Bar Chart Panel Type | SigNoz Docs

Bar Chart

A Bar chart is a plot chart that shows frequency of a single or a few different categories over time. This helps in directly comparing the values of different categories, which correspond to the length of the bar. This is particularly useful when you have discrete categorical data and you want to highlight differences.

Data Formats

Supported signals

Logs
Traces
Metrics

This panel type supports any time series data. The time series data can be from logs, traces, or metrics.

Examples

Bar Chart

The following graph shows the requests per second (req/s) for a service over a period of time in bar chart.

Configuration

Visualization

Time range (formerly "Panel Time Preference"): Override the global dashboard time range for this panel. Keep Global Time to follow the dashboard time picker, or choose a fixed time range.
Series layout (formerly "Stack Series"): Side by side gives each series its own bar, next to the others. This is the default. Stacked combines the series into one bar per time bucket, with each series as a colored segment, so you see the total and each series' share.

When bars are stacked, the tooltip shows the raw value of each series, not its stacked value. If you switch the panel to an Area Chart, Stacked stays Stacked and Side by side becomes Overlap. For the 100% layout, use the Area Chart panel.

Formatting & Units

Unit (formerly "Y Axis Unit"): The unit of the y-axis (for example, Milliseconds (ms), Bytes, Percent). The default is None.
Decimal places (formerly "Decimal precision"): Choose how many decimals to show from compact tiles: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or Full (the raw value, unrounded). A live Shows as preview beneath the tiles displays a sample value formatted at the selected precision (for example 1,234.56 at 2). The default is 2.

When you create a new panel, the Unit is pre-filled with the unit of the selected metric, so the axis matches how the metric was reported. If you choose a unit that is incompatible with the unit the metric was sent with, a warning icon appears on the unit selector. Hover the icon to see a tooltip explaining the mismatch and the unit the metric was sent with.

Axes

Range: Under Y axis, set the minimum and maximum in a single inline range field. Leave either side empty to let that bound auto-fit the data. This replaces the separate Soft min and Soft max fields. If you enter a minimum that is greater than the maximum, an error callout appears inline and the panel keeps the last valid range until you correct it.
Scale: Choose between Linear and Logarithmic scale for the y-axis.

Legend

Position: Pick where the legend sits from a tile picker: Below chart (formerly "Bottom") or Right of chart (formerly "Right").
Series colors (formerly "Legend Colors"): Customize colors for individual series in the legend. Until you run the query, this shows "Run the query to set a color for each series".
Search series: A search box and a Showing N of M series count appear above the legend. A Right of chart legend shows them when it has at least one series. A Below chart legend shows them only when the series need more than two rows. Type part of a series name to filter the list as you type. The count changes to match the results.

Actions

Select Create alert to open the alert editor in a new tab, with this panel's query pre-filled.

Context Links

Add context links to enable click-through navigation from the panel to other dashboards, external URLs, or filtered views. See Interactivity for details.

Thresholds

Thresholds draw a dashed line across the chart at a value, so you can see when data crosses it. Each saved threshold appears as a summary row, for example Line at 500 ms, with its label below.

Select Add threshold to open the threshold editor. It is titled New threshold when you add one and Edit threshold when you change one. It offers:

Draw a line at: The value and unit of the line, side by side. The unit list matches the panel's units, and a mismatch with the panel unit shows a warning.
Color: Pick a swatch, or use the custom-color swatch at the end to enter any color.
Label (optional): Text that names the line, for example SLO breach.

Select Save to keep the threshold, or Cancel (formerly "Discard") to drop your edits.

Bar chart preview with a dashed SLO breach line at 0.5, next to the threshold editor with Draw a line at set to 0.5, the red color swatch selected, and the label SLO breach — *The threshold editor: Draw a line at, Color, and an optional Label. The preview draws the line as you edit.*

Threshold edits preview live as you type, and thresholds carry over when you change the panel's visualization type. See Panel editor behavior.

Bar panels pre-fill the threshold value and unit when you create an alert from the panel, but not the comparison operator, because bar thresholds are stored as value markers.

Get Help

If you need help with the steps in this topic, please reach out to us on SigNoz Community Slack. If you are a SigNoz Cloud user, please use in product chat support located at the bottom right corner of your SigNoz instance or contact us at cloud-support@signoz.io.