InfluxDB command cheatsheet

This article is InfluxDB command cheatsheet about how to interact with influxDB server and query the metrics. The InfluxDB version I tested is v1.7.10

Connect & Start

Connect to InfluxDB server and select the database.

$ influx -host 127.0.0.1 -port 8086
> SHOW DATABASES;
name: databases
name
----
_internal
> CREATE DATABASE test;
> USE test;
Using database test
> --- fill the database with some points
> INSERT temperature,machine=unit42,type=assembly external=25,internal=37
> INSERT temperature,machine=unit43,type=assembly external=25,internal=37
> INSERT temperature,machine=unit43,type=not_assembly external=25,internal=37

Show everything

Show is a helpful command that will help you find all the schemas you may use.

Show common information

> --- list all databases
> SHOW DATABASES
> --- show all measurements
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS
> --- show measurements where machine tag = 'unit42'
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS WHERE "machine" = 'unit42'
> --- show measurements that start with 'temp'
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS WITH MEASUREMENT =~ /temp.*/
> --- show all running queries
> SHOW QUERIES
> --- show all retention policies on a database
> SHOW RETENTION POLICIES ON "test"
> --- show all users in InfluxDB
> SHOW USERS

Show series

> --- show all series
> show series from temperature
key
---
temperature,machine=unit42,type=assembly
temperature,machine=unit43,type=assembly
temperature,machine=unit43,type=not_assembly
> --- show series from machine unit42
> SHOW SERIES FROM temperature WHERE machine = 'unit42'
key
---
temperature,machine=unit42,type=assembly
> -- show estimated cardinality of the series on current database
> SHOW SERIES CARDINALITY
-- show estimated cardinality of the series on specified database
> SHOW SERIES CARDINALITY ON mydb
cardinality estimation
----------------------
3

Show tag

> --- show tag keys
> SHOW TAG KEYS
name: temperature
tagKey
------
machine
type
> --- show all tag keys from the temperature measurement
> SHOW TAG KEYS FROM "temperature"
> --- show all tag keys where the machine key = 'unit42'
> SHOW TAG KEYS WHERE "machine" = 'unit42'
> --- show all tag values across all measurements for the machine tag
> SHOW TAG VALUES WITH KEY = "machine"
name: temperature
key     value
---     -----
machine unit42
machine unit43
> --- show tag values for a specific database and measurement
> SHOW TAG VALUES ON test FROM temperature WITH KEY = "machine"

Show field

> SHOW FIELD KEYS ON test
name: temperature
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
external float
internal float

Show cardinality

> SHOW MEASUREMENT CARDINALITY
cardinality estimation
----------------------
1
> SHOW MEASUREMENT EXACT CARDINALITY ON test
count
-----
1

Measurement

> --- create a temperature point
> INSERT temperature,machine=unit42,type=assembly external=26,internal=38
> --- select temperature for unit42
> SELECT * FROM temperature WHERE "machine" = 'unit42'
> --- select specific fields and tags from measurement, NOTE: at least one field must be included
> SELECT "internal"::field, "machine"::tag FROM temperature WHERE "machine" = 'unit42'
> --- delete metrics from temperature measurement
> DELETE FROM "temperature" WHERE time < '2000-01-01T00:00:00Z'
> --- drop the temperature measurement
> DROP MEASUREMENT "temperature"

Query analysis

> --- explain the logic behind the query
> EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM temperature
QUERY PLAN
----------
EXPRESSION: <nil>
AUXILIARY FIELDS: external::float, internal::float, machine::tag, type::tag
NUMBER OF SHARDS: 1
NUMBER OF SERIES: 3
CACHED VALUES: 0
NUMBER OF FILES: 6
NUMBER OF BLOCKS: 6
SIZE OF BLOCKS: 204

Reference

1. InfluxDB 1.7 Query language