--- title: Use Chronograf to visualize data description: Chronograf is a data visualization and dashboarding tool designed to visualize data in InfluxDB 1.x. Learn how to use Chronograf with InfluxDB Cloud Serverless. url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/process-data/visualize/chronograf/ estimated_tokens: 1452 publisher: InfluxData canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/process-data/visualize/chronograf/ date: '2026-01-15T11:24:09-08:00' lastmod: '2026-01-15T11:24:09-08:00' --- * InfluxQL only [Chronograf](/chronograf/v1/) is a data visualization and dashboarding tool designed to visualize data in InfluxDB 1.x using the **InfluxQL** query language. This page walks through how to use Chronograf with **InfluxDB Cloud Serverless**. ## Prerequisites * [Download and install Chronograf](/chronograf/v1/introduction/installation/#download-and-install) * An InfluxDB Cloud Serverless account with: * A [bucket](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/admin/buckets/) to query * An [API token](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/admin/tokens/) with read permissions ## Enable InfluxDB 3 support To connect Chronograf to InfluxDB Cloud Serverless, start Chronograf with InfluxDB 3 support enabled using one of the following methods: #### CLI flag #### ```sh chronograf --influxdb-v3-support-enabled ``` ```sh export INFLUXDB_V3_SUPPORT_ENABLED=true chronograf ``` ## Create an InfluxDB connection 1. Open Chronograf and click **Configuration** (wrench icon) in the navigation menu. 2. Click **Add Connection**. Chronograf connections landing page 3. In the **Server Type** dropdown, select **InfluxDB Cloud Serverless**. Chronograf Server Type dropdown 4. Enter your InfluxDB Cloud Serverless connection credentials: * **Connection URL:** [InfluxDB Cloud Serverless region URL](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/regions/) ``` https://cloud2.influxdata.com ``` * **Connection Name:** Name to uniquely identify this connection configuration * **Database Token:** InfluxDB [API token](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/admin/tokens/)with read permissions on the bucket you want to query * **Telegraf Database Name:** InfluxDB [bucket](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/admin/buckets/)Chronograf uses to populate parts of the application, including the Host List page (default is `telegraf`) * **Unsafe SSL:** Enable to skip SSL certificate verification for self-signed certificates Chronograf InfluxDB Cloud Serverless connection configuration 5. Click **Add Connection**. 6. Select the dashboards you would like to create, and then click **Next**. 7. To configure a Kapacitor connection, provide the necessary credentials, and then click **Continue**. Otherwise, click **Skip**. 8. Click **Finish**. ### Configure connection via CLI You can also configure the connection when starting Chronograf: Replace the following: * `API_TOKEN`: [API token](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/admin/tokens/) with read permissions on the bucket * `BUCKET_NAME`: [Bucket](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/admin/buckets/) name ```sh chronograf --influxdb-v3-support-enabled \ --influxdb-type=influx-v3-serverless \ --influxdb-url=https://cloud2.influxdata.com \ --influxdb-token=API_TOKEN \ --influxdb-default-db=BUCKET_NAME ``` For a complete list of configuration options, see [InfluxDB 3 connection options](/chronograf/v1/administration/config-options/#influxdb-3-connection-options). ## Query data in the Data Explorer 1. In Chronograf, click **Explore** in the left navigation bar. 2. Build and submit InfluxQL queries. #### DBRPs map to InfluxDB buckets In InfluxDB Cloud Serverless, database and retention-policy (DBRP) combinations are mapped to buckets using the `database-name/retention-policy` naming convention or using manually created DBRP mappings.**DBRP mappings are required to query InfluxDB Cloud using InfluxQL.** For information, see [Create DBRP mappings](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/query-data/influxql/dbrp/). You can use [fully qualified measurements](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/influxql/select/#fully-qualified-measurement)in the `FROM` clause. For example: ```sql -- Fully qualified measurement SELECT * FROM "db-name"."rp-name"."measurement-name" -- Fully qualified measurement shorthand (use the default retention policy) SELECT * FROM "db-name".."measurement-name" ``` For more information about available InfluxQL functionality, see[InfluxQL feature support](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/influxql/feature-support/). ## Important notes * [Database view is read-only](#database-view-is-read-only) * [No administrative functionality](#no-administrative-functionality) * [Annotations and variables](#annotations-and-variables) ### Database view is read-only When connected to InfluxDB Cloud Serverless, the database view in Chronograf is read-only. ### No administrative functionality Chronograf cannot be used for administrative tasks in InfluxDB Cloud Serverless. For example, you **cannot** do the following: * Define databases * Modify retention policies * Add users * Kill queries When connected to an InfluxDB Cloud Serverless bucket, functionality in the **InfluxDB Admin** section of Chronograf is disabled. To complete administrative tasks, use the following: * **InfluxDB user interface (UI)** * [InfluxDB CLI](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/) ### Annotations and variables Annotations and dashboard variables work with InfluxDB Cloud Serverless when a `chronograf` bucket exists and is accessible with the same API token. When setting up variables with dynamic tag values, the backend query limits the scope of the record search with a time condition. By default, this is `time > now() - 7d`. Tags from records older than this limit are ignored. To change this setting, use the `--influxdb-v3-time-condition` flag or `INFLUXDB_V3_TIME_CONDITION` environment variable. #### Related * [Chronograf documentation](/chronograf/v1/) * [Query data with InfluxQL](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/query-data/influxql/)