Top List

The Top List panel ranks metric values and displays them in list format. Use it to identify the highest or lowest values for a specific metric across labels such as hosts, namespaces, or services.

Add a Top List Panel

  1. Open the dashboard where you want the panel.

  2. Click Add Panel.

    Add Panel
  3. In Choose Visualization, select Top List.

    Select Top List Visualization
  4. In Graph your data, click Select a metric to start building your query.

  5. Enter a descriptive Title.

  6. Click Save to add the panel.

Build queries (Graph your data)

The query builder defines which metrics are ranked and how they are displayed.

  1. Click Add Query to create a query. Repeat to add more.

  2. Click Select a metric to choose the metric name.

  3. Use From to pick the metric source or namespace.

  4. Click Add Label to group results by label values (for example, host, pod, region).

  5. Select an Aggregation (for example, sum, avg, max, min) to combine values per label.

  6. Use the Select dropdown (if available) to set the aggregation interval.

  7. Click Add Functions to apply transformations (for example, scaling or unit conversion).

Select Metric and Configure Settings

If multiple queries are added, you can sort and display results from each independently or combine them using formulas.

Configure ranking

  • Sort order — Choose ascending (lowest first) or descending (highest first).

  • Limit — Set the number of results to display (for example, Top 5, Top 10).

  • Display units — Apply unit formatting to values (for example, bytes, ms, percentage).

Apply functions

Functions let you modify the values before ranking.

Examples: * scale() — Multiply all values by a constant. * round() — Reduce decimal precision. * moving_avg() — Smooth values before sorting.

Applying expensive transformations to large datasets can impact performance. Test with shorter time ranges when building complex panels.

Add formulas

Formulas can calculate new values before ranking.

Example — double the values:

2*a

Example — compute percentage change between two queries:

((a - b) / b) * 100

Use short aliases (a, b) or meaningful names in the query list for clearer formulas.

Customize appearance

In the Settings tab, you can:

  • Choose list alignment (horizontal or vertical).

  • Show or hide value bars next to labels.

  • Set thresholds to color results based on value.

  • Adjust font size and spacing.

Best practices

  • Always label metrics meaningfully in the legend.

  • Limit the number of displayed results to improve readability.

  • Apply sorting and thresholds to highlight critical items.

  • Use consistent units for easier comparison across dashboards.