Documentation Plugins Amazon Redshift Query editor

Amazon Redshift query editor

The Amazon Redshift query editor lets you write SQL queries to retrieve and visualize data from your Redshift clusters or serverless workgroups. The editor provides a code editor with context-aware autocompletion, resource selectors for common database objects, and support for Grafana macros.

Before you begin

• Configure the Amazon Redshift data source.
• Verify that your IAM identity has the required permissions to query the target database.
• Familiarize yourself with Amazon Redshift SQL syntax and supported functions.

Resource selectors

The query editor includes three drop-down selectors at the top of the editor that let you choose database objects. Each selector populates a corresponding Grafana macro you can use in your SQL queries:

These selectors are optional. You can write queries without using them.

SQL code editor

The query editor uses a Monaco-based code editor with the following features:

• Syntax highlighting for Redshift SQL.
• Context-aware autocompletion that suggests schemas, tables, columns, and SQL keywords as you type.
• Macro expansion so you can use Grafana macros like $__timeFilter directly in your queries.

To write a query, click inside the editor and start typing SQL. Press Ctrl+Space (or Cmd+Space on macOS) to trigger autocompletion.

Format options

Expand the Format section to configure how query results are formatted. The following options are available:

Time-series requirements

To use the Time Series format, your query must meet the following requirements:

• Include a column with a date or datetime data type.
• Order the date column in ascending order using ORDER BY column ASC.
• Include at least one numeric column.

Fill value

When the format is set to Time Series, the Fill value option controls how missing data points are rendered. This affects whether lines in graphs appear connected or disconnected. Choose a fill mode based on how you want gaps in data to display:

• Previous (default) – Fills missing values with the last known value.
• Null – Leaves gaps in the data.
• Value – Fills missing values with a specific number you define.

Macros

The query editor supports Grafana macros that simplify time-series queries. Macros are expanded to Redshift-compatible SQL before the query is executed.

Query examples

The following examples demonstrate common query patterns.

Table query

This query retrieves columns from a table and is best suited for the Table visualization:

SQL Copy

SELECT column_1, column_2 FROM my_schema.my_table LIMIT 100;

You can also use resource selectors with macros:

SQL Copy

SELECT * FROM $__schema.$__table LIMIT 100;

Time-series query

This query calculates total sales commission grouped by time and is suited for time-series visualizations:

SQL Copy

SELECT
  $__timeGroup(saletime, '1h'),
  sum(commission) AS total_commission,
  eventname
FROM
  public.sales
  JOIN public.event USING (eventid)
WHERE
  $__timeFilter(saletime)
GROUP BY
  1, eventname
ORDER BY
  1 ASC;

Use case: monitor query performance

To track Redshift query execution time over time:

SQL Copy

SELECT
  $__timeGroup(starttime, '5m'),
  avg(elapsed) / 1000000 AS avg_duration_seconds,
  query_group
FROM
  stl_query
WHERE
  $__timeFilter(starttime)
GROUP BY
  1, query_group
ORDER BY
  1 ASC;

Use case: track storage usage

To monitor table sizes within a schema:

SQL Copy

SELECT
  "table" AS table_name,
  size AS size_mb,
  tbl_rows AS row_count
FROM
  svv_table_info
WHERE
  schema = 'public'
ORDER BY
  size DESC;

Inspect the query

Because Grafana macros aren’t valid Redshift SQL, the actual query sent to Redshift differs from what you write in the editor. To view the fully interpolated query:

1. Open the panel editor.
2. Click Query Inspector.
3. Select the Query tab to see the rendered SQL.

You can copy the rendered query and run it directly in any Redshift SQL client for debugging.