How to use NRQL: the mechanics of querying

Before using any tool, it's best to know how to use it. There's a process to creating, structuring, and writing queries with NRQL. Understanding the rules of querying with NRQL enables you to get the most from your data. Even if you've never queried anything before, just a basic understanding the rules allows you to access (almost) any data you need and visualize them in charts and dashboards.

NRQL syntax

If you're already familiar with SQL queries, you'll be happy to know that NRQL has a lot of similarities. Here's a quick breakdown of the structure of a NRQL query:

SELECT function(attribute) [AS 'label'][, ...] 
  FROM data type
  [WHERE attribute [comparison] [AND|OR ...]][AS 'label'][, ...]
  [FACET attribute | function(attribute)]
  [LIMIT number]
  [SINCE time]
  [UNTIL time]
  [WITH TIMEZONE timezone]
  [COMPARE WITH time]
  [TIMESERIES time]

NRQL's basic rules are as follows:

... where traceId = '030a573f0df02c57'

... FACET `Logged-in user`

These are the basic rules for NRQL, and we have more information in our NRQL reference to help you build your queries.

Data exploration

One of the best ways to learn how to use NRQL is to access a New Relic query tool and use it to explore your data. Here's an example of exploring your data using the query builder and the suggested entries from the interface.

The query begins with FROM followed by space. The interface suggests available types of data, and Transaction is chosen from that list.

Next, an attribute is chosen using SELECT, and the query looks as follows:

FROM Transaction SELECT

Pressing space again causes the interface to suggest available attributes. In the example below, appId is chosen.

The result is a very basic NRQL query using the required clause and statement (FROM and SELECT), and it provides a list of APM transactions and the associated appId for each, as shown below.

Another great way to explore your data is to go into any existing dashboards you have, click View query, and run your chart in the query builder.

NRQL query examples

Here's an example of a slightly more in-depth NRQL query of Transaction data, which is reported by APM. For this query:

• Transaction is the chosen data type
• Select is used to determine the average duration
• Results are grouped by appName using Facet
• Timeseries is used to display the data over an automated timespan.

FROM Transaction 
SELECT average(duration) 
  FACET appName 
  TIMESERIES auto

This would generate a chart that looks like:

Here are some more query examples:

SELECT uniqueCount(user) FROM PageView 
  WHERE userAgentOS = 'Mac' 
  FACET countryCode
  SINCE 1 day ago 
  LIMIT 20

SELECT count(*)
 FROM Transaction
 FACET `Logged-in user`

SELECT count(*) FROM Transaction, PageView SINCE 3 days ago

SELECT function(attribute), function(attribute) ...
  FROM ...

SELECT min(duration), max(duration), average(duration)
  FROM PageView SINCE 1 week ago

Ready to learn more? Be sure to check out our introduction to NRQL if you haven't already, or learn how to use charts and dashboards with NRQL. If you want to start using NRQL right away, jump straight into our guided NRQL tutorial.