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Use the $variable or [[variable]] syntax to create templates.
1

Open variables settings

Navigate to your dashboard’s settings, and select Variables from the left-hand side.
2

Configure the data source

Set Type to Query, and select your Cognite Data Source as the Data source.
3

Enter the query

In the Query field, enter the query to fetch and filter assets from CDF.For example, this query requests assets with the parameter parentIds=[123] and filters the results by name that matches the test-.* regular expression:
assets{parentIds=[123], name=~"test-.*"}
For a list of valid parameters, see the API documentation.Also, see this article to learn how to filter the results.You can format variables to fit into the query, for instance, if you have a multi-value variable like ts{assetIds=[${variable:csv}]}.If you select several assets from the dropdown, the variable is serialized to comma-separated values. Learn more about the variable format options in the Grafana documentation.
4

Save the variable

Select Update.

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Nested (chained) variables

With nested variables, you can create a template to visualize time series related to a branch of the asset subtree and let users navigate the subtree.
1

Create nested variables

Create the necessary nested variables.
Link variables
2

Use the variable as a filter

Use the variable as the asset filter on the dashboard.
Use the variable on the dashboard
Users can choose assets on each level of the hierarchy.
Select assets from the dropdown
Last modified on January 27, 2026