Use notebooks to gather related information

Use notebooks to gather information from multiple pages in Chronosphere Observability Platform. When you’re troubleshooting a problem, you might need graphs, charts, and other resources to review at the same time. Notebooks let you gather these resources in one place for ease of review. You can work with notebooks in the following ways:

• The notebooks list shows all your notebooks and opens each one in a full-screen view.
• The notebook side panel opens over any page so you can add resources without leaving your current context.

Both edit the same notebooks, so changes you make in one place appear in the other.

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View notebooks

To view all your notebooks, in the navigation menu, select Notebooks. This displays a table listing notebooks you own or have recently opened, with these controls:

• Create notebook opens a new notebook in a full-screen view. See Create a notebook.
• Search notebooks filters the list by name.
• The ownership filter narrows the list:
  • All lists every notebook available to you.
  • Mine lists only notebooks in your personal collection.
  • Shared with me lists notebooks owned elsewhere that you’ve opened, such as a notebook someone shared with a link.

Each row displays the notebook Name, its Owner, the Date modified, and when you Last viewed it. The list is sorted by Last viewed by default. Click a notebook’s Name to open it in a full-screen view. To manage a notebook from the list, click the three vertical dots icon in its row:

• Copy Link copies a shareable URL for the notebook.
• Delete removes the notebook.

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Open a notebook in a full-screen view

When you open a notebook from the notebooks list, it fills the page. A full-screen notebook includes the formatting toolbar, a time range selector, Notebook settings, and Version history. The full-screen page shows the notebook name as a read-only heading. To rename or delete the notebook, click Notebook settings. Use the Notebooks breadcrumb to return to the list. Opening a notebook in full screen closes the notebook side panel if it was open. Closing the full-screen notebook restores the side panel.

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Notebook side panel

The notebook side panel opens over any page in Observability Platform so you can gather resources without leaving your current context. Observability Platform displays the last notebook you accessed, and your open notebook stays visible as you move between pages.

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Open a notebook

Where the Notebook control appears depends on whether it’s in the page header or the right sidebar. Use the tab that matches what you see, or use the keyboard shortcut N.

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Switch notebooks

To switch notebooks or find a notebook you opened recently:

1. Click Select a notebook in the notebook header.
2. Select the My Notebooks or Recent Notebooks tab:
   • My Notebooks lists notebooks in your personal collection. The open notebook is labeled (current) and appears at the top of the list.
   • Recent Notebooks lists notebooks you opened recently, in order.
3. If needed, filter the list by entering a name in Search.
4. Click a Name in the table to open the selected notebook. Each row also displays a Date for when the notebook was last updated.

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Notebook header

The top of the notebook side panel provides controls to view the notebook in a full-screen view, open its version history, copy its URL, and create a notebook. Observability Platform shows these controls as separate icon buttons or groups them in a menu, depending on the width of the notebook header row. The layout switches at 360 pixels. When the header row is narrower than 360 pixels, Observability Platform uses a narrow header. When the row is 360 pixels or wider, it uses a wide header. Resizing the notebook panel or using a long notebook name can change the header width and switch between layouts. Use the tab that matches what you see:

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Share a notebook

Notebooks are stored in a collection. Notebooks you create are stored in your personal collection, and other users can’t see them in My Notebooks or Mine unless you share a link. When someone opens a link you share, the notebook opens in their notebook panel and appears in their Recent Notebooks and under Shared with me in the notebooks list. To share a notebook, copy its URL using one of these controls:

• In the notebooks list, open the row’s three vertical dots menu and click Copy Link.
• In the side panel, click Copy URL in the notebook header. If Copy URL isn’t visible, click the three vertical dots icon, and then click Copy URL. See Notebook header for both header layouts.
• In Select a notebook, open the row menu and click Share.

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View version history

To view the history of changes for a notebook, click Version history. In the side panel, if Version history isn’t visible, click the three vertical dots icon in the notebook header, and then click Version history. See Notebook header for both header layouts. Click Version history to display a panel with two tabs:

• Code config: Displays a code representation of the selected entity as of the time of the selected revision.
• Code diff: Displays a Git-style diff of the most-recent change made to the entity, in Chronosphere API format. To compare the selected revision to another revision in the history, click the Compare With dropdown and select the timestamp of the revision that you want to compare.
  • Click Unified to see the diff stacked horizontally.
  • Click Split to see changes side by side.

You can see the user, service account, or actor which made and the method used for the last change at the top of the list of changes. To view a revision in the history, click any entry in the list of timestamped revisions. The timestamps default to your local time zone. You can view unchanged lines within the diff by clicking the Expand X lines links. For a natural language description of the differences between versions, click Explain what has changed. An information box appears with a summary of the changes. This summary can help users who are less familiar with code updates understand changes. Use the thumbs up or thumbs down icon to indicate whether the explanation was helpful or not.

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Restore a previous version

To restore a prior version of a notebook while reviewing its version history:

1. Select the version to revert to.
2. Click Restore to DATE, where DATE is the selected version.
3. Click Restore.

The notebook refreshes and displays the restored version.

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Reload an updated notebook

If Observability Platform detects a newer saved version of the notebook than the one displayed, an alert displays: A new version of this notebook is available. This can happen in these situations:

• Another user saves changes to a shared notebook you’re viewing.
• You edit the same notebook in another browser tab.

Click Reload to load the latest saved version.

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Create a notebook

If your personal collection has no notebooks when you open the notebook panel, Observability Platform creates one automatically. To create another notebook, use one of these controls:

• Click Create notebook in the notebooks list. The new notebook opens in a full-screen view.
• In the side panel, click Create notebook in the notebook header. If Create notebook isn’t visible, click the three vertical dots icon, and then click Create notebook. See Notebook header for both header layouts.
• In the side panel, click Select a notebook, and then click Create notebook.

A new notebook opens with a default name like Untitled notebook <date and time>. To rename it in the side panel, click the name. On the full-screen page, click Notebook settings, edit Notebook name, and then click Save.

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Add items to your notebook

Notebooks combine dashboard-style panels, entity link cards, and free-form text. This section describes how to add a panel, insert blocks with the command menu, format text, add a Mermaid diagram, link to an entity, and edit a notebook with the Assistant. To delete an item from your notebook, click the item and then press Delete.

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Add a panel

Add a dashboard panel to a notebook in one of the following ways.

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From another page

From any page that shows Add to notebook in its panel menu, such as dashboards and service pages:

1. Hold the pointer over the panel, and then click the three vertical dots icon.
2. Select Add to notebook.
3. Select a notebook, or click Add to new notebook.

The panel appears at the bottom of your notebook.

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Drag a panel from a dashboard

1. Open a notebook.
2. Open a dashboard.
3. Drag a panel by its header into the notebook. Drop panel to add to notebook appears when the pointer is over the notebook.

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Copy and paste a panel

1. Open a notebook.
2. On a dashboard, click a panel and press Control+C (Command+C on macOS).
3. Click in the notebook text area and press Control+V (Command+V on macOS).

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Create a panel in the notebook

1. Open a notebook.
2. In an empty notebook, click Add panel, or in any notebook open the command menu by typing / and select Panel.
3. Configure the panel in the Add panel dialog, and then click Apply. See Edit a panel.

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From Logs Explorer

1. Open a notebook, or leave it closed to pick a notebook when you add content.
2. Open Logs Explorer and enter a query. Add to notebook is disabled until the query field contains text.
3. To match a specific chart type, select a visualization for the query results.
4. Click Add to notebook in the page actions.
5. If no notebook is open, select one in the Add panel to notebook dialog, or click Add to new notebook.

Observability Platform adds two panels: a log volume histogram, and a panel matching the selected visualization (such as list, table, or time series). Both use the Logs Explorer time range.

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Use the command menu

To insert content blocks from the keyboard, type / anywhere in the notebook text area to open the command menu. Continue typing to filter the list by name, description, or keyword. Use the arrow keys to move through the results, press Enter to insert the selected block, and press Esc to close the menu. The command menu groups the available blocks:

• Notebook
  • Panel inserts a dashboard panel.
  • Diagram inserts a Mermaid diagram.
• Basic blocks
  • Text inserts a plain paragraph.
  • Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3 insert section headings.
  • Bulleted list and Numbered list insert lists.
  • Quote inserts a block quotation.
  • Code block inserts a block of code.
  • Table inserts a table.

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Format text

Click anywhere in the notebook that isn’t an added resource to add notes. Format notes using the toolbar under the notebook title bar:

• Bold, Italic, and Code for inline formatting.
• Link to add or edit a hyperlink. In the Add link dialog, enter Text and Link, and then click Apply.
• Numbered list and Bulleted list for lists.

When you select text, the same formatting controls display in a menu above the selection. To insert block-level content such as headings, lists, quotes, code blocks, and tables, use the command menu.

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Add a Mermaid diagram

Add a Mermaid diagram to illustrate a workflow or relationship inline in a notebook. Observability Platform renders the diagram from its source and matches your light or dark theme. To add a diagram:

1. Open a notebook.
2. Click in the notebook text area, open the command menu by typing /, and select Diagram. You can also filter the menu by typing mermaid, flowchart, or graph.
3. Observability Platform inserts a sample diagram. Click Edit source and replace the sample with your own Mermaid syntax.
4. Click Preview diagram to render it.

The diagram block provides these controls:

• Edit source and Preview diagram switch between the Mermaid source and the rendered diagram.
• Remove Mermaid diagram deletes the block.

If the source contains invalid syntax, the block displays a Failed to render Mermaid diagram message with the error and your source so you can correct it.

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Link to an entity

Embed a link card for a resource in one of the following ways. Click a link card to open the resource.

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Mention an entity

Type @ in the notebook text area to open the Notebook entities search. The menu lists your recent entities until you type. Continue typing to search by name, then select a result to insert a link card. You can mention collections, services, dashboards, monitors, teams, and SLOs.

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Paste an entity link

Paste a URL copied from a resource page in Observability Platform to embed a link card labeled with the resource type and name. Use this method for pages that don’t offer Add to notebook, such as collections or teams pages.

1. Click in the notebook text area.
2. Paste the URL with Control+V (Command+V on macOS).

Paste each URL on its own line to add multiple resource cards.

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Edit a notebook with the Assistant

The Assistant reads the notebook you have open and edits its text, panels, and tables when you ask. Use it to summarize what you’ve gathered, add a chart, or reorganize your notes while you troubleshoot. To edit a notebook with the Assistant:

1. Open a notebook.
2. Click Ask Assistant in the page header, or press A.
3. Describe the change you want. For example:

   Summarize the panels in this notebook and add the summary at the top.

   CopiedCopy prompt

The Assistant saves notebook edits automatically. Review each change after the Assistant reports it. To revert a change, use the notebook’s version history. The Assistant can also find notebooks in your personal collection when you ask it to. For more information, see Assistant capabilities.

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Delete a notebook

To delete a notebook:

• On the full-screen notebook page, click Notebook settings, and then click Delete notebook.
• In the notebooks list, click the three vertical dots icon in the notebook’s row, and then click Delete.
• In the side panel:
  1. Open a notebook.
  2. Click Select a notebook in the notebook header.
  3. Next to the notebook you want to delete, click the three vertical dots icon and then click Delete.

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Customize panels in a notebook

Change panel time ranges, open the panel editor to update queries and display options, or capture snapshots.

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Change the time range

Change the time range for the entire notebook to shift all panels together, or override the time range on individual panels. For example, if there’s an anomaly in a graph in your notebook, add a second copy of the panel and change its time range to the same time last week to compare patterns. To change the time range for the entire notebook:

1. In the notebook, click the time range selector under the format toolbar.
2. Select a time range. See Select time ranges for preset, custom, and calendar options.

Panels without a per-panel override use the notebook time range. Panels with an override keep their own time until you reset them. To override the notebook time range for one panel:

1. Hold the pointer over the panel.
2. Click the clock icon.
3. Select an available time range, or Custom time range to set your own.

The customized time range appears in the panel as a chip under the panel name. To reset the time range, click the x in the time range chip, or click the clock icon and select Use notebook time.

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Edit panel contents

To update a panel in a notebook:

1. Click the Edit icon.
2. Edit the panel.

Not all panel editing operations are available in notebooks. For example, you can’t change the panel type.

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Take a snapshot

Take a snapshot of a panel to capture specific data on a longer-term, static basis.

1. Add a panel to your notebook.
2. In the selected panel, click the three vertical dots icon.
3. Select Capture snapshot.

The panel updates to indicate its snapshot status by adding Snapshot under the panel title. The snapshot time range displays next to the snapshot indicator. Zooming in on a time range updates the time range chip, and adds an x to the chip. Click the x to return to the original snapshot.