# Time-series chart

The time-series chart sits above the results grid in Explore. It plots the count of records from your current query — or an aggregation you choose — bucketed over time. The chart updates as you adjust the query, filters, or time range and is available on both the **logs** and **spans** datasets.

Use the chart to:

- See a spike, drop, or sustained shift in volume at a glance.
- Spot anomalies that warrant drilling into the underlying rows.
- Compare grouped series (for example, log count by severity, or span count by service) side by side.

For aggregated, non-time-bucketed views, use the [Overview tab for logs](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/data_exploration/overview-tab/index.md) or the [Overview tab for spans](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/data_exploration/spans/overview-tab/index.md) instead. The time-series chart and the Overview tab share the same query but answer different questions: trend over time versus shape across groups.

## Configure the chart

Select the pencil icon on the chart to open the **Graph configuration** panel. Select **Apply** to commit changes, **Cancel** to discard them, or **Reset to default** to clear all overrides.

### Visualisation

Toggle between three chart types:

- **Vertical bar**: bars along a time axis. Use this to compare discrete buckets and spot peaks.
- **Line chart**: points connected by a line. Use this for smooth trend visualization across many buckets.
- **Area chart**: line chart with the area below filled. Use this to emphasize cumulative volume.

### Scale

Choose **Linear** or **Logarithmic** for the Y-axis. Use logarithmic when your data spans several orders of magnitude and smaller values are difficult to see on a linear scale.

### Time bucket

Control the time interval used to group data points. Choose **Auto** to let Coralogix pick an interval based on the selected time range, or pick a specific bucket size: **1 Minute**, **5 Minutes**, **15 Minutes**, **30 Minutes**, **1 Hour**, **2 Hours**, **6 Hours**, or **1 Day**.

### Aggregation

By default, the chart plots a count of records per bucket. Use **Aggregation** and **Aggregation Field** to plot a different metric — for example, `avg` of a duration field, or `p95` of a latency field. The Aggregation Field selector searches numeric fields only.

### Group graph by key

Optionally pick a field to split the chart into one series per distinct value. Each bar or line then represents one group (for example, one series per severity, application, or service).

If the selected field has too many distinct values, the chart shows a **Key cardinality is too high** warning. Pick a lower-cardinality field or narrow the query first.

### Sync with main query

When enabled, the chart respects every filter and grouping in the main query, so the chart's series match exactly what the results grid shows. When disabled, the chart configuration runs as a side query independent of the main query — useful when you want to keep an overview chart in view while drilling into a narrower subset of rows.

## Interact with the chart

- **Hover** any bar, line point, or area segment to read its exact value and bucket interval.
- **Drag** across a region to zoom into that time range — the time range picker updates to reflect the selection and results refresh automatically.
- **Select** a data point to open a context menu with **Drilldown** (open the rows that contributed to that value), **Include in query** / **Exclude from query** (add the value as a filter), and copy actions. In **Builder** mode the filter is added as a Lucene clause; in **DataPrime** mode it's appended to the query as a DataPrime `filter` clause so you can iterate on a DataPrime pipeline without rewriting it.

## Related resources

- [Overview tab for logs](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/data_exploration/overview-tab/index.md) — aggregated tables and charts for non-time-bucketed groupings.
- [Overview tab for spans](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/data_exploration/spans/overview-tab/index.md) — the spans equivalent.
- [Query Builder](https://coralogix.com/docs/user-guides/data_exploration/query_builder/index.md) — build the query that drives the chart.