Grafana Variable Dropdown with Name and Value

Create Grafana variable dropdowns where the displayed label differs from the value used in queries. This is useful when you want to show user-friendly names in the dropdown while using different values (like IDs, prices, or technical identifiers) in your actual SQL queries.

Problem: Separate Display and Query Values​

You want a Grafana variable dropdown that:

  • Displays: Readable labels like "BTC-USDT", "ETH-USDT", "SOL-USDT"
  • Uses in queries: Different values like prices (37779.62, 2615.54, 98.23) or IDs

For example, with this query result:

symbolprice
BTC-USDT37779.62
ETH-USDT2615.54
SOL-USDT98.23

You want the dropdown to show "BTC-USDT" but use 37779.62 in your queries.

Solution: Use Regex Variable Filters​

When using the QuestDB data source plugin, you can use Grafana's regex variable filters to parse a concatenated string into separate text and value fields.

Step 1: Concatenate Columns in Query​

First, combine both columns into a single string with a separator that doesn't appear in your data:

WITH t AS (
  SELECT symbol, first(price) as price
  FROM trades
  WHERE symbol LIKE '%BTC%'
)
SELECT concat(symbol, '#', price) FROM t;

Query results:

DOGE-BTC#0.00000204
ETH-BTC#0.05551
BTC-USDT#37779.62
SOL-BTC#0.0015282
MATIC-BTC#0.00002074
BTC-USDC#60511.1

Each row is now a single string with symbol and price separated by #.

Step 2: Apply Regex Filter in Grafana Variable​

In your Grafana variable configuration:

Query:

WITH t AS (
  SELECT symbol, first(price) as price
  FROM trades
  WHERE symbol LIKE '%BTC%'
)
SELECT concat(symbol, '#', price) FROM t;

Regex Filter:

/(?<text>[^#]+)#(?<value>.*)/

This regex pattern:

  • (?<text>[^#]+): Captures everything before # into the text group (the display label)
  • #: Matches the separator
  • (?<value>.*): Captures everything after # into the value group (the query value)

Step 3: Use Variable in Queries​

Now you can reference the variable in your dashboard queries:

SELECT timestamp, price
FROM trades
WHERE price = $your_variable_name
  AND timestamp >= $__fromTime
  AND timestamp <= $__toTime;

When a user selects "BTC-USDT" from the dropdown, Grafana will substitute the corresponding price value (37779.62) into the query.

How It Works​

Grafana's regex filter with named capture groups enables the separation:

  1. Named capture groups: (?<text>...) and (?<value>...) tell Grafana which parts to use
  2. text group: Becomes the visible label in the dropdown
  3. value group: Becomes the interpolated value in queries
  4. Pattern matching: The regex must match the entire string returned by your query

Regex Pattern Breakdown​

/(?<text>[^#]+)#(?<value>.*)/
  • /: Regex delimiters
  • (?<text>...): Named capture group called "text"
  • [^#]+: One or more characters that are NOT # (greedy match)
  • #: Literal separator character
  • (?<value>.*): Named capture group called "value"
  • .*: Zero or more characters of any type (captures rest of string)

Choosing a Separator​

Pick a separator that never appears in your data:

Good separators:

  • # - Uncommon in most data
  • | - Clear visual separator
  • :: - Two characters, unlikely to appear
  • ~ - Rarely used in trading symbols or prices
  • ^^^ - Multi-character separator for extra safety

Bad separators:

  • - - Common in trading pairs (BTC-USDT)
  • . - Common in decimal numbers
  • , - Common in CSV-like data
  • Space - Can cause parsing issues

Alternative Patterns​

Multiple Data Fields​

If you need more than two fields, use additional separators:

SELECT concat(symbol, '#', price, '#', volume) FROM trades;
/(?<text>[^#]+)#(?<value>[^#]+)#(?<extra>.*)/

Now you have three captured groups, though Grafana's variable system typically only uses text and value.

Numeric IDs with Descriptions​

Common pattern for entity selection:

SELECT concat(name, '#', id) FROM users;
/(?<text>[^#]+)#(?<value>\d+)/

Output in dropdown: User sees "John Doe", query uses 42.

Escaping Special Characters​

If your data contains regex special characters, escape them in the pattern:

-- If data contains parentheses
SELECT concat(name, ' (', id, ')', '#', id) FROM users;
-- Result: "John Doe (42)#42"
/(?<text>.*?)#(?<value>\d+)/

PostgreSQL Data Source Alternative​

If using the PostgreSQL data source (instead of the QuestDB plugin), you can use special column aliases:

SELECT
  symbol AS __text,
  price AS __value
FROM trades
WHERE symbol LIKE '%BTC%';

The PostgreSQL data source recognizes __text and __value as special column names for dropdown variables.

Note: This works with the PostgreSQL data source plugin pointing to QuestDB, but NOT with the native QuestDB data source plugin.

Adapting the Pattern​

Different filter conditions:

-- Filter by time range
WHERE timestamp IN yesterday()

-- Filter by multiple criteria
WHERE symbol LIKE '%USDT' AND price > 1000

-- Dynamic filter using another variable
WHERE symbol LIKE concat('%', $base_currency, '%')

Sorting the dropdown:

-- Sort alphabetically by symbol
SELECT concat(symbol, '#', price) FROM trades
ORDER BY symbol;

-- Sort by price (highest first)
SELECT concat(symbol, '#', price) FROM trades
ORDER BY price DESC;

-- Sort by volume
WITH t AS (
  SELECT symbol, first(price) as price, sum(amount) as volume
  FROM trades
  GROUP BY symbol
)
SELECT concat(symbol, '#', price) FROM t
ORDER BY volume DESC;

Include additional context in label:

-- Show symbol and volume in the label
SELECT concat(symbol, ' (Vol: ', round(sum(amount), 2), ')', '#', first(price))
FROM trades
GROUP BY symbol;

Result: "BTC-USDT (Vol: 1234.56)#37779.62"

Troubleshooting​

Dropdown shows concatenated string:

  • Verify the regex pattern is correct
  • Check that the regex delimiters are /.../ (forward slashes)
  • Ensure named capture groups are spelled correctly: (?<text>...) and (?<value>...)

Variable not interpolating in queries:

  • Verify you're using $variable_name syntax in queries
  • Check that the variable is defined at the dashboard level
  • Test the query manually with a hardcoded value

Regex not matching:

  • Test your regex pattern with a regex tester (regex101.com)
  • Verify your separator doesn't appear in the data itself
  • Check for trailing whitespace in query results

Dropdown is empty:

  • Verify the query returns data
  • Check that QuestDB is accessible from Grafana
  • Review Grafana logs for error messages
Multi-Select Variables

This pattern works with multi-select variables too. Enable "Multi-value" in the variable configuration, and users can select multiple options. Use IN ($variable) in your queries to handle multiple selected values.

Variable Preview

Grafana shows a preview of what the dropdown will look like when you configure the regex filter. Use this to verify your pattern is working correctly before applying it.

Related Documentation