series queries, wide-and-sparse table support, and more.

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.9 includes a beta of major performance and feature updates.

Key improvements:

  • Faster single-series queries
  • Consistent resource usage
  • Wide-and-sparse table support
  • Automatic distinct value caches for reduced latency with metadata queries

Preview features are subject to breaking changes.

For more information, see:

Telegraf Enterprise now in public beta

Get early access to the Telegraf Controller and provide feedback to help shape the future of Telegraf Enterprise.

See the Blog Post

The upcoming Telegraf Enterprise offering is for organizations running Telegraf at scale and is comprised of two key components:

  • Telegraf Controller: A control plane (UI + API) that centralizes Telegraf configuration management and agent health visibility.
  • Telegraf Enterprise Support: Official support for Telegraf Controller and Telegraf plugins.

Join the Telegraf Enterprise beta to get early access to the Telegraf Controller and provide feedback to help shape the future of Telegraf Enterprise.

For more information:

Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta now available

Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta is now available with new features, improvements, bug fixes, and an important breaking change.

View the release notes
Download Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta

InfluxDB Docker latest tag changing to InfluxDB 3 Core

On May 27, 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