# Pie Chart

The **Pie Chart** panel displays how a metric’s values are distributed across categories. Use it to visualize proportions, compare categories, and highlight dominant contributors.

## Add a Pie Chart panel

1. Open the dashboard where you want the panel.
2. Click **Add Panel**.
3. In **Choose Visualization**, select **Pie Chart**.

4. Build your query in **Graph your data** to return a metric and grouping field.
5. Enter a descriptive **Title**.
6. Click **Save** to add the panel.

## Pie Chart–specific settings

Once your query returns grouped data:

- **Group by** — Choose a field to define the pie slices (for example: `host`, `service`, `region`).
- **Aggregation** — Select a method to calculate slice values (for example: `sum`, `avg`, `max`, `min`).
- **Slice labels** — Display category names, percentages, values, or a combination.
- **Color palette** — Assign consistent colors to categories for easier recognition.
- **Legend placement** — Show legends inside or outside the chart.
- **Donut mode** — Optionally display as a donut chart by enabling the center hole.

## Best practices

- Group by dimensions that meaningfully segment your data.
- Limit the number of slices to avoid clutter (merge small slices into “Other” if available).
- Use a consistent color palette across related dashboards for familiarity.