Metrics
One of the key signals of Observability is metrics. Find out how Dash0 allows you to quickly navigate through your metrics and use them in alerts and dashboards.
Supported Metric Types
Dash0 supports all standard OpenTelemetry metric types, with the exception of exponential histograms. The supported types include:
- Counter: Monotonically increasing values that track the occurrence of events
- Gauge: Values that can increase or decrease over time
- Histogram: Samples observations into configurable buckets
- Exponential Histogram: Samples observations into dynamically sized buckets
- Summary (Legacy): Similar to histograms but with client-side calculated quantiles
Reference: OTLP Metric Data Model
In this section
OpenTelemetry & Prometheus Compatibility
Comprehensive guide to using OpenTelemetry metrics with PromQL, explaining metric naming conventions, query building, and best practices for effective monitoring and analysis of telemetry data.
PromQL Query Patterns
A comprehensive guide to PromQL query patterns combined with OpenTelemetry data, covering gauges, histograms, summaries, and synthetic metrics. Learn efficient query patterns for performance monitoring, error detection, and resource tracking.
Optimizing Metric Query Performance
Fast, accurate metric queries are essential for effective observability. This guide explains how Dash0's metrics system works, why certain queries can be slow, and practical strategies to dramatically improve query performance—ordered from most to least impactful. Whether you're building dashboards, setting up alerts, or investigating incidents, these techniques will help you get answers faster.
Common Metric Query Gotchas
This guide covers common PromQL pitfalls that can lead to inaccurate dashboards and missed alerts in Prometheus. From misaligned time ranges to aggregation errors, these subtle mistakes can significantly impact your monitoring reliability and incident response. Learn how to avoid the most frequent PromQL traps with concrete examples and actionable solutions for building better alerts and dashboards.
Last updated: December 22, 2025