# Metrics reference

## Retention

The default metrics retention is 30 days.
If you need data stored longer than this, we recommend using [BigQuery](/persistence/bigquery.md).
Then you have full control of the database and retention.

## Querying metrics

Query metrics using the [Explore view in Grafana](https://grafana.nav.cloud.nais.io/explore). Pick the Prometheus data source that matches your environment (e.g. `dev`, `prod`).