I’m looking for a way to change the data that comes out of a query to a data source, before it gets into my visualization. I think you should really consider this as a feature.
Yes, you can transform data in Grafana before it is visualized. Grafana provides a powerful feature called transformations that allows you to manipulate the data returned by a query. This feature is particularly useful for refining data, performing calculations, or organizing data in a way that better suits your visualization needs.
Here are some key points about transformations in Grafana:
- Location: Transformations can be applied in the Transform tab within the panel edit dialog.
- Capabilities: You can rename fields, join data from different sources, perform mathematical operations, and use the output of one transformation as the input to another.
- Order Matters: The order in which transformations are applied is important, as each transformation acts on the result set returned by the previous one.
- Use Cases: Transformations are useful for combining fields, converting data types (e.g., from text to numbers), filtering, joining, and performing SQL-like operations that might not be supported by the underlying data source.
- Debugging: You can view the intermediate data states through the transformation process to help debug and refine your transformations.
For more detailed guidance, you can refer to the Grafana documentation on transformations. This feature has been available since Grafana 7.0 and has been continuously improved in subsequent releases.
grot is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.