---
title: "Explore CloudWatch data in Grafana | Grafana Labs"
description: "Run a CloudWatch metrics query in Explore to confirm the data source returns data."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

# Explore CloudWatch data in Grafana

In this milestone, you confirm the data source works by running a CloudWatch metrics query in Grafana’s Explore.

1. In the navigation menu, click **Explore**.
2. From the data source dropdown at the top-left, select your CloudWatch data source.

### Build a metrics query

In the query editor, with the query mode set to **Metrics** and the builder view:

1. Set **Namespace** to an AWS service you’re running, such as `AWS/EC2`.
2. Set **Metric name** to a metric in that namespace, such as `CPUUtilization`.
3. Set **Statistic** to an aggregation, such as `Average`.
4. Optionally set a **Dimension** (for example, `InstanceId`) to scope the query to a specific resource.

Grafana loads the available namespaces, metrics, and dimensions directly from your AWS account. If the dropdowns are empty, your IAM policy may be missing the `cloudwatch:ListMetrics` action.

Click **Run query** to execute the query.

You should see time series data in the results panel. If you see results, your CloudWatch data source is working correctly.

### Verify successful data access

After running your query, you should see:

- Time series data displayed as a graph or table
- No authentication or authorization errors
- Namespaces and metrics that match the AWS services in your region

To explore what else the data source can do, refer to the [CloudWatch query editor](/docs/grafana/latest/datasources/aws-cloudwatch/query-editor/) documentation.

**Congratulations!** You’ve connected Amazon CloudWatch to Grafana Cloud and verified that data is accessible.

Were you successful?

![No](/media/images/svg/thumbs-up.svg) No

![Yes](/media/images/svg/thumbs-up.svg) Yes

Super! You can move to the next step.

Explore the following troubleshooting topics if you need help:

[CloudWatch query editor](/docs/grafana/latest/datasources/aws-cloudwatch/query-editor/)

[Troubleshoot CloudWatch issues](/docs/grafana/latest/datasources/aws-cloudwatch/troubleshooting/)

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