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Last reviewed: May 4, 2026

PostgreSQL data source

Grafana includes a built-in PostgreSQL data source plugin, enabling you to query and visualize data from any PostgreSQL-compatible database. You don’t need to install a plugin to add the PostgreSQL data source to your Grafana instance.

Grafana offers several configuration options for this data source as well as a visual and code-based query editor.

Supported databases

This data source supports the following PostgreSQL-compatible databases:

  • PostgreSQL 9.0 and newer
  • Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
  • Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL
  • Azure Database for PostgreSQL
  • Google Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

Grafana recommends using the latest available version for your database for optimal compatibility.

Key capabilities

The PostgreSQL data source supports:

  • Time series queries: Visualize metrics over time using built-in time grouping macros.
  • Table queries: Display query results in table format for any valid SQL query.
  • EXPLAIN queries: Inspect query execution plans directly in the query editor.
  • Template variables: Create dynamic dashboards with variable-driven queries using the built-in variable query editor.
  • Annotations: Overlay events from PostgreSQL on your dashboard panels.
  • Alerting: Create alerts based on PostgreSQL query results (time series format only).
  • Macros: Simplify queries with built-in macros for time filtering and grouping.

Supported PostgreSQL data types

The PostgreSQL plugin uses the PGX driver for database connectivity. The following PostgreSQL data types are supported:

  • Numeric types: int2, int4, int8, float4, float8, numeric
  • String types: text, varchar, char, bpchar
  • Date/time types: timestamp, timestamptz, date, time, timetz, interval
  • Boolean: bool
  • JSON types: json, jsonb
  • Enumerated types: Custom enum types are returned as string values.
  • Other types: Types not explicitly mapped (such as arrays, composites, or custom domains) are returned as string values.

Get started

The following documents help you get started with the PostgreSQL data source:

Additional features

After you configure the PostgreSQL data source, you can:

  • Add annotations to overlay PostgreSQL events on your graphs.
  • Set up alerting rules based on your time series queries.
  • Use Explore to investigate your PostgreSQL data without building a dashboard.
  • Add transformations to process query results.

To see the PostgreSQL data source in action, explore the demo dashboard on Grafana Play:

Give it a try using Grafana Play
Give it a try using Grafana Play

With Grafana Play, you can explore and see how it works, learning from practical examples to accelerate your development. This feature can be seen on PostgreSQL Overview.

Try it

The following databases use the PostgreSQL wire protocol and may work with this data source: