lib/storage: convert alternate regexps into Graphite wildcards inside __graphite__ pseudo-label

For example, `{__graphite__=~"foo.(bar|baz)"}` is automatically converted to `{__graphite__=~"foo.{bar,baz}"}` before execution.
This allows using multi-value Grafana template variables such as `{__graphite__=~"foo.($app)"}`.

docs/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ sort: 15
 * FEATURE: vminsert: add `-maxLabelValueLen` command-line flag for the ability to configure the maximum length of label value. See [this feature request](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/1908).
 * FEATURE: preserve the order of time series passed to [limit_offset](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#limit_offset) function. This allows implementing series paging via `limit_offset(limit, offset, sort_by_label(...))`. See [this](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/1920) and [this](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/951) issues.
 * FEATURE: [vmui](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#vmui): add ability to override the interval between returned datapoints. By default it is automatically calculated depending on the selected time range and horizontal resolution of the graph. Now it is possible to override it with custom values. This may be useful during data exploration and debugging.
+* FEATURE: automaticall convert `(value1|...|valueN)` into `{value1,...,valueN}` inside `__graphite__` pseudo-label. This allows using [Grafana multi-value template variables](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/variables/formatting-multi-value-variables/) inside `__graphite__` pseudo-label. For example, `{__graphite__=~"foo.($bar)"}` is expanded to `{__graphite__=~"foo.{x,y}"}` if both `x` and `y` are selected for `$bar` template variable. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#selecting-graphite-metrics) for details.
 
 * BUGFIX: fix `unaligned 64-bit atomic operation` panic on 32-bit architectures, which has been introduced in v1.70.0. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/1944).
 * BUGFIX: [vmalert](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/vmalert.html): restore the ability to use `$labels.alertname` in labels templating. See [this issue](https://github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/issues/1921).

docs/MetricsQL.md

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ MetricsQL implements [PromQL](https://medium.com/@valyala/promql-tutorial-for-be
 
 This functionality can be evaluated at [an editable Grafana dashboard](https://play-grafana.victoriametrics.com/d/4ome8yJmz/node-exporter-on-victoriametrics-demo) or at your own [VictoriaMetrics instance](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#how-to-start-victoriametrics).
 
-- Graphite-compatible filters can be passed via `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` syntax. This is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but usually works faster and is easier to use when migrating from Graphite. VictoriaMetrics also can be used as Graphite datasource in Grafana. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#graphite-api-usage) for details. See also [label_graphite_group](#label_graphite_group) function, which can be used for extracting the given groups from Graphite metric name.
+- Graphite-compatible filters can be passed via `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` syntax. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#selecting-graphite-metrics). VictoriaMetrics also can be used as Graphite datasource in Grafana. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/#graphite-api-usage) for details. See also [label_graphite_group](#label_graphite_group) function, which can be used for extracting the given groups from Graphite metric name.
 - Lookbehind window in square brackets may be omitted. VictoriaMetrics automatically selects the lookbehind window depending on the current step used for building the graph (e.g. `step` query arg passed to [/api/v1/query_range](https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/querying/api/#range-queries)). For instance, the following query is valid in VictoriaMetrics: `rate(node_network_receive_bytes_total)`. It is equivalent to `rate(node_network_receive_bytes_total[$__interval])` when used in Grafana.
 - [Aggregate functions](#aggregate-functions) accept arbitrary number of args. For example, `avg(q1, q2, q3)` would return the average values for every point across time series returned by `q1`, `q2` and `q3`.
 - [offset](https://prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/querying/basics/#offset-modifier), lookbehind window in square brackets and `step` value for [subquery](#subqueries) may refer to the current step aka `$__interval` value from Grafana with `[Ni]` syntax. For instance, `rate(metric[10i] offset 5i)` would return per-second rate over a range covering 10 previous steps with the offset of 5 steps.

docs/README.md

@@ -416,9 +416,15 @@ The `/api/v1/export` endpoint should return the following response:
 Data sent to VictoriaMetrics via `Graphite plaintext protocol` may be read via the following APIs:
 
 * [Graphite API](#graphite-api-usage)
-* [Prometheus querying API](#prometheus-querying-api-usage). VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for selecting time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html). For example, `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite to VictoriaMetrics. See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). VictoriaMetrics also supports [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function for extracting the given groups from Graphite metric name.
+* [Prometheus querying API](#prometheus-querying-api-usage). See also [selecting Graphite metrics](#selecting-graphite-metrics).
 * [go-graphite/carbonapi](https://github.com/go-graphite/carbonapi/blob/main/cmd/carbonapi/carbonapi.example.victoriametrics.yaml)
 
+## Selecting Graphite metrics
+
+VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for selecting time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html). For example, `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite to VictoriaMetrics. See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). VictoriaMetrics also supports [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function for extracting the given groups from Graphite metric name.
+
+The `__graphite__` pseudo-label supports e.g. alternate regexp filters such as `(value1|...|valueN)`. They are transparently converted to `{value1,...,valueN}` syntax [used in Graphite](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). This allows using [multi-value template variables in Grafana](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/variables/formatting-multi-value-variables/) inside `__graphite__` pseudo-label. For example, Grafana expands `{__graphite__=~"foo.$bar.baz"}` into `{__graphite__=~"foo.(x|y).baz"}` if `$bar` template variable contains `x` and `y` values. In this case the query is automatically converted into `{__graphite__=~"foo.{x,y}.baz"}` before execution.
+
 ## How to send data from OpenTSDB-compatible agents
 
 VictoriaMetrics supports [telnet put protocol](http://opentsdb.net/docs/build/html/api_telnet/put.html)
@@ -559,8 +565,7 @@ VictoriaMetrics accepts optional query args: `extra_label=<label_name>=<label_va
 
 [Contact us](mailto:sales@victoriametrics.com) if you need assistance with such a proxy.
 
-VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for filtering time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html).
+VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for filtering time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html). See [these docs](#selecting-graphite-metrics).
-For example, `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite to VictoriaMetrics. See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). See also [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function.
 
 
 ### Graphite Render API usage
@@ -1377,10 +1382,7 @@ See also more advanced [cardinality limiter in vmagent](https://docs.victoriamet
   This prevents from ingesting metrics with too many labels. It is recommended [monitoring](#monitoring) `vm_metrics_with_dropped_labels_total`
   metric in order to determine whether `-maxLabelsPerTimeseries` must be adjusted for your workload.
 
-* If you store Graphite metrics like `foo.bar.baz` in VictoriaMetrics, then use `{__graphite__="foo.*.baz"}` syntax for selecting such metrics.
+* If you store Graphite metrics like `foo.bar.baz` in VictoriaMetrics, then `{__graphite__="foo.*.baz"}` filter can be used for selecting such metrics. See [these docs](#selecting-graphite-metrics) for details.
-  This expression is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]baz"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite.
-  See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards).
-  See also [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function, which allows extracting the given groups from Graphite metric names.
 
 * VictoriaMetrics ignores `NaN` values during data ingestion.
 

docs/Single-server-VictoriaMetrics.md

@@ -420,9 +420,15 @@ The `/api/v1/export` endpoint should return the following response:
 Data sent to VictoriaMetrics via `Graphite plaintext protocol` may be read via the following APIs:
 
 * [Graphite API](#graphite-api-usage)
-* [Prometheus querying API](#prometheus-querying-api-usage). VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for selecting time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html). For example, `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite to VictoriaMetrics. See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). VictoriaMetrics also supports [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function for extracting the given groups from Graphite metric name.
+* [Prometheus querying API](#prometheus-querying-api-usage). See also [selecting Graphite metrics](#selecting-graphite-metrics).
 * [go-graphite/carbonapi](https://github.com/go-graphite/carbonapi/blob/main/cmd/carbonapi/carbonapi.example.victoriametrics.yaml)
 
+## Selecting Graphite metrics
+
+VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for selecting time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html). For example, `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite to VictoriaMetrics. See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). VictoriaMetrics also supports [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function for extracting the given groups from Graphite metric name.
+
+The `__graphite__` pseudo-label supports e.g. alternate regexp filters such as `(value1|...|valueN)`. They are transparently converted to `{value1,...,valueN}` syntax [used in Graphite](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). This allows using [multi-value template variables in Grafana](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/variables/formatting-multi-value-variables/) inside `__graphite__` pseudo-label. For example, Grafana expands `{__graphite__=~"foo.$bar.baz"}` into `{__graphite__=~"foo.(x|y).baz"}` if `$bar` template variable contains `x` and `y` values. In this case the query is automatically converted into `{__graphite__=~"foo.{x,y}.baz"}` before execution.
+
 ## How to send data from OpenTSDB-compatible agents
 
 VictoriaMetrics supports [telnet put protocol](http://opentsdb.net/docs/build/html/api_telnet/put.html)
@@ -563,8 +569,7 @@ VictoriaMetrics accepts optional query args: `extra_label=<label_name>=<label_va
 
 [Contact us](mailto:sales@victoriametrics.com) if you need assistance with such a proxy.
 
-VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for filtering time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html).
+VictoriaMetrics supports `__graphite__` pseudo-label for filtering time series with Graphite-compatible filters in [MetricsQL](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html). See [these docs](#selecting-graphite-metrics).
-For example, `{__graphite__="foo.*.bar"}` is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]bar"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite to VictoriaMetrics. See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards). See also [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function.
 
 
 ### Graphite Render API usage
@@ -1381,10 +1386,7 @@ See also more advanced [cardinality limiter in vmagent](https://docs.victoriamet
   This prevents from ingesting metrics with too many labels. It is recommended [monitoring](#monitoring) `vm_metrics_with_dropped_labels_total`
   metric in order to determine whether `-maxLabelsPerTimeseries` must be adjusted for your workload.
 
-* If you store Graphite metrics like `foo.bar.baz` in VictoriaMetrics, then use `{__graphite__="foo.*.baz"}` syntax for selecting such metrics.
+* If you store Graphite metrics like `foo.bar.baz` in VictoriaMetrics, then `{__graphite__="foo.*.baz"}` filter can be used for selecting such metrics. See [these docs](#selecting-graphite-metrics) for details.
-  This expression is equivalent to `{__name__=~"foo[.][^.]*[.]baz"}`, but it works faster and it is easier to use when migrating from Graphite.
-  See [docs for Graphite paths and wildcards](https://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/render_api.html#paths-and-wildcards).
-  See also [label_graphite_group](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/MetricsQL.html#label_graphite_group) function, which allows extracting the given groups from Graphite metric names.
 
 * VictoriaMetrics ignores `NaN` values during data ingestion.
 

lib/storage/storage.go

@@ -1304,9 +1304,52 @@ func (s *Storage) SearchTagValueSuffixes(accountID, projectID uint32, tr TimeRan
 
 // SearchGraphitePaths returns all the matching paths for the given graphite query on the given tr.
 func (s *Storage) SearchGraphitePaths(accountID, projectID uint32, tr TimeRange, query []byte, maxPaths int, deadline uint64) ([]string, error) {
+	query = replaceAlternateRegexpsWithGraphiteWildcards(query)
 	return s.searchGraphitePaths(accountID, projectID, tr, nil, query, maxPaths, deadline)
 }
 
+// replaceAlternateRegexpsWithGraphiteWildcards replaces (foo|..|bar) with {foo,...,bar} in b and returns the new value.
+func replaceAlternateRegexpsWithGraphiteWildcards(b []byte) []byte {
+	var dst []byte
+	for {
+		n := bytes.IndexByte(b, '(')
+		if n < 0 {
+			if len(dst) == 0 {
+				// Fast path - b doesn't contain the openining brace.
+				return b
+			}
+			dst = append(dst, b...)
+			return dst
+		}
+		dst = append(dst, b[:n]...)
+		b = b[n+1:]
+		n = bytes.IndexByte(b, ')')
+		if n < 0 {
+			dst = append(dst, '(')
+			dst = append(dst, b...)
+			return dst
+		}
+		x := b[:n]
+		b = b[n+1:]
+		if string(x) == ".*" {
+			dst = append(dst, '*')
+			continue
+		}
+		dst = append(dst, '{')
+		for len(x) > 0 {
+			n = bytes.IndexByte(x, '|')
+			if n < 0 {
+				dst = append(dst, x...)
+				break
+			}
+			dst = append(dst, x[:n]...)
+			x = x[n+1:]
+			dst = append(dst, ',')
+		}
+		dst = append(dst, '}')
+	}
+}
+
 func (s *Storage) searchGraphitePaths(accountID, projectID uint32, tr TimeRange, qHead, qTail []byte, maxPaths int, deadline uint64) ([]string, error) {
 	n := bytes.IndexAny(qTail, "*[{")
 	if n < 0 {

lib/storage/storage_test.go

@@ -14,6 +14,24 @@ import (
 	"github.com/VictoriaMetrics/VictoriaMetrics/lib/uint64set"
 )
 
+func TestReplaceAlternateRegexpsWithGraphiteWildcards(t *testing.T) {
+	f := func(q, resultExpected string) {
+		t.Helper()
+		result := replaceAlternateRegexpsWithGraphiteWildcards([]byte(q))
+		if string(result) != resultExpected {
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected result for %s\ngot\n%s\nwant\n%s", q, result, resultExpected)
+		}
+	}
+	f("", "")
+	f("foo", "foo")
+	f("foo(bar", "foo(bar")
+	f("foo.(bar|baz", "foo.(bar|baz")
+	f("foo.(bar).x", "foo.{bar}.x")
+	f("foo.(bar|baz).*.{x,y}", "foo.{bar,baz}.*.{x,y}")
+	f("foo.(bar|baz).*.{x,y}(z|aa)", "foo.{bar,baz}.*.{x,y}{z,aa}")
+	f("foo(.*)", "foo*")
+}
+
 func TestGetRegexpForGraphiteNodeQuery(t *testing.T) {
 	f := func(q, expectedRegexp string) {
 		t.Helper()