VMUI 


https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/#vmui
https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/#top-queries
https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/#active-queries
https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victoriametrics/#cardinality-explorer

1. Important Points#

VMUI 是 VictoriaMetrics 自带的 query troubleshooting / exploration UI。

use for:
    ad-hoc MetricsQL query
    verify data ingestion
    inspect raw samples
    find slow / active queries
    explore metrics by job / instance
    inspect high cardinality metrics and labels

do not use as:
    full dashboard platform replacement
    public internet endpoint
    multi-team access control layer

Security default:

production:
    expose VMUI only through private network, VPN, vmauth, or authenticated reverse proxy
    do not expose :8428 / :8481 directly to public internet
    protect query endpoints and admin endpoints at the same boundary

2. Access#

Single-node:

http://victoriametrics:8428/vmui/

Local Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name victoria-metrics \
  -p 8428:8428 \
  -v victoria-metrics-data:/victoria-metrics-data \
  victoriametrics/victoria-metrics:latest \
  -retentionPeriod=30d

open http://localhost:8428/vmui/

Cluster:

http://<vmselect>:8481/select/<accountID>/vmui/

example:
    http://vmselect:8481/select/0/vmui/

Verify endpoint:

curl -I http://localhost:8428/vmui/
curl 'http://localhost:8428/api/v1/query?query=up'

3. Query#

Query tab:
    run MetricsQL / PromQL-compatible queries
    view graph / table / histogram-style result
    use autocomplete for functions, metric names, label names and label values
    use Shift-Enter for multi-line query

Raw Query tab:
    inspect raw samples
    useful for checking scrape interval, duplicate samples, and unexpected query result

Useful first queries:

up
sum(rate(vm_http_requests_total[5m])) by (path)
sum(rate(http_requests_total[5m])) by (service, route, status)

4. Troubleshooting Tabs#

Tab Use For Backing API
Top queries 找最频繁、最慢、总耗时最高、内存使用高的 query /api/v1/status/top_queries
Active queries 看当前正在执行的 query、耗时和 client address /api/v1/status/active_queries
Metrics explorer 按 job / instance 浏览 metric 并自动生成图 query API
Cardinality explorer 找 series 数最多的 metric、label、label value /api/v1/status/tsdb

Top queries API example:

curl 'http://localhost:8428/api/v1/status/top_queries?topN=10&maxLifetime=30m'

Active queries API example:

curl 'http://localhost:8428/api/v1/status/active_queries'

Cardinality check:

curl 'http://localhost:8428/api/v1/status/tsdb'

5. Common Cases#

no data in graph:
    verify time range
    run `up`
    check remote_write / vmagent ingestion
    check label filters are not too narrow

query slow:
    open Top queries
    reduce time range
    reduce high-cardinality group by
    consider recording rule through vmalert

too many series:
    open Cardinality explorer
    find top metric names and labels
    remove user_id / request_id / full_url style labels at ingestion

unexpected samples:
    use Raw Query
    check scrape interval and duplicate samples

6. Configuration#

useful flags:
    -vmui.defaultTimezone
        default timezone used in VMUI

    -vmui.customDashboardsPath
        path to custom VMUI dashboards

Example:

victoria-metrics \
  -retentionPeriod=30d \
  -vmui.defaultTimezone=Asia/Hong_Kong

7. Production Checklist#

access:
    VMUI is behind private network / VPN / vmauth / authenticated proxy
    direct public access to :8428 or :8481 is blocked

query safety:
    slow queries checked through Top queries
    active queries checked during incidents
    common heavy queries converted to recording rules

cardinality:
    Cardinality explorer reviewed before adding new high-volume labels
    high-cardinality labels blocked at scrape / relabeling layer

operation:
    Grafana remains primary dashboard
    VMUI is used for exploration and troubleshooting
Backward vmalert
vmauth Forward