Dashboard Body Structure and Syntax - Amazon CloudWatch
Overall StructureWidgets Array StructureVariables Array StructureProperties of a Log Widget ObjectProperties of a Metric Widget ObjectMetric Widget: Format for Each Metric in the Array Properties of a Metrics Explorer Widget Object Properties of an Alarm Status Widget Object

Dashboard Body Structure and Syntax

Overall Structure

A DashboardBody is a string in JSON format. It can include an array of between 0 and 500 widget objects, as well as a few other parameters. The dashboard must include a widgets array, but that array can be empty.

The following is an example of this structure with one metric widget and one text widget, a time range starting six hours before the current time, and each graph's period setting always being obeyed.

{
   "start": "-PT6H",
   "periodOverride": "inherit",
   "widgets": [
      {
         "type":"metric",
         "x":0,
         "y":0,
         "width":12,
         "height":6,
         "properties":{
            "metrics":[
               [
                  "AWS/EC2",
                  "CPUUtilization",
                  "InstanceId",
                  "i-012345"
               ]
            ],
            "period":300,
            "stat":"Average",
            "region":"us-east-1",
            "title":"EC2 Instance CPU",
            "liveData": false,
            "legend": {
                "position": "right"
              }
         }
      },
      {
         "type":"text",
         "x":0,
         "y":7,
         "width":3,
         "height":3,
         "properties":{
            "markdown":"Hello world"
         }
      }
   ]
}

The next example displays three Lambda per-function metrics, and uses a dashboard variable so that dashboard users can switch between different Lambda function names and see all three metrics for each function. This helps you create a single flexible dashboard that can display key metrics for different resources. In this example the functions are discovered by a metric search query, so the dashboard automatically discovers new Lambda functions when they are created.

{
    "widgets": [{
            "height": 6,
            "width": 6,
            "y": 0,
            "x": 0,
            "type": "metric",
            "properties": {
                "view": "timeSeries",
                "stacked": false,
                "metrics": ["AWS/Lambda", "Invocations", "FunctionName", "my-function-name"],

                "region": "us-east-1",
                "liveData": true
            }
        },
        {
            "height": 12,
            "width": 12,
            "y": 0,
            "x": 6,
            "type": "metric",
            "properties": {
                "view": "timeSeries",
                "stacked": false,
                "metrics": ["AWS/Lambda", "Errors", "FunctionName", "my-function-name"],

                "region": "us-east-1",
                "liveData": true
            }
        },

        {
            "height": 3,
            "width": 6,
            "y": 0,
            "x": 18,
            "type": "metric",
            "properties": {
                "view": "timeSeries",
                "stacked": false,
                "metrics": ["AWS/Lambda", "Duration", "FunctionName", "my-function-name"],

                "region": "us-east-1",
                "liveData": true
            }
        }
    ],
    "variables": [{
        "type": "property",
        "property": "FunctionName",
        "inputType": "select",
        "id": "LambdaFunction_Variable",
        "label": "Function",
        "visible": true,
        "search": "{AWS/Lambda,FunctionName} MetricName=\"Duration\"",
        "populateFrom": "FunctionName"
    }]
}

The next example has two widgets. The first includes two metrics and a math expression that sums their total. The second widget is a search expression that displays the CPUUtilization for all EC2 instances in the Region.


{
   "start": "-PT9H",
   "periodOverride": "inherit",
   "widgets": [
      {
         "type":"metric",
         "x":0,
         "y":0,
         "width":12,
         "height":6,
         "properties":{
            "metrics":[
               [ "AWS/EC2", "DiskReadBytes", "InstanceId", "i-123",{ "id": "m1" } ],
               [ ".", ".", ".", "i-abc", { "id": "m2" } ],
               [ { "expression": "SUM(METRICS())", "label": "Sum of DiskReadbytes", "id": "e3" } ]
            ],
            "view": "timeSeries",
            "stacked": false,
            "period":300,
            "stat":"Average",
            "region":"us-east-1",
            "title":"EC2 Instance CPU"
         }
      },
      {
         "type":"metric",
         "x":0,
         "y":0,
         "width":18,
         "height":9,
         "properties":{
            "metrics":[
               [ { "expression": "SEARCH('{AWS/EC2,InstanceId} MetricName=\"CPUUtilization\"', 'Average', 300)", "id": "e1" } ]
            ],
            "view": "timeSeries",
            "stacked": false,
            "region":"us-east-1",
            "title":"EC2 Instance CPU"
         }
      }
   ]
}

The rest of this section includes examples illustrating each part of the DashboardBody syntax. For more examples showing the entire command syntax, see PutDashboard in the Amazon CloudWatch API Reference.

The top level of the JSON object can include the following properties.

widgets

The list of widgets in the dashboard. For more information, see Widgets Array Structure.

Required: Yes

variables

The array of dashboard variable objects used in the dashboard. For more information about the fields that you can use in each dashboard variable object, see Variables Array Structure.

For more information about dashboard variables, see Create flexible dashboards with dashboard variables.

If you include a variables array, it can contain between 0 and 25 variable objects.

Required: No

end

The end of the time range to use for each widget on the dashboard when the dashboard loads. If you specify a value for end, you must also specify a value for start. For each of these values, specify an absolute time in the ISO 8601 format. For example, 2018-12-17T06:00:00.000Z.

Type: String

Required: No

start

The start of the time range to use for each widget on the dashboard.

You can specify start without specifying end to specify a relative time range that ends with the current time. In this case, the value of start must begin with -PT if you specify a time range in minutes or hours, and must begin with -P if you specify a time range in days, weeks, or months. You can then use M, H, D, W and M as abbreviations for minutes, hours, days, weeks and months. For example, -PT5M shows the last 5 minutes, -PT8H shows the last 8 hours, and -P3M shows the last three months.

You can also use start along with an end field, to specify an absolute time range. When specifying an absolute time range, use the ISO 8601 format. For example, 2018-12-17T06:00:00.000Z.

If you omit start, the dashboard shows the default time range when it loads.

Type: String

Required: No

periodOverride

Use this field to specify the period for the graphs when the dashboard loads. Specifying auto causes the period of all graphs on the dashboard to automatically adapt to the time range of the dashboard. Specifying inherit ensures that the period set for each graph is always obeyed.

Valid Values: auto | inherit

Type: String

Required: No

Widgets Array Structure

Each widget of any type can have the following properties.

type

The type of widget.

Valid Values: metric | text | log | alarm | explorer

Type: String

Required: Yes

x

The horizontal position of the widget on the 24-column dashboard grid. The default is the next available position.

Valid Values: 0–23

Type: Integer

Required: Yes, if y is specified. Otherwise not required.

y

The vertical position of the widget on the 24-column dashboard grid. The default is the next available position.

Valid Values: Any integer, 0 or higher.

Type: Integer

Required: Yes, if x is specified. Otherwise not required.

width

The width of the widget in grid units (in a 24-column grid). The default is 6.

Valid Values: 1–24

Type: Integer

Required: No

height

The height of the widget in grid units. The default is 6.

Valid Values: 1–1000

Type: Integer

Required: No

properties

The detailed properties of the widget, which differ depending on the widget type. For more information about the format of properties, see Properties of a Metric Widget Object or Properties of a Text Widget Object.

Type: Object

Required: Yes

Variables Array Structure

Each dashboard variable in the array can have the following properties.

type

The type of dashboard variable. CloudWatch supports two types, property variables and pattern variables.

Property variables change the values of all instances of a property in all widgets in the dashboard. A property can be either of the following:

  • Any JSON property in the widget definitions, such as region.

  • Any dimension name for a metric, such as InstanceId or FunctionName.

A pattern variable changes a regular expression pattern across the dashboard JSON. Use it when you need to change just part of a JSON property value, or even a JSON property.

Property variables apply to most use cases and are less complex to set up.

Valid Values: property | pattern

Type: String

Required: Yes

inputType

Determines how the dashboard user inputs the value for the variable.

  • Specify input to use a text box that the user can enter values into.

  • Specify select to use a dropdown set of values that you define, or a dropdown list of values found by a metric search query.

  • Specify radio to use a set of radio buttons, with values that you define or that you find with a metric search query.

Valid Values: input | select | radio

Type: String

Required: Yes

values

If your inputType is select or radio and you want to define the possible variable values instead of using a metric query search, specify those values here.

values is an array where each object in the array contains a required value and an optional label. Each value can be a string, number, or Boolean, and each label must be a string. Each of these values and labels can be as many as 255 characters.

If you specify a values array it must include at least one item, and can include as many as 500.

For example, the following creates a list of three possible Regions to use as the values for a variable.

"values": [
    { "label": "US East (IAD)", "value": "us-east-1" },
    { "label": "US West (SFO)", "value": "us-west-1" },
    { "label": "EU (DUB)", "value": "eu-west-1" }
]

Type: Array

Required: Yes if inputType is select or radio and you are not using a metric search query to populate the values.

id

An Id for this variable. It can be up to 32 characters, and valid characters are 0-9A-Za-z-_

Type: String

Required: Yes

label

A label to display for the input field. It can have as many as 30 characters.

If you omit this field for a property variable, the property name is displayed as the label. If you omit it for a pattern variable, then pattern_1, pattern_2, ... is used for the label.

Type: String

Required: No

defaultValue

The default value for the variable, when the dashboard is first opened.

  • If inputType is input, you specify the defaultValue here manually and use as many as 255 characters

  • If inputType is select or radio, you must specify a valid possible value that you specified in the values array or that was retrieved in the metric query search.

Valid Values: Any valid value for this variable

Type: String, Number, or Boolean, depending on the type value for this variable

Required: No

search

Specify this field to populate your select or radio input field by using a metric search expression. For the value for this field, specify a namespace, dimension name, and a metric name. The dimension that you specify must be valid for that metric. CloudWatch finds all resources that publish that metric and dimension, and populates the list with them.

For example, specify "search": "{AWS/EC2,InstanceId} MetricName=\"CPUUtilization\"" to search for Amazon EC2 instances in the account, or specify "search": "{AWS/Lambda,FunctionName} MetricName=\"Duration\"", to return the Lambda functions in the account

The search string that you specify can be as many as 2048 characters.

Note

If you're using a search expression and you also want to specify a default value, the default that you specify in defaultValue is used as long as that default is one or the resources that was retrieved by the search. When using a search expression to populate your input field, you can also specify the special value __FIRST for defaultValue, to have the default value be the first value returned from the search. (The special value includes two underscores and then FIRST) Values returned by the search are always sorted alphabetically.

Type: String

Required: Yes if inputType is select or radio and you are not specifying values.

populateFrom

If you are using the search field to populate your input field by using a search expression, specify this field with the name of a dimension that the search will retrieve.

For example, if your search value is "search": "{AWS/EC2,InstanceId} MetricName=\"CPUUtilization\"", then you can specify InstanceId for populateFrom.

Type: String

Required: Yes if inputType is select or radio and you are not specifying values.

visible

Specified whether the input label and field are visible on the dashboard. If you omit this, the default of true is used.

Using false saves some room on the dashboard, but requires the user to change the dashboard URL to change the variable values.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

Variable examples

The following example uses a property variable for changing the Region of all widgets, using a text input field. When the dashboard is first opened, the default value of us-east-1 is used for the variable.

"variables": [
     {
        "type": "property", 
        "property": "region",
        "inputType": "input",
        "id": "region",
        "label": "Region",
        "defaultValue": "us-east-1",
        "visible": true
    } 
],

The following example uses a pattern variable for changing the Region of all widgets, in the case where sometimes the Region is set in the middle of a string such as an ARN.

"variables": [
    {
        "type": "pattern",
        "pattern": "us-east-1",
        "inputType": "input",
        "id": "region",
        "label": "Region",
        "defaultValue": "us-east-1",
        "visible": true
    }
],

The following example generates a Lambda function variable, with a radio button for each function. Functions are discovered by a metric query search.

"variables": [
    {
        "type": "pattern",
        "pattern": "originalFuncNameInDashboard",
        "inputType": "radio",
        "id": "functionName",
        "label": "Function",
        "visible": true,
        "search": "{AWS/Lambda,FunctionName} MetricName=\"Duration\"",
        "populateFrom": "FunctionName",
        "defaultValue": "__FIRST"
    }
],

The following sample displays how to specify multiple variables in a dashboard, and demonstrates several types of variables.

"variables": [{
        "type": "property",
        "property": "region",
        "inputType": "select",
        "id": "unique_id_1",
        "label": "Region",
        "defaultValue": "us-east-1",
        "visible": true,
        "values": [{
                "label": "IAD",
                "value": "us-east-1"
            },
            {
                "label": "CMH",
                "value": "us-east-2"
            },
            {
                "label": "NRT",
                "value": "ap-northeast-1"
            }
        ]
    },
    {
        "type": "property",
        "property": "FunctionName",
        "inputType": "select",
        "id": "unique_id_2",
        "label": "Function",
        "visible": true,
        "values": [{
                "value": "my-FunctionName-1"
            },
            {
                "value": "my-FunctionName-2"
            },
            {
                "value": "my-FunctionName-3"
            }
        ]
    },
    {
        "type": "property",
        "property": "accountId",
        "inputType": "radio",
        "id": "unique_id_3",
        "defaultValue": "111122223333",
        "visible": true,
        "values": [{
                "label": "IAD Account",
                "value": "111122223333"
            },
            {
                "label": "CMH Account",
                "value": "123456789012"
            },
            {
                "label": "NRT Account",
                "value": "000000000000"
            }
        ]
    }
]

Properties of a Text Widget Object

A widget of type text can have one or two parameters in the properties section. The markdown field is required, and the transparent field is optional.

For more information about the style of markdown supported in CloudWatch text widgets, see Using Markdown in the Console.

markdown

The text to be displayed by the widget. Use this parameter only for text widgets.

Type: String

Required: Yes (when the widget type is text).

background

Specifies whether the text widget has a solid or transparent background. The value transparent makes the widget transparent. The value solid is the default.

Type: String

Required: No

{
   "widgets":[
      {
         "type":"text",
         "x":0,
         "y":7,
         "width":3,
         "height":3,
         "properties":{
            "markdown":"Hello world",
            "background": "transparent"
         }
      }
   ]
}

Properties of a Log Widget Object

A widget of type log represents the results of a CloudWatch Logs Insights query. For more information, see Analyzing Log Data with CloudWatch Logs Insights.

A log widget can include the following fields in its properties field.

accountId

The account ID of the AWS account containing the logs, if this is a cross-account query.

Type: String

Required: No

region

The Region of the logs query.

Type: String

Required: Yes

title

The title text to be displayed by the widget.

Type: String

Required: No

query

Contains the CloudWatch Logs Insights query function.

Type: String

Required: Yes (when the widget type is log).

The query string starts with the names of the log groups that are to be queried. You must pre-pend each log group name with SOURCE. Separate multiple log groups with a pipe character (|).

Add another pipe character after the list of log groups, and then specify the query syntax. Separate each line in the query syntax with \n|

For example, the following line represents a query of two log groups, service_log1 and service_log2. The query displays canaries that have faults.

"query": "SOURCE 'service_log1' | SOURCE 'service_log2' |filter Fault > 0\n| fields Fault.Message\n| stats count(*) by Canary.Name, Fault.Message"
view

Specifies how the query results are displayed. Specify table to view the results as a table. Specify timeSeries to display this metric as a line graph. Specify bar to display it as a bar graph. Specify pie to display it as a pie graph.

If you omit this parameter, the results are displayed as a table.

Type: String

Required: No (when the widget type is log).

{
    "widgets": [
        {
            "type": "log",
            "x": 12,
            "y": 24,
            "width": 12,
            "height": 6,
            "properties": {
                "region": "us-east-1",
                "title": "Errors (Application Log)",
                "query": "SOURCE 'application1.log' | SOURCE 'application2.log' | filter @message like \"[ERROR]\"\n| parse \"Error for [*] [*] due to: *\" canaryName1, canaryId1, cause1\n| parse \"Executor canary [*] *\" canaryName2, cause2\n| fields coalesce(cause1, cause2) as cause\n| fields coalesce(canaryName1, canaryName2) as canaryName\n| fields ispresent(cause) as isP\n| filter isP\n| stats count() as errCount by canaryName, substr(cause, 0, 130)\n| sort errCount DESC",
                "view": "table"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Properties of a Metric Widget Object

A widget of type metric can have the following fields within properties:

accountId

Specifies the AWS account ID where all metrics in this widget will come from. This is useful for cross-account dashboards that include widgets from multiple accounts. For more information, see Cross-Account Cross-Region CloudWatch Console.

If you omit this, the current account is used as the default. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

You can also use an accountId field within each metric in the array of metrics to create a single widget which includes metrics from multiple accounts.

Type: String

Required: No

annotations

To include an alarm or annotation in the widget, specify an annotations array. For more information about the format, see Dashboard Widget Object: Annotation Properties. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

Type: Object

Required: An alarm annotation is required only when the widget type is metric and metrics is not specified. A horizontal or vertical annotation is not required.

liveData

Specify true to display live data in the widget. Live data is data published within the last minute that has not been fully aggregated. For more information, see Use Live Data.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

legend

Specify legend to determine where the legend for the lines on the graph is displayed. The legend field contains another field called position. Possible values for position are right, bottom, and hidden.

For example, the following causes the legend to appear on the right in the graph.

"legend": {
     "position": "right"
}

Type: Object

Required: No

metrics

Specify a metrics array to include one or more metrics (without alarms), a Metrics Insights query, math expressions, or search expressions. One metrics array can include 0–500 metrics and expressions. Use this parameter only for metric widgets. For more information about the format of metrics, see Metric Widget: Format for Each Metric in the Array.

One metrics array can include no more than one Metrics Insights query.

A single expression field can't include both a Metrics Insights query and a math expression, but you can use the returned results of a Metrics Insights query from one expression as input in a math expression in a different expression in the array.

Type: Array of arrays

Required: Yes, when the widget type is metric and annotations is not specified.

period

The default period, in seconds, for all metrics in this widget. The period is the length of time represented by one data point on the graph. This default can be overridden within each metric definition. Use this parameter only for metric widgets. The default is 300.

Valid Values: Any multiple of 60, with 60 as the minimum.

Type: Integer

Required: No

region

The region of the metric.

Type: String

Required: Yes

sparkline

Specify true to display the sparkline feature under the number widget. Specify false to display the number widget by itself. This parameter is ignored if view is not singleValue. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

stacked

Specify true to display the graph as a stacked line, or false to display as separate lines. This parameter is ignored if view is singleValue. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

stat

The default statistic to be displayed for each metric in the array. This default can be overridden within the definition of each individual metric in the metrics array. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

Valid Values: SampleCount | Average | Sum | Minimum | Maximum | p??

Type: String that is a valid CloudWatch statistic.

Required: No

table

Include a table section to include data table-related changes in the widget. For more information about the format, see Dashboard Widget Object: Table Properties.

Type: Object

Required: No

timezone

The time zone to use for displaying the times in the graph. The format is + or - followed by four digits. The first two digits indicate the number of hours ahead or behind of UTC, and the final two digits are the number of minutes. For example, +0130 indicates a time 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of UTC. The default is +0000.

Type: String

Required: No

title

The title to be displayed for the graph or number. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

Type: String

Required: No

view

Specify timeSeries to display this metric as a line or stacked area graph. Specify singleValue to display this metric as a number graph. Specify gauge to display this metric as a gauge graph. Specify bar to display this metric as a bar graph. Specify pie to display this metric as a pie graph.

Note

If you specify gauge, you must set a value for min and max on the left side of yAxis.

Valid Values: timeSeries | singleValue | gauge | bar | pie | table

Type: String

Required: No

yAxis

The minimum and maximum values for the left and right side of a graph's Y-axis. This property applies to all graphed metrics, except for specific metrics that override this setting. For more information, see Dashboard Widget Object: yAxis Properties Format.

Type: yAxis object

Required: No

Example: Stacked area and gauge widgets

{
    "widgets": [
{
   "type":"metric",
   "x":0,
   "y":0,
   "width":12,
   "height":6,
   "properties":{
      "metrics":[
         [
            "AWS/EC2",
            "CPUUtilization",
            "InstanceId",
            "i-012345"
         ],
         [
            "AWS/EC2",
            "NetworkIn",
            "InstanceId",
            "i-012345",
            {
               "yAxis":"right",
               "label":"NetworkIn",
               "period":3600,
               "stat":"Maximum"
            }
         ]
      ],
      "period":300,
      "stat":"Average",
      "region":"us-east-1",
      "timezone":"+0300",
      "title":"EC2 Instance CPU",
      "stacked":true,
      "view":"timeSeries",
      "liveData":false,
      "yAxis":{
         "left":{
            "min":0,
            "max":100
         },
         "right":{
            "min":50
         }
      },
      "annotations":{
         "horizontal":[
            {
               "visible":true,
               "color":"#9467bd",
               "label":"Critical range",
               "value":20,
               "fill":"above",
               "yAxis":"right"
            }
         ]
      }
   },
{
   "type": metric, 
   "x": 18,
   "y"; 60,
   "width": 6, 
   "height": 6,
   "properties": {
      "metrics": [
         [ 
         "AWSLogsShrinkRay",
         "disk_inodes_used",
         "path", 
         "/dev/shm",
         "InstanceId",
         "i-012345",
         "AutoScalingGroupName",
         "ShrinkRayExecutorResourceStack-Gamma-us-east-1-ASGuseast1ac48xlargeASGB9B53974-VTYXJUZGUAHV",
         "InstanceType",
         "c4.8xlarge",
         "device",
         "tmpfs",
         "fstype",
         "tmpfs" 
         ]
         ],
      "view": "gauge", 
      "title": "Disk Inodes Used"
      "region": "us-east-1",
      "yAxis": {
         "left": {
            "min": 0, 
            "max": 100,
         }        
       }
     }
   }

Metric Widget: Format for Each Metric in the Array

Each item in the metrics array is either a single metric or a math expression or search expression. Each single metric in the metrics array has the following format:

[ Namespace, MetricName, [{DimensionName,DimensionValue}...] {Rendering Properties Object} ]

Each expression in the metrics array has the following format:

[ {"expression" : "expression", ["label" : "label"] , ["id" : "id"] } ]
accountId

Specifies the AWS account ID where this metric comes from. This enables you to create a widget that contains metrics from multiple accounts on a cross-account dashboard. For more information, see Cross-Account Cross-Region CloudWatch Console.

If you omit this, the current account is used as the default. Use this parameter only for metric widgets.

Type: String

Required: No

Namespace

The AWS namespace containing the metric. If you have multiple entries in the metrics array, for each one after the first you may specify only "." to use the same namespace as the previous metric in the array.

Type: String

Required: Yes

MetricName

The name of the CloudWatch metric. If you have multiple entries in the metrics array, for each one after the first you may specify only "." to use the same metric name as the previous metric in the array.

Type: String

Required: Yes, for a single metric

expression

The Metrics Insights query, math expression, or search expression, if this is an expression instead of a single metric.

In a search expression using double-quotes for an exact match, each double-quote mark must be escaped with a backslash.

For more information about Metrics Insights query syntax, see Metrics Insights query components and syntax.

For more information about math expressions or search expressions, see Using Metric Math or Using Search Expressions in Graphs in the Amazon CloudWatch User Guide.

Type: String

Required: Yes, for an expression

Example of an expression for a Metrics Insights query:

[ { "expression": "SELECT MAX(CPUUtilization) FROM SCHEMA(\"AWS/EC2\", InstanceId) GROUP BY InstanceId LIMIT 10", "label": "View the 10 max CPU Utilization", "id": "q1" } ]
DimensionName

The name of a dimension to further refine what data is shown. If you have multiple entries in the metrics array, for each one after the first you may specify only "." to use the same dimension name as in the corresponding dimension specified in the previous metric in the array. You may specify 0 dimensions for a metric, or up to as many dimensions as the metric support.

Type: String

Required: No

DimensionValue

The value to use for that dimension for the metric. Required if there is a corresponding dimension name.

Type: String

Required: No

id

The Id of this time series. This Id can be used as part of a math expression. The Id must start with a lowercase letter.

Type: String

Required: No

label

The label to display in the graph to represent this time series.

Type: String

Required: No

region

The region of the metric. Use this parameter only for metric widgets. If you omit this, the current Region is used as the default.

Type: String

Required: No

Rendering Properties Object

Specifies rendering properties to be used for this particular metric, overriding the values specified for the overall widget. For more information about the format, see Dashboard Widget Object: Rendering Properties Object Format.

Type: Metric Render Properties Object

Required: No

// The simplest example, a metric with no dimensions
        [ "AWS/EC2", "CPUUtilization" ]
        
 // A metric with a single dimension
        [ "AWS/EC2", "CPUUtilization", "InstanceId", "i-012345" ]
        
 // A metric with a single dimension and rendering properties
        [ "AWS/EC2", "DiskReadBytes", "InstanceId", "i-xyz", { "yAxis": "right"} ]
       
 // The following example graphs the DiskReadBytes metric for three instances.
        [ "AWS/EC2", "DiskReadBytes", "InstanceId", "i-xyz" ],
        [ ".", ".", ".", "i-abc" ],
        [ ".", ".", ".", "i-123" ]
       
 // The following example includes two metrics and a math expression to sum them.
        [ "AWS/EC2", "DiskReadBytes", "InstanceId", "i-123",{ "id": "m1" } ],
        [ ".", ".", ".", "i-abc", { "id": "m2" } ],
        [ { "expression": "SUM(METRICS())", "label": "Sum of DiskReadbytes", "id": "e3" } ]
       
  // The following example is a search expression showing the EC2 CPUUtilization for each instance in the Region.
        [ { "expression": "SEARCH('{AWS/EC2,InstanceId} MetricName=\"CPUUtilization\"', 'Average', 300)", "id": "e1" } ],

Dashboard Widget Object: Rendering Properties Object Format

Each metric in the metrics array can optionally have custom rendering properties that override the default rendering properties specified in the yAxis parameter of the widget object. This section describes the format for those per-metric custom rendering properties.

color

The six-digit HTML hex color code to be used for this metric.

Type: String

Required: No

label

The label to display for this metric in the graph legend. If this is not specified, the metric is given an autogenerated label that distinguishes it from the other metrics in the widget.

Type: String

Required: No

period

The period for this metric, in seconds. The period is the length of time represented by one data point on the graph.

Valid Values: A multiple of 60, with a minimum of 60.

Type: Integer

Required: No

stat

The statistic for this metric, if it is to be different than the statistic used for the other metrics in the array.

Valid Values: SampleCount | Average | Sum | Minimum | Maximum | p??

Type: String that is a valid CloudWatch statistic.

Required: No

visible

Set this to true to have the metric appear in the graph, or false to have it be hidden. The default is true.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

yAxis

Where on the graph to display the y-axis for this metric. The default is left.

Valid Values: left | right

Type: String

Required: No


       
 // The third metric has its own rendering properties, overriding those of the rest of the widget.
        [ "AWS/EC2", "DiskReadBytes", "InstanceId", "i-xyz" ],
        [ ".", ".", ".", "i-abc" ],
        [ ".", ".", ".", "i-123", { "label":"Instance i-123", "yAxis": "right"}  ]

Dashboard Widget Object: Annotation Properties

Annotations include alarms, horizontal annotations, and vertical annotations. A single metric widget can have up to one alarm, or it can have one or more horizontal or vertical annotations. A single widget can't have both an alarm and horizontal or vertical annotations.

Alarm Annotations

If you specify an alarm annotation, you cannot also specify a metrics array in the same widget.

alarms

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the alarm.

Type: Array of strings. There can be 0–1 strings in the array.

Required: Only if no metrics are listed.

                
"annotations": {
   "alarms": [ "arn1" ]
}

Horizontal Annotations

horizontal

An array of horizontal annotations. Horizontal annotations have several options for fill shading, including shading above the annotation line, shading below the annotation line, and "band" shading that appears between two linked annotation lines as part of a single band annotation. Each horizontal annotation in the array that is a single annotation, instead of a band annotation, has the following format:

{value, label, color, fill, yAxis, visible}

Each horizontal annotation that is a band annotation has the following format:

[ {value, label, color, yAxis, visible}, {value, label} ]
value

The metric value in the graph where the horizontal annotation line is to appear. On a band shading annotation, the two values for Value define the upper and lower edges of the band.

On a graph with horizontal annotations, the graph is scaled so that all visible horizontal annotations appear on the graph.

Type: Float

Required: Yes

label

A string that appears on the graph next to the annotation.

Type: String

Required: No

color

The six-digit HTML hex color code to be used for the annotation. This color is used for both the annotation line and the fill shading.

Type: String

Required: No

fill

How to use fill shading with the annotation. Valid values are above for shading above the annotation, below for shading below the annotation, and none for no shading. If fill is omitted, there is no shading.

The exception is an annotation with band shading. These annotations always have shading between the two values, and any value for fill is ignored.

Type: String

Required: No

visible

Set this to true to have the annotation appear in the graph, or false to have it be hidden. The default is true.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

yAxis

If the graph includes multiple metrics, specifies whether the numbers in Value refer to the metric associated with the left Y-axis or the right Y-axis, . Valid values are right and left.

Type: String

Required: No

// A single horizontal annotation with fill shading above the annotation line, based on the metric associated with the right Y-axis
                
"annotations": {
     "horizontal": [
         {
              "visible":true,
              "color":"#9467bd",
              "label":"Critical range",
              "value":20,
              "fill":"above",
              "yAxis":"right"
         }
    ]
}

// A band annotation. Each value has a label, but other parameters for the band are specified only with the first number

"annotations": {
    "horizontal": [
        [
            {
                "label": "Band top",
                "value": 200,
                "color": "#9467bd",
                "visible": true,
                "yAxis": "right"
            },
            {
                "value": 95.5,
                "label": "Band bottom"
            }
        ]
    ]
}

// Three annotations on a graph. The first one is a band annotation. The final one is hidden.

"annotations": {
    "horizontal": [
        [
            {
                "label": "Band top",
                "value": 200,
                "color": "#9467bd",
                "visible": true,
                "yAxis": "right"
            },
            {
                "value": 95.5,
                "label": "Band bottom"
            }
        ],
        {
            "visible": true,
            "color": "#9467bd",
            "label": "Label for this annotation",
            "value": 20,
            "fill": "below",
            "yAxis": "right"
        },
        {
            "visible": false,
            "color": "#aaa",
            "label": "Hidden annotation",
            "value": 150
        }
    ]
}

Vertical Annotations

vertical

An array of vertical annotations. For each vertical annotation, you can choose to have fill shading before the annotation, after it, or between two vertical lines that are linked as a single band annotation. Each vertical annotation in the array that is a single annotation, instead of a band annotation, has the following format:

{value, label, color, fill, visible}

Each vertical annotation that is a band annotation has the following format:

[ {value, label, color, visible}, {value, label} ]
value

The date and time in the graph where the vertical annotation line is to appear. On a band shading annotation, the two values for Value define the beginning and ending edges of the band.

On a graph with vertical annotations, the graph is scaled so that all visible vertical annotations appear on the graph.

This is defined as a string in ISO 8601 format. For more information, see ISO 8601.

Type: String

Required: Yes

label

A string that appears on the graph next to the annotation.

Type: String

Required: No

color

The six-digit HTML hex color code to be used for the annotation. This color is used for both the annotation line and the fill shading.

Type: String

Required: No

fill

How to use fill shading with the annotation. Valid values are before for shading before the annotation, after for shading after the annotation, and none for no shading. If fill is omitted, there is no shading.

The exception is an annotation with band shading. These annotations always have shading between the two values, and any value for fill is ignored.

Type: String

Required: No

visible

Set this to true to have the annotation appear in the graph, or false to have it be hidden. The default is true.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

// A single vertical annotation with fill shading after the annotation line
                    
"annotations": {
    "vertical": [
        {
            "visible": true,
            "color": "#9467bd",
            "label": "Bug fix deployed",
            "value": "2018-08-28T15:25:26Z",
            "fill": "after"
        }
    ]
}	


// A band vertical annotation. Each annotation line has a label, but other parameters for the band are specified only with the first value

"annotations": {
    "vertical": [
        [
            {
                "label": "Band start",
                "value": "2018-08-27T15:25:26Z",
                "color": "#9467bd",
                "visible": true
            },
            {
                "value": "2018-08-28T15:25:26Z",
                "label": "Band end"
            }
        ]
    ]
}

Dashboard Widget Object: yAxis Properties Format

Defines the settings for the Y-axis of the graph. The settings include the maximum and minimum, a label for the axis, and whether the axis shows the units. Set this within the widget object to affect all metrics in the widget. To override the widget settings for a particular metric, set it for the metric in the metrics array.

{
  left: {
    min: 0,
    max: 100
  },
  right: {
    min: 0
  }
}
left

Optional settings for the left Y-axis.

Type: YAxis object

Required: No

right

Optional settings for the right Y-axis.

Type: YAxis object

Required: No

Each of the left and right objects can include the following parameters:

label

A label for this Y-axis

Type: String

Required: No

min

The minimum value for this Y-axis

Type: Float

Required: No

max

The maximum value for this Y-axis

Type: Float

Required: No

showUnits

Determines whether the units are shown for the metric associated with this axis. The default is true.

Type: Boolean

Required: No

Dashboard Widget Object: Table Properties

If you specify table for a metric widget, you can include visualisations related to the visibility of summary columns, datapoint columns, and the table layout. These properties take affect only when the widget view type is table and don't alter other view types if included. The table property is not required to use a table widget.

layout

Use this field to transform the table such that the data points extend vertically or horizontally. The default is horizontal.

Valid Values: vertical | horizontal

Type: String

Required: No

stickySummary

Set this to true to make the summary columns that you include in the table sticky, so you can explore the data columns while always having the summary columns in your viewport. The default is false.

The widget label is always sticky, no matter your choice in this field.

Valid Values: true | false

Type: Boolean

Required: No

showTimeSeriesData

Set this to false if you want only the label and summary columns to be displayed, hiding the other columns of data.

The default is true.

Valid Values: true | false

Type: Boolean

Required: No

summaryColumns

Summary columns are a new property introduced with the table widget. These columns are a specific subset of summaries of your current table. For example, the Sum summary is a sum of all the rendered datapoints in its respective row. Summary columns are not that same concept as any CloudWatch metric statistic.

The default is [“MIN“, "MAX","SUM", "AVG"]

Valid Values: "MIN" | "MAX"| "SUM"| "AVG"

Type: Array

Required: No

For example, the following JSON creates a table displaying the minimum and maximum of each metric in the table.

"table": {
    "summaryColumns": ["MIN", "MAX"],
    "layout": "vertical",
    "stickySummary": true,
    "showTimeSeriesData": false,
    },

Properties of a Metrics Explorer Widget Object

A widget of type explorer represents a metrics explorer widget. For more information, see Use Metrics Explorer to Monitor Resources by Their Tags and Properties

You can also add metrics explorer widgets to a dashboard using AWS CloudFormation. For more information, see AWS::CloudWatch::Dashboard.

This widget type can have the following fields within the widget properties:

aggregateBy

An object that specifies how to aggregate metrics from multiple resources. The valid values for the key field in this object are the keys of tags and resource properties. This object contains the following fields.

  • key– The tag or resource property key to use for aggregating the metrics.

  • func– The aggregation function to use. Valid values are AVG | MIN | MAX | STDDEV | SUM

Type: Object

Required: No

labels

An array of the tags or the resource properties that are used to determine which metrics are displayed in the widget.

If you specify different keys, then only the resources that match all of the key/value pairs are displayed. If you specify multiple values for a single key, then resources that match any of the values for that key are displayed.

  • key– The tag or resource property to filter on.

    For key, all tag keys are valid to be specified. The following EC2 and Lambda resource properties are also valid for key:

    • EC2:

      Architecture, Hypervisor, CoreCount, ImageId, InstanceId, InstanceLifecycle, InstanceType, InstanceFamily, InstanceSize, Affinity, AvailabilityZone, Tenancy, Platform, RootDeviceType SecurityGroups, State, SubnetId, VirtualizationType, and VpcId

    • Lambda:

      FunctionName, Runtime, Language, MemorySize, Version, SecurityGroupIds, SubnetIds, SubnetIdCount, VpcId, and Timeout

  • value– (Optional) The value of the tag or resource property to filter on. If this is omitted, metrics corresponding to all values of that tag or resource property are displayed.

Type: Object

Required: Yes

metrics

Specify a metrics array to include one or more metrics. One metrics array can include 1–100 metrics. Each object in the array must contain the following fields.

  • metricName– The name of the metric.

  • resourceType– The type of resource publishing the metric, described in the format used by AWS CloudFormation. For example, AWS::EC2::Instance or AWS::Lambda::Function.

    You must use the same value for resourceType for all metrics in the widget.

    For a complete list of valid values, see Valid resourceType Values for a Metric Explorer Widget Object.

  • stat– The statistic for this metric.

    Valid Values: SampleCount | Average | Sum | Minimum | Maximum | p??

Type: Array of objects

Required: Yes

period

The default period, in seconds, for all metrics in this widget. The period is the length of time represented by one data point on the graph. The default is 300.

Valid Values: Any multiple of 60, with 60 as the minimum.

Type: Integer

Required: No

splitBy

Specifies how to split the metrics from multiple resources into different lines on a graph, or into different graphs. The valid values are the keys of tags, and the keys of resource properties.

Type: String

Required: No

title

The title to be displayed for the widget. The default is Explorer.

Type: String

Required: No

widgetOptions

An object that specifies how the widget appears on the dashboard. It can contain the following fields.

  • legend–

    Determines where the legend for each graph is displayed. The legend field contains another field called position. Possible values for position are right, bottom, and hidden.

    For example, the following causes the legend to appear on the right in the graph.

    "legend": {
     "position": "right"
}

  • rowsPerPage–

    Specifies how many rows of graphs are displayed per page in the widget.

  • stacked–

    Specify true to display the graph as a stacked area chart, or false to display as separate lines.

  • view–

    Specifies how each graph is displayed. Specify timeSeries to display this metric as a line graph. Specify bar to display it as a bar graph. Specify pie to display it as a pie graph. The default is timeSeries.

  • widgetsPerRow–

    Specifies how many graphs are displayed in each row of the metrics explorer widget.

Type: Object

Required: No

Example

The following example displays three metrics for each of the account's running EC2 instances, with the graphs in the widget split by availability zone. Within each graph, the metrics are aggregated by instance type.

{
    "widgets": [
        {
            "type": "explorer",
            "width": 24,
            "height": 15,
            "x": 0,
            "y": 0,
            "properties": {
                "metrics": [
                    {
                        "metricName": "CPUUtilization",
                        "resourceType": "AWS::EC2::Instance",
                        "stat": "Average"
                    },
                    {
                        "metricName": "NetworkIn",
                        "resourceType": "AWS::EC2::Instance",
                        "stat": "Average"
                    },
                    {
                        "metricName": "NetworkOut",
                        "resourceType": "AWS::EC2::Instance",
                        "stat": "Average"
                    }
                ],
                "aggregateBy": {
                    "key": "InstanceType",
                    "func": "MAX"
                },
                "labels": [
                    {
                        "key": "State",
                        "value": "running"
                    }
                ],
                "widgetOptions": {
                    "legend": {
                        "position": "bottom"
                    },
                    "view": "timeSeries",
                    "rowsPerPage": 8,
                    "widgetsPerRow": 2
                },
                "period": 300,
                "splitBy": "AvailabilityZone",
                "title": "Running EC2 Instances by AZ"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Valid resourceType Values for a Metric Explorer Widget Object

The valid values for the resourceType field in the metrics section of a metrics explorer widget are as follows:

  • AWS::AmazonMQ::Broker

  • AWS::ApiGateway::RestApi

  • AWS::AppStream::Fleet

  • AWS::AppSync::GraphQLApi

  • AWS::CloudFront::Distribution

  • AWS::CodeBuild::Project

  • AWS::Datasync::Agent

  • AWS::Datasync::Task

  • AWS::DMS::ReplicationInstance

  • AWS::DynamoDB::Table

  • AWS::EC2::CapacityReservation

  • AWS::EC2::Instance

  • AWS::EC2::NatGateway

  • AWS::EC2::TransitGateway

  • AWS::EC2::Volume

  • AWS::EC2::VPNConnection

  • AWS::ECS::Cluster

  • AWS::EFS::FileSystem

  • AWS::ElastiCache::CacheCluster

  • AWS::ElastiCache::ReplicationGroup

  • AWS::ElasticBeanstalk::Environment

  • AWS::ElasticLoadBalancing::LoadBalancer

  • AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer/ApplicationELB

  • AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer/GatewayELB

  • AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::LoadBalancer/NetworkELB

  • AWS::ElasticLoadBalancingV2::TargetGroup

  • AWS::EMR::Cluster

  • AWS::Events::Rule

  • AWS::FSx::FileSystem

  • AWS::GameLift::Fleet

  • AWS::GlobalAccelerator::Accelerator

  • AWS::IoT::TopicRule

  • AWS::IoT1Click::Device

  • AWS::IoTAnalytics::Channel

  • AWS::IoTAnalytics::Dataset

  • AWS::IoTAnalytics::Datastore

  • AWS::IoTAnalytics::Pipeline

  • AWS::Kafka::Cluster

  • AWS::Kinesis::Stream

  • AWS::KinesisAnalytics::Application

  • AWS::KinesisFirehose::DeliveryStream

  • AWS::KinesisVideo::Stream

  • AWS::KMS::Key

  • AWS::Lambda::Function

  • AWS::Logs::LogGroup

  • AWS::MediaPackage::Channel

  • AWS::MediaStore::Container

  • AWS::OpsWorks::Instance

  • AWS::OpsWorks::Layer

  • AWS::OpsWorks::Stack

  • AWS::QLDB::Ledger

  • AWS::RDS::DBInstance

  • AWS::Redshift::Cluster

  • AWS::RoboMaker::SimulationJob

  • AWS::Route53::HealthCheck

  • AWS::Route53Resolver::ResolverEndpoint

  • AWS::S3::Bucket

  • AWS::SageMaker::Endpoint

  • AWS::ServiceCatalog::CloudFormationProduct

  • AWS::SES::ConfigurationSet

  • AWS::SNS::Topic

  • AWS::SQS::Queue

  • AWS::StepFunctions::Activity

  • AWS::StepFunctions::StateMachine

  • AWS::StorageGateway::Gateway

  • AWS::Synthetics::Canary

  • AWS::Transfer::Server

  • AWS::WorkMail::Organization

  • AWS::WorkSpaces::Workspace

Properties of an Alarm Status Widget Object

A widget of type alarm can have the following fields within properties.

alarms

An array of alarm ARNs to include in the widget. The array can have 1-100 ARNs.

Type: Array of strings

Required: Yes (when the widget type is alarm).

sortBy

Specifies how to sort the alarms in the widget.

Choose default to sort them in alphabetical order by alarm name.

Choose stateUpdatedTimestamp to sort them first by alarm state, with alarms in ALARM state first, INSUFFICIENT_DATA alarms next, and OK alarms last. Within each group, the alarms are sorted by when they last changed state, with more recent state changes listed first.

Choose timestamp to sort them by the time when the alarms most recently changed state, no matter the current alarm state. The alarm that changed state most recently is listed first.

If you omit this field, the alarms are sorted in alphabetical order.

Type: String

Valid Values: default | stateUpdatedTimestamp | timestamp

Required: No

states

Use this field to filter the list of alarms displayed in the widget to only those alarms currently in the specified states. You can specify one or more alarm states in the value for this field. The alarm states that you can specify are ALARM, INSUFFICIENT_DATA, and OK.

If you omit this field or specify an empty array, all the alarms specifed in alarms are displayed.

Type: Array of strings

Required: No

title

The title text to be displayed by the widget.

Type: String

Required: No

The following example is an alarm status widget that displays four alarms specified by name, no matter their current state:

{
    "type": "alarm",
    "x": 0,
    "y": 0,
    "width": 12,
    "height": 6,
    "properties": {
        "alarms": [
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-east-1:012345678901:alarm:EC2FrontendCPU",
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-east-1:012345678901:alarm:EC2BackendCPU",
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:eu-west-1:987654321098:alarm:EC2FrontendCPU",
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:eu-west-1:987654321098:alarm:EC2BackendCPU"
        ],
        "sortBy": "stateUpdatedTimestamp",
        "title": "All EC2 CPU alarms"
    }
}

The following example widget specifies the same four alarms, but the widget displays only the alarms that are currently in ALARM or INSUFFICIENT_DATA state:

{
    "type": "alarm",
    "x": 0,
    "y": 0,
    "width": 12,
    "height": 6,
    "properties": {
        "alarms": [
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-east-1:012345678901:alarm:EC2FrontendCPU",
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-east-1:012345678901:alarm:EC2BackendCPU",
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:eu-west-1:987654321098:alarm:EC2FrontendCPU",
            "arn:aws:cloudwatch:eu-west-1:987654321098:alarm:EC2BackendCPU"
        ],
        "sortBy": "stateUpdatedTimestamp",
        "states": [
            "ALARM",
            "INSUFFICIENT_DATA"
        ],
        "title": "EC2 alarms that are not currently OK"
    }
}