---
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 3 Enterprise.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/visualize-data/chronograf/
estimated_tokens: 1323
product: InfluxDB 3 Enterprise
version: enterprise
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/visualize-data/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 3 Enterprise**.

## Prerequisites

* [Download and install Chronograf](/chronograf/v1/introduction/installation/#download-and-install)
* A running InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster with:
  * A [database](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/databases/) to query
  * A [database token](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tokens/)with read permissions

## Enable InfluxDB 3 support

To connect Chronograf to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise, 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](/img/chronograf/1-6-connection-landing-page.png)

3. In the **Server Type** dropdown, select **InfluxDB 3 Enterprise**.

   <img alt="Chronograf Server Type dropdown" src="/img/chronograf/v1-influxdb3/server-type-dropdown.png" width="798">
4. Enter your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise connection credentials:

   * **Connection URL:** URL of your InfluxDB 3 Enterprise cluster

     ```
     http://localhost:8181
     ```

   * **Connection Name:** Name to uniquely identify this connection configuration

   * **Database Token:** InfluxDB [database token](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tokens/)

     with read permissions on the database you want to query

   * **Telegraf Database Name:** InfluxDB [database](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/databases/)Chronograf uses to populate parts of the application, including the Host List page (default is `telegraf`)

   <img width="798" src="/img/chronograf/v1-influxdb3/enterprise-connection.png" alt="Chronograf InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 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:

* `DATABASE_NAME`: [Database](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/databases/) name
* `DATABASE_TOKEN`: [database token](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/tokens/)with read permissions

```sh
chronograf --influxdb-v3-support-enabled \
  --influxdb-type=influx-v3-enterprise \
  --influxdb-url=http://localhost:8181 \
  --influxdb-token=DATABASE_TOKEN \
  --influxdb-default-db=DATABASE_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.

#### Schema information in the Data Explorer

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise supports InfluxQL metaqueries, so schema information
is available in the Data Explorer to help build queries.
You can also use [fully qualified measurements](/influxdb3/enterprise/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/enterprise/reference/influxql/feature-support/).

## Important notes

* [Database view is disabled](#database-view-is-disabled)
* [No administrative functionality](#no-administrative-functionality)
* [Annotations and variables](#annotations-and-variables)

### Database view is disabled

When connected to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise, the database view in Chronograf is disabled.

### No administrative functionality

Chronograf cannot be used for administrative tasks in InfluxDB 3 Enterprise.
For example, you **cannot** do the following:

* Define databases
* Modify retention policies
* Add users
* Kill queries

When connected to an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise database, functionality in the **InfluxDB Admin** section of Chronograf is disabled.

To complete administrative tasks, use the[`influxdb3` CLI](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/).

### Annotations and variables

Annotations and dashboard variables work with InfluxDB 3 Enterprise when a `chronograf` database exists and is accessible with the same database 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/enterprise/query-data/influxql/)