--- title: "Troubleshoot Parca data source issues | Grafana Cloud documentation" description: "Troubleshooting guide for the Parca data source in Grafana." --- # Troubleshoot Parca data source issues This page provides solutions to common issues you might encounter when configuring or using the Parca data source. For configuration instructions, refer to [Configure the Parca data source](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/configure/). ## Connection errors These errors occur when Grafana can’t reach the Parca instance. ### “Save & test” fails **Symptoms:** - Data source test times out or returns an error. - Unable to connect to the Parca server. **Possible causes and solutions:** Expand table | Cause | Solution | |----------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Incorrect URL | Verify the URL points to your Parca HTTP endpoint (for example, `http://localhost:7070`). Grafana connects using gRPC-Web. | | Parca isn’t running | Verify that your Parca instance is running and accessible from the Grafana server. | | Firewall blocking | Check that firewall rules allow outbound traffic from Grafana to the Parca server on the configured port. | | TLS misconfiguration | If using HTTPS, verify that TLS certificates are correctly configured on both Grafana and Parca. | When the connection succeeds, the health check displays **“Data source is working”**. The health check queries the available profile types from the Parca server, so any connectivity or authentication issue causes it to fail. ### Connection refused or timeout errors **Symptoms:** - Queries fail with network errors. - Intermittent connection issues. **Solutions:** 1. Verify network connectivity from the Grafana server to the Parca endpoint. 2. Check that the Parca server is healthy and responding to requests. 3. For Grafana Cloud, configure [Private data source connect](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/private-data-source-connect/) if accessing a private Parca instance. ## Query errors These errors occur when running queries against the Parca data source. ### “Invalid report type” or “try updating Parca to v0.19+” **Symptoms:** - Queries fail with an error containing “invalid report type.” - The error message suggests updating Parca to v0.19+. - Flame graph data doesn’t load. **Solutions:** 1. Upgrade your Parca server to v0.19 or later. This error occurs because older versions of Parca don’t support the flame graph Arrow format that Grafana requires. ### `Unknown report type returned from query. update parca` **Symptoms:** - Profile queries fail with this exact error message. - Metric queries may still succeed. **Solutions:** 1. Upgrade your Parca server. This error occurs when the Parca server returns a response format that Grafana doesn’t recognize. Updating to the latest Parca version resolves the issue. ### “No data” or empty results **Symptoms:** - Query runs without error but returns no data. - Flame graph or metrics panel shows “No data.” **Possible causes and solutions:** Expand table | Cause | Solution | |---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | No profile type selected | Select a profile type from the drop-down menu. This field is required – queries silently return empty data without it. | | Time range doesn’t contain data | Expand the dashboard time range or verify that profiling data exists for the selected period. | | Label selector too restrictive | Remove or broaden label filters to verify that matching profiles exist. | | Label selector syntax error | Verify the label selector uses valid syntax (for example, `{job="my-service"}`). Refer to the [query editor documentation](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/query-editor/) for supported operators. | | Parca isn’t scraping targets | Check your Parca configuration to verify that targets are being scraped and profiles collected. | ## Query editor issues These issues relate to the query editor interface. ### Profile type drop-down is empty **Symptoms:** - The profile type selector shows no options. - The button text reads **Select a profile type** with nothing to choose. **Possible causes and solutions:** Expand table | Cause | Solution | |----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Connection to Parca failed | Verify the data source connection using **Save & test** in the data source settings. | | Parca has no scraped data | Verify that Parca is scraping targets and has collected profile data. | | Network or auth error | Check the browser developer console for failed requests to the `profileTypes` resource endpoint. | ### “Both” query type is missing **Symptoms:** - Only **Metric** and **Profile** appear in the query type options. - The **Both** option isn’t available. **Solution:** This is expected behavior. The **Both** query type is only available in [Explore](/docs/grafana/next/explore/). Dashboard panels support only one visualization type, so Grafana limits the options to **Metric** or **Profile**. If a query set to **Both** in Explore is used in a dashboard, Grafana automatically changes it to **Profile**. ### Autocomplete suggestions don’t appear **Symptoms:** - No label name or value suggestions appear when typing in the label selector. - Autocomplete works for some labels but not others. **Possible causes and solutions:** Expand table | Cause | Solution | |--------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Label names haven’t loaded | Wait a moment after opening the query editor. Autocomplete loads label names from Parca on initialization. | | Connection to Parca failed | Verify the data source connection. Autocomplete queries the `labelNames` and `labelValues` resource endpoints. | | Cursor position not recognized | Place your cursor inside curly braces `{}` and after an `=` sign for value suggestions. Autocomplete triggers on specific characters: `{`, `,`, `=`, `~`, `"`, space. | ## Template variable issues These issues relate to using template variables with the Parca data source. ### Variables don’t resolve in queries **Symptoms:** - Variable syntax like `$variable` appears literally in query results instead of being replaced. - Queries return no data when using variables. **Possible causes and solutions:** Expand table | Cause | Solution | |-------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Variable used in profile type | Template variables are only supported in the **label selector** field. The profile type drop-down doesn’t support variable interpolation. | | Variable not defined | Verify the variable exists in **Dashboard settings** > **Variables** and has valid values. | | Wrong variable syntax | Use `$variablename` or `${variablename}`. Verify there are no typos in the variable name. | ### Can’t use Parca to populate variable options **Symptoms:** - When creating a query-type variable with the Parca data source, no values are returned. **Solution:** Parca doesn’t support query-type variables. You can’t use the Parca data source to dynamically populate variable drop-downs. Use **Custom** variables with manually defined values, **Text box** variables for free-form input, or a different data source for query-type variables. Refer to [Parca template variables](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/template-variables/) for supported variable types and examples. ## Enable debug logging To capture detailed error information for troubleshooting: 1. Set the Grafana log level to `debug` in the configuration file: ini ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```ini [log] level = debug ``` 2. Review logs in `/var/log/grafana/grafana.log` (or your configured log location). 3. Look for Parca-specific entries that include request and response details. Common log messages include: - `"Failed to get profile types"` – profile type loading failed. - `"Failed to get label names"` – label autocomplete data failed to load. - `"Failed to process query"` – a query to Parca returned an error. - `"Failed to unmarshall query"` – the query JSON couldn’t be parsed. 4. Reset the log level to `info` after troubleshooting to avoid excessive log volume. ## Get additional help If you’ve tried the solutions on this page and still encounter issues: 1. Check the [Grafana community forums](https://community.grafana.com/) for similar issues. 2. Review the [Grafana GitHub issues](https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues) for known bugs related to the Parca data source. 3. Consult the [Parca documentation](https://www.parca.dev/docs) for service-specific guidance. 4. Contact Grafana Support if you’re an Enterprise, Cloud Pro, or Cloud Contracted user. 5. When reporting issues, include: - Grafana version - Parca server version - Error messages (redact sensitive information) - Steps to reproduce - Relevant configuration (redact credentials)