To use the TraceQL query editor in self-hosted Grafana 9.3.2 and older, you need to [enable the `traceqlEditor` feature toggle](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/feature-toggles/).
If you're trying to query a self-managed Grafana Tempo or Grafana Enterprise Traces database with a gateway, such as nginx, in front of it from your hosted Grafana, that gateway (for example, nginx) must allow gRPC connections.
If it doesn't, streaming won't work and queries will fail to return results.
If you can't configure your gateway to allow gRPC, deactivate streaming in your hosted Grafana.
In Grafana 11.2 and newer, you can deactivate the **Streaming** option in your Tempo data source settings from **Connections** > **Data sources** in the Grafana main menu.
You can also open a support escalation to request streaming query results be disabled in your hosted Grafana.
1. Start your query on the text line by entering `{`. For help with TraceQL syntax, refer to the [Construct a TraceQL query documentation](https://grafana.com/docs/tempo/latest/traceql/#construct-a-traceql-query).
Optional: Select **Copy query from Search** to transfer a builder query to the editor.
1. Optional: Use the **Time picker** drop-down list to change the time and range for the query (refer to the [documentation for instructions](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/dashboards/use-dashboards/#set-dashboard-time-range)).
1. Once you've finished your query, select **Run query**.
It uses regular expressions (regex) to detect where it's inside a spanset and provide attribute names, scopes, intrinsic names, logic operators, or attribute values from the Tempo API, depending on what's expected for the current situation.
This anchoring makes the queries faster and matches the behavior of PromQL, where regular expressions are also fully anchored.
An unanchored query, such as:
`{ span.foo =~ "bar" }`
is now treated as:
`{ span.foo =~ "^bar$" }`.
If you use TraceQL with regular expressions in your Grafana dashboards and you want the unanchored behavior, update the queries to use the unanchored version, such as `{ span.foo =~ ".*bar.*"}`.
1. Enter your query. As you type your query, autocomplete suggestions appear as a drop-down. Each letter you enter refines the autocomplete options to match.
1. Use your mouse or arrow keys to select any option you wish. When the desired option is highlighted, press Tab on your keyboard to add the selection to your query.
Query results appear in a table, such as **Table - Traces**, under the query editor.
Each span (and the trace it belongs to) matching the query conditions is returned by the query.
If there are no filter conditions, all spans are matching and thus returned with their associated traces.
A query is performed against a defined time interval, relative (for example, the last 3 hours) or absolute (for example, from X date-time to Y date-time).
The query response is also limited by the number of traces (**Limit**) and spans per spanset (**Span Limit**).
1. TraceQL query editor
1. Query options: **Limit**, **Span Limit** and **Table Format** (Traces or Spans).
1. Trace (by Trace ID). The **Name** and **Service** columns are displaying the trace root span name and associated service.
1. Spans associated with the Trace.
Selecting the trace ID from the returned results opens a trace diagram.
Selecting a span from the returned results opens a trace diagram and reveals the relevant span in the trace diagram.
For more information on span details, refer to [Traces in Explore](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/explore/trace-integration/#span-details).
The Tempo data source supports streaming responses to TraceQL queries so you can see partial query results as they come in without waiting for the whole query to finish.
Streaming is available for both the **Search** and **TraceQL** query types, and you'll get immediate visibility of incoming traces on the results table.
To learn how to activate streaming, refer to [Streaming](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/<GRAFANA_VERSION>/datasources/tempo/configure-tempo-data-source/#streaming) in the Tempo data source documentation.
