---
title: "Parca data source | Grafana documentation"
description: "Guide for using the Parca data source in Grafana for continuous profiling analysis of CPU and memory usage."
---

# Parca data source

Parca is a continuous profiling database for analysis of CPU and memory usage, down to the line number and throughout time. Grafana ships with built-in support for Parca, so you can add it as a data source and start querying your profiles in [Explore](/docs/grafana/next/explore/).

Refer to the [Parca documentation](https://www.parca.dev/docs) to learn about continuous profiling and how to instrument your applications.

To use Parca profiling data in Grafana, you should:

1. [Set up Parca](https://www.parca.dev/docs/quickstart) to scrape profiles from your applications.
2. [Configure the Parca data source](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/configure/) in Grafana.
3. [Query your profiling data](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/query-editor/) using the query editor in Explore.

## Supported Parca versions

This data source supports Parca v0.19 and later.

## Supported features

Expand table

| Feature     | Supported |
|-------------|-----------|
| Profiles    | Yes       |
| Metrics     | Yes       |
| Alerting    | No        |
| Annotations | No        |

## Get started

The following pages help you get started with the Parca data source:

- [Configure the Parca data source](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/configure/)
- [Parca query editor](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/query-editor/)
- [Template variables](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/template-variables/)
- [Troubleshoot Parca data source issues](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/data-sources/parca/troubleshooting/)

## Explore profiling data

[Explore](/docs/grafana/next/explore/) is the primary way to interact with Parca data in Grafana. Use Explore to query profiles and metrics without building a dashboard, and to select the **Both** query type to view flame graphs and time-series data side by side.

## Integrate profiles into dashboards

Using the Parca data source, you can embed profiling data in your dashboards alongside other signals like logs and metrics. For example, you can place a [flame graph panel](/docs/grafana/next/panels-visualizations/visualizations/flame-graph/) showing CPU profiles next to a metrics panel tracking request latency to correlate performance bottlenecks with application behavior.

## Plugin updates

Always ensure that your plugin version is up-to-date so you have access to all current features and improvements. Navigate to **Plugins and data** > **Plugins** to check for updates. Grafana recommends upgrading to the latest Grafana version, and this applies to plugins as well.

> Note
> 
> Plugins are automatically updated in Grafana Cloud.

## Related resources

- [Official Parca documentation](https://www.parca.dev/docs)
- [Grafana community forum](https://community.grafana.com/)