---
title: "The log exploration workflow | Grafana Labs"
description: "Filter by labels, navigate detailed views, search and filter, drill into context"
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

## The log exploration workflow

Logs Drilldown follows a four-step pattern for investigating log data.

## The workflow

| Step                                | What you do                                          | What you get                      |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| **Filter by labels**                | Select service, job, instance, etc.                  | Logs from specific sources        |
| **Navigate to detailed breakdowns** | View log list, logs volume, labels, fields, patterns | Multiple perspectives on log data |
| **Search and filter**               | Use fields, patterns, and text search                | Relevant logs matching criteria   |
| **Drill into context**              | Expand log lines and click field values              | Related logs and context          |

## Exploratory investigation

This workflow supports investigation when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for:

- Start broad (all logs from a service)
- Narrow progressively (errors only, then specific text)
- Follow interesting findings (click fields to filter further)
- Build context (expand log lines to see before/after)