This is archived documentation for InfluxData product versions that are no longer maintained. For newer documentation, see the latest InfluxData documentation.
InfluxQL is an SQL-like query language for interacting with data in InfluxDB. The following sections cover useful query syntax for exploring your schema.
| SHOW DATABASES | SHOW RETENTION POLICIES | SHOW SERIES |
| SHOW MEASUREMENTS | SHOW TAG KEYS | SHOW TAG VALUES |
| SHOW FIELD KEYS |
Sample data
The data used in this document are available for download on the Sample Data page.
Before proceeding, login to the Influx CLI.
$ influx -precision rfc3339
Connected to http://localhost:8086 version 1.2.x
InfluxDB shell 1.2.x
>SHOW DATABASES
Returns a list of all databases on your instance.
Syntax
SHOW DATABASES
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW DATABASES query
> SHOW DATABASES
name: databases
name
----
NOAA_water_database
_internal
The query returns database names in a tabular format.
This InfluxDB instance has two databases: NOAA_water_database and _internal.
SHOW RETENTION POLICIES
Returns a list of retention policies for the specified database.
Syntax
SHOW RETENTION POLICIES [ON <database_name>]
Description of Syntax
ON <database_name> is optional.
If the query does not include ON <database_name>, you must specify the
database with USE <database_name> in the CLI or with the db query
string parameter in the HTTP API request.
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW RETENTION POLICIES query with the ON clause
> SHOW RETENTION POLICIES ON NOAA_water_database
name duration shardGroupDuration replicaN default
---- -------- ------------------ -------- -------
autogen 0s 168h0m0s 1 true
The query returns the list of retention policies in the NOAA_water_database
database in tabular format.
The database has one retention policy called autogen.
The autogen retention policy has an infinite duration,
a seven-day shard group duration,
a replication factor
of one, and it is the DEFAULT retention policy for the database.
Example 2: Run a SHOW RETENTION POLICIES query without the ON clause
Specify the database with USE <database_name>
> USE NOAA_water_database
Using database NOAA_water_database
> SHOW RETENTION POLICIES
name duration shardGroupDuration replicaN default
---- -------- ------------------ -------- -------
autogen 0s 168h0m0s 1 true
Specify the database with the db query string parameter:
~# curl -G "http://localhost:8086/query?db=NOAA_water_database&pretty=true" --data-urlencode "q=SHOW RETENTION POLICIES"
{
"results": [
{
"statement_id": 0,
"series": [
{
"columns": [
"name",
"duration",
"shardGroupDuration",
"replicaN",
"default"
],
"values": [
[
"autogen",
"0s",
"168h0m0s",
1,
true
]
]
}
]
}
]
}
SHOW SERIES
Returns a list of series for the specified database.
Syntax
SHOW SERIES [ON <database_name>] [FROM_clause] [WHERE <tag_key> <operator> [ '<tag_value>' | <regular_expression>]] [LIMIT_clause] [OFFSET_clause]
Description of Syntax
ON <database_name> is optional.
If the query does not include ON <database_name>, you must specify the
database with USE <database_name> in the CLI or with the db query
string parameter in the HTTP API request.
The FROM, WHERE, LIMIT, and OFFSET clauses are optional.
The WHERE clause supports tag comparisons; field comparisons are not
valid for the SHOW SERIES query.
Supported operators in the WHERE clause:= equal to<> not equal to!= not equal to=~ matches against!~ doesn’t match against
See the Data Exploration page for documentation on the
FROM clause,
LIMIT clause,
OFFSET clause,
and on Regular Expressions in Queries.
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW SERIES query with the ON clause
> SHOW SERIES ON NOAA_water_database
key
---
average_temperature,location=coyote_creek
average_temperature,location=santa_monica
h2o_feet,location=coyote_creek
h2o_feet,location=santa_monica
h2o_pH,location=coyote_creek
h2o_pH,location=santa_monica
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=1
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=2
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=3
h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=1
h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=2
h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=3
h2o_temperature,location=coyote_creek
h2o_temperature,location=santa_monica
The query’s output is similar to the line protocol format.
Everything before the first comma is the measurement name.
Everything after the first comma is either a tag key or a tag value.
The NOAA_water_database has five different measurements and 14 different series.
Example 2: Run a SHOW SERIES query without the ON clause
Specify the database with USE <database_name>
> USE NOAA_water_database
Using database NOAA_water_database
> SHOW SERIES
key
---
average_temperature,location=coyote_creek
average_temperature,location=santa_monica
h2o_feet,location=coyote_creek
h2o_feet,location=santa_monica
h2o_pH,location=coyote_creek
h2o_pH,location=santa_monica
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=1
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=2
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=3
h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=1
h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=2
h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=3
h2o_temperature,location=coyote_creek
h2o_temperature,location=santa_monica
Specify the database with the db query string parameter:
~# curl -G "http://localhost:8086/query?db=NOAA_water_database&pretty=true" --data-urlencode "q=SHOW SERIES"
{
"results": [
{
"statement_id": 0,
"series": [
{
"columns": [
"key"
],
"values": [
[
"average_temperature,location=coyote_creek"
],
[
"average_temperature,location=santa_monica"
],
[
"h2o_feet,location=coyote_creek"
],
[
"h2o_feet,location=santa_monica"
],
[
"h2o_pH,location=coyote_creek"
],
[
"h2o_pH,location=santa_monica"
],
[
"h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=1"
],
[
"h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=2"
],
[
"h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=3"
],
[
"h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=1"
],
[
"h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=2"
],
[
"h2o_quality,location=santa_monica,randtag=3"
],
[
"h2o_temperature,location=coyote_creek"
],
[
"h2o_temperature,location=santa_monica"
]
]
}
]
}
]
}
Example 3: Run a SHOW SERIES query with several clauses
> SHOW SERIES ON NOAA_water_database FROM "h2o_quality" WHERE "location" = 'coyote_creek' LIMIT 2
key
---
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=1
h2o_quality,location=coyote_creek,randtag=2
The query returns all series in the NOAA_water_database database that are
associated with the h2o_quality measurement and the tag location = coyote_creek.
The LIMIT clause limits the number of series returned to two.
SHOW MEASUREMENTS
Returns a list of measurements for the specified database.
Syntax
SHOW MEASUREMENTS [ON <database_name>] [WITH MEASUREMENT <regular_expression>] [WHERE <tag_key> <operator> ['<tag_value>' | <regular_expression>]] [LIMIT_clause] [OFFSET_clause]
Description of Syntax
ON <database_name> is optional.
If the query does not include ON <database_name>, you must specify the
database with USE <database_name> in the CLI or with the db query
string parameter in the HTTP API request.
The WITH, WHERE, LIMIT and OFFSET clauses are optional.
The WHERE clause supports tag comparisons; field comparisons are not
valid for the SHOW SERIES query.
Supported operators in the WHERE clause:= equal to<> not equal to!= not equal to=~ matches against!~ doesn’t match against
See the Data Exploration page for documentation on the
LIMIT clause,
OFFSET clause,
and on Regular Expressions in Queries.
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW MEASUREMENTS query with the ON clause
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS ON NOAA_water_database
name: measurements
name
----
average_temperature
h2o_feet
h2o_pH
h2o_quality
h2o_temperature
The query returns the list of measurements in the NOAA_water_database
database.
The database has five measurements: average_temperature, h2o_feet,
h2o_pH, h2o_quality, and h2o_temperature.
Example 2: Run a SHOW MEASUREMENTS query without the ON clause
Specify the database with USE <database_name>
> USE NOAA_water_database
Using database NOAA_water_database
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS
name: measurements
name
----
average_temperature
h2o_feet
h2o_pH
h2o_quality
h2o_temperature
Specify the database with the db query string parameter:
~# curl -G "http://localhost:8086/query?db=NOAA_water_database&pretty=true" --data-urlencode "q=SHOW MEASUREMENTS"
{
{
"results": [
{
"statement_id": 0,
"series": [
{
"name": "measurements",
"columns": [
"name"
],
"values": [
[
"average_temperature"
],
[
"h2o_feet"
],
[
"h2o_pH"
],
[
"h2o_quality"
],
[
"h2o_temperature"
]
]
}
]
}
]
}
Example 3: Run a SHOW MEASUREMENTS query with several clauses (i)
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS ON NOAA_water_database WITH MEASUREMENT =~ /h2o.*/ LIMIT 2 OFFSET 1
name: measurements
name
----
h2o_pH
h2o_quality
The query returns the measurements in the NOAA_water_database database that
start with h2o.
The LIMIT and OFFSET clauses limit the number of measurement names returned to
two and offset the results by one, skipping the h2o_feet measurement.
Example 4: Run a SHOW MEASUREMENTS query with several clauses (ii)
> SHOW MEASUREMENTS ON NOAA_water_database WITH MEASUREMENT =~ /h2o.*/ WHERE "randtag" =~ /\d/
name: measurements
name
----
h2o_quality
The query returns all measurements in the NOAA_water_database that start
with h2o and have values for the tag key randtag that include an integer.
SHOW TAG KEYS
Returns a list of tag keys associated with the specified database.
Syntax
SHOW TAG KEYS [ON <database_name>] [FROM_clause] [WHERE <tag_key> <operator> ['<tag_value>' | <regular_expression>]] [LIMIT_clause] [OFFSET_clause]
Description of Syntax
ON <database_name> is optional.
If the query does not include ON <database_name>, you must specify the
database with USE <database_name> in the CLI or with the db query
string parameter in the HTTP API request.
The FROM clause and the WHERE clause are optional.
The WHERE clause supports tag comparisons; field comparisons are not
valid for the SHOW TAG KEYS query.
Supported operators in the WHERE clause:= equal to<> not equal to!= not equal to=~ matches against!~ doesn’t match against
See the Data Exploration page for documentation on the
FROM clause,
LIMIT clause,
OFFSET clause,
and on Regular Expressions in Queries.
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW TAG KEYS query with the ON clause
> SHOW TAG KEYS ON "NOAA_water_database"
name: average_temperature
tagKey
------
location
name: h2o_feet
tagKey
------
location
name: h2o_pH
tagKey
------
location
name: h2o_quality
tagKey
------
location
randtag
name: h2o_temperature
tagKey
------
location
The query returns the list of tag keys in the NOAA_water_database database.
The output groups tag keys by measurement name;
it shows that every measurement has the location tag key and that the
h2o_quality measurement has an additional randtag tag key.
Example 2: Run a SHOW TAG KEYS query without the ON clause
Specify the database with USE <database_name>
> USE NOAA_water_database
Using database NOAA_water_database
> SHOW TAG KEYS
name: average_temperature
tagKey
------
location
name: h2o_feet
tagKey
------
location
name: h2o_pH
tagKey
------
location
name: h2o_quality
tagKey
------
location
randtag
name: h2o_temperature
tagKey
------
location
Specify the database with the db query string parameter:
~# curl -G "http://localhost:8086/query?db=NOAA_water_database&pretty=true" --data-urlencode "q=SHOW TAG KEYS"
{
"results": [
{
"statement_id": 0,
"series": [
{
"name": "average_temperature",
"columns": [
"tagKey"
],
"values": [
[
"location"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_feet",
"columns": [
"tagKey"
],
"values": [
[
"location"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_pH",
"columns": [
"tagKey"
],
"values": [
[
"location"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_quality",
"columns": [
"tagKey"
],
"values": [
[
"location"
],
[
"randtag"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_temperature",
"columns": [
"tagKey"
],
"values": [
[
"location"
]
]
}
]
}
]
}
Example 3: Run a SHOW TAG KEYS query with several clauses
> SHOW TAG KEYS ON "NOAA_water_database" FROM "h2o_quality" LIMIT 1 OFFSET 1
name: h2o_quality
tagKey
------
randtag
The query returns tag keys from the h2o_quality measurement in the
NOAA_water_database database.
The LIMIT and OFFSET clauses limit the number of tag keys returned to one
and offsets the results by one.
SHOW TAG VALUES
Returns the list of tag values for the specified tag key(s) in the database.
Syntax
SHOW TAG VALUES [ON <database_name>][FROM_clause] WITH KEY [ [<operator> "<tag_key>" | <regular_expression>] | [IN ("<tag_key1>","<tag_key2")]] [WHERE <tag_key> <operator> ['<tag_value>' | <regular_expression>]] [LIMIT_clause] [OFFSET_clause]
Description of Syntax
ON <database_name> is optional.
If the query does not include ON <database_name>, you must specify the
database with USE <database_name> in the CLI or with the db query
string parameter in the HTTP API request.
The WITH clause is required.
It supports specifying a single tag key, a regular expression, and multiple tag keys.
The FROM, WHERE, LIMIT, and OFFSET clauses are optional.
The WHERE clause supports tag comparisons; field comparisons are not
valid for the SHOW TAG KEYS query.
Supported operators in the WITH and WHERE clauses:= equal to<> not equal to!= not equal to=~ matches against!~ doesn’t match against
See the Data Exploration page for documentation on the
FROM clause,
LIMIT clause,
OFFSET clause,
and on Regular Expressions in Queries.
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW TAG VALUES query with the ON clause
> SHOW TAG VALUES ON "NOAA_water_database" WITH KEY = "randtag"
name: h2o_quality
key value
--- -----
randtag 1
randtag 2
randtag 3
The query returns all tag values of the randtag tag key in the NOAA_water_database
database.
SHOW TAG VALUES groups query results by measurement name.
Example 2: Run a SHOW TAG VALUES query without the ON clause
Specify the database with USE <database_name>
> USE NOAA_water_database
Using database NOAA_water_database
> SHOW TAG VALUES WITH KEY = "randtag"
name: h2o_quality
key value
--- -----
randtag 1
randtag 2
randtag 3
Specify the database with the db query string parameter:
~# curl -G "http://localhost:8086/query?db=NOAA_water_database&pretty=true" --data-urlencode 'q=SHOW TAG VALUES WITH KEY = "randtag"'
{
"results": [
{
"statement_id": 0,
"series": [
{
"name": "h2o_quality",
"columns": [
"key",
"value"
],
"values": [
[
"randtag",
"1"
],
[
"randtag",
"2"
],
[
"randtag",
"3"
]
]
}
]
}
]
}
Example 3: Run a SHOW TAG VALUES query with several clauses
> SHOW TAG VALUES ON "NOAA_water_database" WITH KEY IN ("location","randtag") WHERE "randtag" =~ /./ LIMIT 3
name: h2o_quality
key value
--- -----
location coyote_creek
location santa_monica
randtag 1
The query returns the tag values of the tag keys location and randtag for
all measurements in the NOAA_water_database database where randtag has tag values.
The LIMIT clause limits the number of tag values returned to three.
SHOW FIELD KEYS
Returns the field keys and the data type of their field values.
Syntax
SHOW FIELD KEYS [ON <database_name>] [FROM <measurement_name>]
Description of Syntax
ON <database_name> is optional.
If the query does not include ON <database_name>, you must specify the
database with USE <database_name> in the CLI or with the db query
string parameter in the HTTP API request.
The FROM clause is also optional.
See the Data Exploration page for documentation on the
FROM clause.
Note: A field’s data type can differ across shards. If your field has more than one type,
SHOW FIELD KEYSreturns the type that occurs first in the following list: float, integer, string, boolean.
Examples
Example 1: Run a SHOW FIELD KEYS query with the ON clause
> SHOW FIELD KEYS ON "NOAA_water_database"
name: average_temperature
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
degrees float
name: h2o_feet
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
level description string
water_level float
name: h2o_pH
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
pH float
name: h2o_quality
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
index float
name: h2o_temperature
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
degrees float
The query returns the field keys and field value data types for each
measurement in the NOAA_water_database database.
Example 2: Run a SHOW FIELD KEYS query without the ON clause
Specify the database with USE <database_name>
> USE NOAA_water_database
Using database NOAA_water_database
> SHOW FIELD KEYS
name: average_temperature
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
degrees float
name: h2o_feet
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
level description string
water_level float
name: h2o_pH
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
pH float
name: h2o_quality
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
index float
name: h2o_temperature
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
degrees float
Specify the database with the db query string parameter:
~# curl -G "http://localhost:8086/query?db=NOAA_water_database&pretty=true" --data-urlencode 'q=SHOW FIELD KEYS'
{
"results": [
{
"statement_id": 0,
"series": [
{
"name": "average_temperature",
"columns": [
"fieldKey",
"fieldType"
],
"values": [
[
"degrees",
"float"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_feet",
"columns": [
"fieldKey",
"fieldType"
],
"values": [
[
"level description",
"string"
],
[
"water_level",
"float"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_pH",
"columns": [
"fieldKey",
"fieldType"
],
"values": [
[
"pH",
"float"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_quality",
"columns": [
"fieldKey",
"fieldType"
],
"values": [
[
"index",
"float"
]
]
},
{
"name": "h2o_temperature",
"columns": [
"fieldKey",
"fieldType"
],
"values": [
[
"degrees",
"float"
]
]
}
]
}
]
}
Example 3: Run a SHOW FIELD KEYS query with the FROM clause
> SHOW FIELD KEYS ON "NOAA_water_database" FROM "h2o_feet"
name: h2o_feet
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
level description string
water_level float
The query returns the fields keys and field value data types for the h2o_feet
measurement in the NOAA_water_database database.
Common Issues with SHOW FIELD KEYS
Issue 1: SHOW FIELD KEYS and field type discrepancies
Field value
data types
cannot differ within a shard but they
can differ across shards.
SHOW FIELD KEYS returns every data type, across every shard, associated with
the field key.
Example
The all_the_types field stores four different data types:
> SHOW FIELD KEYS
name: mymeas
fieldKey fieldType
-------- ---------
all_the_types integer
all_the_types float
all_the_types string
all_the_types boolean
Note that SHOW FIELD KEYS handles field type discrepancies differently from
SELECT statements.
See the
FAQ
page for more information.