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Auto Run

Auto Run automatically re-executes your search whenever you change a query input, so you see updated results without clicking Run query. It is available on the Logs and Traces search bars.

Overview

When you explore data, you often adjust the stream, time range, filters, or applied function and then click Run query to refresh the results. Auto Run removes that manual step: with it enabled, OpenObserve detects the change and runs the query for you (debounced to avoid firing on every keystroke).

Auto Run is intended for interactive exploration in the Logs and Traces views, where you iterate quickly on filters and time ranges. It is controlled by a per-deployment feature flag and a per-browser toggle, so administrators decide whether the feature is available and each user decides whether to keep it on.

When the feature flag is enabled, the Run query button shows an autorenew icon and an Auto run enabled tooltip while Auto Run is active.

Enabling Auto Run

Auto Run is controlled by an environment variable. The toggle does not appear in the UI until the feature is enabled on the deployment.

Setting Description Default
ZO_AUTO_QUERY_ENABLED Enables the Auto Run toggle in the Logs and Traces search bars. When false, the toggle is hidden and the Run query button always requires a manual click. false

Set the variable to true and restart OpenObserve to make the toggle available:

ZO_AUTO_QUERY_ENABLED=true

The current value is exposed in the /config API response as auto_query_enabled, which the UI reads to decide whether to show the toggle.

Using Auto Run

When ZO_AUTO_QUERY_ENABLED is true, the Run query button on the Logs and Traces search bars includes a dropdown with an Auto Run toggle.

  1. Open the dropdown next to the Run query button.
  2. Select Turn on Auto Run to enable it, or Turn off Auto Run to disable it.

While Auto Run is on, the Run query button displays the autorenew icon and the Auto run enabled tooltip.

What triggers a run

With Auto Run on, OpenObserve re-executes the query (debounced) when you:

  • Select or change the stream.
  • Change the datetime selection, including committing an absolute time range.
  • Add or remove a filter field.
  • Select a saved function.

You do not need to click Run query after any of these changes. You can still click Run query at any time to run on demand, and the dropdown also keeps the Refresh Cache & Run Query option. For details on that option, see Refresh Cache and Run Query.

Notes

  • Per-browser persistence: The toggle state is saved in a single shared browser local storage key (oo_toggle_auto_run) used by both the Logs and Traces views. The preference is therefore shared across both views (not independent per view), and it persists across page navigation and browser sessions.
  • Default state: When the feature flag is enabled and no preference has been saved yet, Auto Run starts on.
  • Scope: The setting is local to the browser. It does not sync across browsers, devices, or other users.

Note: If the Auto Run toggle does not appear, confirm that ZO_AUTO_QUERY_ENABLED is set to true on the deployment.