Metrics rethink: counters as the primitive, histogram()/gauge() derived (ticket 022)

Every metric declaration is now explicitly documented and modeled as
a counter: a match is an occurrence/increment, optionally labeled.
The bucket representation (BucketValue { values: Vec<(Sequence,
Timestamp, MetricPrimitive)> }) already was this; what it lacked was
any way to capture a *value* distinct from the occurrence-count-of-1
marker. Adds RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher::role (ParamRole::Label,
the default, or ParamRole::Value — at most one per metric, enforced
at declare time) so a metric can designate one param's captured
number as its per-event value instead of a label.

promql.rs/engine.rs add two new PromQL-evaluable forms built on top
of that value, both consumed as regular PromqlSeriesDto series like
sum()/avg()/rate():
- histogram(metric_name[width]): buckets matching events' values into
  fixed-width buckets, one series per bucket labeled `le`.
- gauge(metric_name): the most-recent value per label combination in
  the queried range.

Existing raw counter queries (metrics with only Label-role params,
sum/avg/rate) are unchanged. Profile files saved before this ticket
still load (role defaults to Label via #[serde(default)]). Metrics.tsx
gains a label/value role picker per param, and the Docs panel explains
the model and the two derived query forms.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01XFUNZwCvz3kcod3352ZR2o

src/data_value.rs

@@ -9,6 +9,23 @@ pub struct RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher {
     pub param_name: String,
     pub capture_group: String,
     pub kind: MetricPrimitiveKind,
+    /// Ticket 022: whether this param contributes to the bucket's `labels`
+    /// (the default) or is the bucket's per-event captured `value` (at most
+    /// one `Value`-role param per metric — `declare_metric` rejects more
+    /// than one). `#[serde(default)]` so profile files saved before this
+    /// field existed still load, with every param defaulting to `Label` —
+    /// i.e. unchanged behavior (the fixed occurrence-count-of-1 value).
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub role: ParamRole,
+}
+
+/// See [`RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher::role`].
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize, Default)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "lowercase")]
+pub enum ParamRole {
+    #[default]
+    Label,
+    Value,
 }
 
 /// `rename_all = "lowercase"` matches every other `kind`-style enum exposed

src/engine.rs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use crate::data_value::{DataValue, MetricPrimitiveKind, RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher};
+use crate::data_value::{DataValue, MetricPrimitiveKind, ParamRole, RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher};
 use crate::dto::{
     BucketValueDto, LogEntryDto, LogsParams, MetricDeclarationDto, ParamDeclarationDto,
     PromqlSeriesDto, StatsDto, TimelineBucketDto, TimelineParams,
@@ -231,6 +231,13 @@ fn declare_metric(
         return Err(errors.join("; "));
     }
 
+    let value_params = request.params.iter().filter(|matcher| matcher.role == ParamRole::Value).count();
+    if value_params > 1 {
+        return Err(format!(
+            "a metric may declare at most one Value-role param, found {value_params}"
+        ));
+    }
+
     backfill_metric(index, &request.name, &re, &request.params);
     index.insert(
         IndexKey::MetricDeclaration { name: request.name },
@@ -263,17 +270,22 @@ fn parse_metric_primitive(raw: &str, kind: MetricPrimitiveKind) -> Option<Metric
 }
 
 /// Runs one metric's regex against a single log line and, on a match, appends a
-/// bucket value entry.
+/// bucket value entry: this is the "counter increment" (ticket 022) — a match is
+/// an occurrence at a point in time, optionally labeled.
 ///
-/// Design decision: `Bucket.labels` is the only structured place a `Bucket` key has
-/// for a metric's declared params, so v1 folds ALL of a metric's params into
-/// `labels` rather than splitting them into "label" vs "value" params. The stored
-/// value is therefore a fixed presence marker (`MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Int(1))`)
-/// — a bucket's `values` is the timeseries of *when that label combination occurred*
-/// (a count/occurrence series), not a record of the captured values themselves. If a
-/// param's capture group doesn't match, or its captured text fails to parse as its
-/// declared `kind`, the whole match is skipped for this line rather than storing a
-/// partially-labeled bucket.
+/// `Bucket.labels` holds every `Label`-role param (the default role — see
+/// [`ParamRole`]); at most one param may instead be `Value`-role (enforced at
+/// declare time), and its parsed primitive becomes the pushed event's value.
+/// With no `Value`-role param, the pushed value is a fixed presence marker
+/// (`MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Int(1))`), matching the original v1
+/// behavior where a bucket's `values` was purely the timeseries of *when that
+/// label combination occurred* — histogram()/gauge() derived queries
+/// (`crate::promql::AggOp`) read this same `value`, so a `Value`-role param is
+/// what makes those meaningful (bucketing/reading an occurrence-count-of-1
+/// series degenerates to "everything in one bucket"/"always 1"). If a param's
+/// capture group doesn't match, or its captured text fails to parse as its
+/// declared `kind`, the whole match is skipped for this line rather than
+/// storing a partially-labeled bucket.
 fn apply_metric_to_log(
     index: &mut BTreeMap<IndexKey, DataValue>,
     metric_name: &str,
@@ -288,14 +300,22 @@ fn apply_metric_to_log(
     };
 
     let mut labels = BTreeMap::new();
+    let mut value = None;
     for matcher in params {
         let Some(raw) = captures.name(&matcher.capture_group) else {
             return;
         };
-        let Some(value) = parse_metric_primitive(raw.as_str(), matcher.kind) else {
+        let Some(parsed) = parse_metric_primitive(raw.as_str(), matcher.kind) else {
             return;
         };
-        labels.insert(matcher.param_name.clone(), value);
+        match matcher.role {
+            ParamRole::Label => {
+                labels.insert(matcher.param_name.clone(), parsed);
+            }
+            ParamRole::Value => {
+                value = Some(parsed);
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     let key = IndexKey::Bucket { metric_name: metric_name.to_string(), labels };
@@ -303,7 +323,7 @@ fn apply_metric_to_log(
         .entry(key)
         .or_insert_with(|| DataValue::BucketValue { values: Vec::new() });
     if let DataValue::BucketValue { values } = entry {
-        values.push((sequence, timestamp, MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Int(1))));
+        values.push((sequence, timestamp, value.unwrap_or(MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Int(1)))));
     }
 }
 
@@ -980,6 +1000,51 @@ fn evaluate_promql(
                 })
                 .collect()
         }
+        Some(AggOp::Gauge) => {
+            // Ticket 022: collapse each label combination's counter events
+            // down to their most-recent value in the queried time range —
+            // "value at time T" derived from the last matching event, rather
+            // than a distinct stored gauge kind.
+            series_points
+                .into_iter()
+                .filter_map(|(labels, points)| {
+                    let last = *points.last()?;
+                    Some(PromqlSeriesDto { labels, points: vec![last] })
+                })
+                .collect()
+        }
+        Some(AggOp::Histogram) => {
+            // Validated by `promql::parse_query`: `histogram()` never parses
+            // without one.
+            let bucket_width =
+                parsed.bucket_width.expect("histogram() always carries a bucket width");
+            let last_ts = series_points
+                .values()
+                .flat_map(|points| points.iter().map(|(ts, _)| *ts))
+                .max()
+                .unwrap_or(0);
+            // Ticket 022: bucket every matching counter event's value
+            // (across all label combinations — histogram collapses the
+            // label dimension the same way sum()/avg() do) into fixed-width
+            // buckets, one output series per bucket labeled `le` (Prometheus's
+            // "less-than-or-equal" convention) holding a single
+            // `(last_ts, count)` point.
+            let mut counts: BTreeMap<i64, u64> = BTreeMap::new();
+            for points in series_points.values() {
+                for (_, value) in points {
+                    let bucket_index = (value / bucket_width).floor() as i64;
+                    *counts.entry(bucket_index).or_insert(0) += 1;
+                }
+            }
+            counts
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(|(bucket_index, count)| {
+                    let upper_bound = (bucket_index + 1) as f64 * bucket_width;
+                    let labels = BTreeMap::from([("le".to_string(), upper_bound.to_string())]);
+                    PromqlSeriesDto { labels, points: vec![(last_ts, count as f64)] }
+                })
+                .collect()
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -1103,16 +1168,32 @@ mod tests {
         name: &str,
         pattern: &str,
         params: Vec<(&str, &str, MetricPrimitiveKind)>,
+    ) -> DeclareMetricRequest {
+        metric_request_with_roles(
+            name,
+            pattern,
+            params
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(|(param_name, capture_group, kind)| (param_name, capture_group, kind, ParamRole::Label))
+                .collect(),
+        )
+    }
+
+    fn metric_request_with_roles(
+        name: &str,
+        pattern: &str,
+        params: Vec<(&str, &str, MetricPrimitiveKind, ParamRole)>,
     ) -> DeclareMetricRequest {
         DeclareMetricRequest {
             name: name.to_string(),
             message_match_regex: pattern.to_string(),
             params: params
                 .into_iter()
-                .map(|(param_name, capture_group, kind)| RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher {
+                .map(|(param_name, capture_group, kind, role)| RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher {
                     param_name: param_name.to_string(),
                     capture_group: capture_group.to_string(),
                     kind,
+                    role,
                 })
                 .collect(),
         }
@@ -1439,6 +1520,139 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(series[0].points, vec![(5, 1.0)]);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn declares_metric_with_value_role_param() {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        let result = declare_metric(
+            &mut index,
+            metric_request_with_roles(
+                "durations",
+                r"request path=(?P<path>\S+) duration=(?P<duration>\d+)",
+                vec![
+                    ("path", "path", MetricPrimitiveKind::String, ParamRole::Label),
+                    ("duration", "duration", MetricPrimitiveKind::Number, ParamRole::Value),
+                ],
+            ),
+        );
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_metric_with_multiple_value_role_params() {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        let result = declare_metric(
+            &mut index,
+            metric_request_with_roles(
+                "bad",
+                r"a=(?P<a>\d+) b=(?P<b>\d+)",
+                vec![
+                    ("a", "a", MetricPrimitiveKind::Number, ParamRole::Value),
+                    ("b", "b", MetricPrimitiveKind::Number, ParamRole::Value),
+                ],
+            ),
+        );
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+        assert!(result.unwrap_err().contains("at most one Value-role param"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn value_role_param_becomes_the_bucket_value_not_a_label() {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        declare_metric(
+            &mut index,
+            metric_request_with_roles(
+                "durations",
+                r"request path=(?P<path>\S+) duration=(?P<duration>\d+)",
+                vec![
+                    ("path", "path", MetricPrimitiveKind::String, ParamRole::Label),
+                    ("duration", "duration", MetricPrimitiveKind::Number, ParamRole::Value),
+                ],
+            ),
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 0, "request path=/a duration=5");
+
+        let values: Vec<_> = bucket_values(&index, "durations", None).collect();
+        assert_eq!(values.len(), 1);
+        let (labels, (_, _, value)) = &values[0];
+        assert!(!labels.contains_key("duration"));
+        assert_eq!(labels.get("path").map(|v| v.to_string()), Some("/a".to_string()));
+        assert_eq!(*value, MetricPrimitive::Number(Number::Int(5)));
+    }
+
+    fn declare_durations_metric(index: &mut BTreeMap<IndexKey, DataValue>) {
+        declare_metric(
+            index,
+            metric_request_with_roles(
+                "durations",
+                r"request path=(?P<path>\S+) duration=(?P<duration>\d+)",
+                vec![
+                    ("path", "path", MetricPrimitiveKind::String, ParamRole::Label),
+                    ("duration", "duration", MetricPrimitiveKind::Number, ParamRole::Value),
+                ],
+            ),
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn gauge_returns_most_recent_value_per_label_combination() {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        declare_durations_metric(&mut index);
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 0, "request path=/a duration=5");
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 1, "request path=/a duration=9");
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 2, "request path=/b duration=42");
+
+        let parsed = promql::parse_query("gauge(durations)").unwrap();
+        let mut series = evaluate_promql(&index, &parsed, None, None);
+        series.sort_by(|a, b| a.labels.get("path").cmp(&b.labels.get("path")));
+
+        assert_eq!(series.len(), 2);
+        assert_eq!(series[0].labels.get("path").map(String::as_str), Some("/a"));
+        assert_eq!(series[0].points, vec![(1, 9.0)]);
+        assert_eq!(series[1].labels.get("path").map(String::as_str), Some("/b"));
+        assert_eq!(series[1].points, vec![(2, 42.0)]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn gauge_respects_time_range_bounds() {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        declare_durations_metric(&mut index);
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 0, "request path=/a duration=5");
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 5, "request path=/a duration=9");
+        ingest_log(&mut index, 10, "request path=/a duration=42");
+
+        let parsed = promql::parse_query("gauge(durations)").unwrap();
+        let series = evaluate_promql(&index, &parsed, None, Some(9));
+
+        assert_eq!(series.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(series[0].points, vec![(5, 9.0)]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn histogram_buckets_captured_values_by_fixed_width() {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        declare_durations_metric(&mut index);
+        for (seq, duration) in [(0, 2), (1, 4), (2, 12), (3, 15), (4, 21)] {
+            ingest_log(&mut index, seq, &format!("request path=/a duration={duration}"));
+        }
+
+        let parsed = promql::parse_query("histogram(durations[10])").unwrap();
+        let mut series = evaluate_promql(&index, &parsed, None, None);
+        series.sort_by(|a, b| a.labels.get("le").cmp(&b.labels.get("le")));
+
+        // durations 2,4 -> bucket [0,10) le=10 (count 2); 12,15 -> [10,20) le=20 (count 2);
+        // 21 -> [20,30) le=30 (count 1).
+        assert_eq!(series.len(), 3);
+        assert_eq!(series[0].labels.get("le").map(String::as_str), Some("10"));
+        assert_eq!(series[0].points[0].1, 2.0);
+        assert_eq!(series[1].labels.get("le").map(String::as_str), Some("20"));
+        assert_eq!(series[1].points[0].1, 2.0);
+        assert_eq!(series[2].labels.get("le").map(String::as_str), Some("30"));
+        assert_eq!(series[2].points[0].1, 1.0);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn handle_query_promql_rejects_malformed_query() {
         let index = BTreeMap::new();

src/profile.rs

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
-use crate::data_value::{MetricPrimitiveKind, RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher};
+use crate::data_value::{MetricPrimitiveKind, ParamRole, RegexToMetricPrimitiveMatcher};
 use crate::engine::{DeclareMetricRequest, DeclareParamRequest, EngineHandle, EngineMessage};
 use crate::settings::Settings;
 use tokio::sync::oneshot;
@@ -119,6 +119,10 @@ pub struct MetricParamRecord {
     pub param_name: String,
     pub capture_group: String,
     pub kind: ProfileMetricPrimitiveKind,
+    /// See `ParamRole`. `#[serde(default)]` so profiles saved before ticket
+    /// 022 still load, with every param defaulting to `Label`.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub role: ParamRole,
 }
 
 /// A stored metric declaration, matching `DeclareMetricRequest`'s shape (ticket 002).
@@ -141,6 +145,7 @@ impl From<&DeclareMetricRequest> for MetricDeclarationRecord {
                     param_name: matcher.param_name.clone(),
                     capture_group: matcher.capture_group.clone(),
                     kind: matcher.kind.into(),
+                    role: matcher.role,
                 })
                 .collect(),
         }
@@ -159,6 +164,7 @@ impl From<&MetricDeclarationRecord> for DeclareMetricRequest {
                     param_name: param.param_name.clone(),
                     capture_group: param.capture_group.clone(),
                     kind: param.kind.into(),
+                    role: param.role,
                 })
                 .collect(),
         }
@@ -708,6 +714,7 @@ mod tests {
                 param_name: param_name.to_string(),
                 capture_group: capture_group.to_string(),
                 kind: MetricPrimitiveKind::Number,
+                role: ParamRole::Label,
             }],
         }
     }

src/promql.rs

@@ -14,21 +14,34 @@
 //! ```text
 //! query           := aggregation | vector_selector
 //! aggregation     := agg_op "(" vector_selector ")"
-//! agg_op          := "sum" | "avg" | "rate"
+//! agg_op          := "sum" | "avg" | "rate" | "histogram" | "gauge"
 //! vector_selector := metric_name label_matchers? range_selector?
 //! metric_name     := [a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*
 //! label_matchers  := "{" label_matcher ("," label_matcher)* "}"
 //! label_matcher   := label_name "=" quoted_string
 //! label_name      := [a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*
 //! quoted_string   := '"' (any char except '"' or '\')* '"'
-//! range_selector  := "[" digits duration_unit "]"
+//! range_selector  := "[" digits duration_unit? "]"
 //! duration_unit   := "s" | "m" | "h" | "d"
 //! ```
 //!
 //! Only exact-match label matchers (`=`) are supported — PromQL's `!=`, `=~`, `!~`
 //! are out of scope for this ticket's required subset. `rate()` requires its inner
-//! vector selector to carry a range selector (matching real PromQL), and is rejected
-//! at parse time otherwise.
+//! vector selector to carry a range selector with a duration unit (matching real
+//! PromQL), and is rejected at parse time otherwise.
+//!
+//! Ticket 022 (metrics-as-counters rethink) adds two derived forms on top of the
+//! same grammar, both consumed as regular `PromqlSeriesDto` series like every
+//! other query shape:
+//! - `histogram(metric_name[width])`: buckets every matching counter event's
+//!   (coerced-to-f64) value into fixed-width buckets of size `width` (a bare
+//!   number, no duration unit — reusing the `[...]` range-selector slot for a
+//!   different purpose than `rate()`'s duration), and emits one series per
+//!   bucket, labeled `le` (Prometheus's "less-than-or-equal" convention) with
+//!   that bucket's upper bound, holding a single `(timestamp_ms, count)` point.
+//! - `gauge(metric_name)`: takes no range selector; emits the most-recent
+//!   matching counter event's value per label combination as a single point,
+//!   i.e. the counter's series collapsed down to its last value.
 
 use std::time::Duration;
 
@@ -37,6 +50,11 @@ pub enum AggOp {
     Sum,
     Avg,
     Rate,
+    /// Ticket 022: buckets counter values into fixed-width buckets. Requires
+    /// `bucket_width`.
+    Histogram,
+    /// Ticket 022: the most-recent counter value per label combination.
+    Gauge,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -50,7 +68,18 @@ pub struct PromqlQuery {
     pub agg: Option<AggOp>,
     pub metric_name: String,
     pub matchers: Vec<LabelMatcher>,
+    /// Duration range selector, e.g. `[5m]`. Only meaningful for `rate()`.
     pub range: Option<Duration>,
+    /// Bare-number range selector, e.g. `[10]`. Only meaningful for
+    /// `histogram()`, where it's the bucket width.
+    pub bucket_width: Option<f64>,
+}
+
+/// What a `[...]` range selector turned out to hold, disambiguated by whether
+/// a duration unit followed the digits.
+enum RangeSelector {
+    Duration(Duration),
+    BareWidth(f64),
 }
 
 /// Parses a PromQL query string per the grammar documented above. Returns a
@@ -66,6 +95,11 @@ pub fn parse_query(input: &str) -> Result<PromqlQuery, String> {
     if query.agg == Some(AggOp::Rate) && query.range.is_none() {
         return Err("rate() requires a range selector, e.g. rate(my_metric[5m])".to_string());
     }
+    if query.agg == Some(AggOp::Histogram) && query.bucket_width.is_none() {
+        return Err(
+            "histogram() requires a bucket width, e.g. histogram(my_metric[10])".to_string(),
+        );
+    }
     Ok(query)
 }
 
@@ -180,8 +214,10 @@ impl<'a> Parser<'a> {
         Ok(matchers)
     }
 
-    /// `[<digits><unit>]`, e.g. `[5m]`.
-    fn parse_range_selector(&mut self) -> Result<Option<Duration>, String> {
+    /// `[<digits><unit>]` (e.g. `[5m]`, a duration — used by `rate()`) or a
+    /// bare `[<digits>]` with no unit (a plain number — used by `histogram()`
+    /// as a bucket width).
+    fn parse_range_selector(&mut self) -> Result<Option<RangeSelector>, String> {
         self.skip_whitespace();
         if self.peek() != Some('[') {
             return Ok(None);
@@ -190,16 +226,21 @@ impl<'a> Parser<'a> {
         let rest = self.remaining();
         let digits_end = rest
             .find(|c: char| !c.is_ascii_digit())
-            .ok_or("unterminated range selector (missing unit and ']')")?;
+            .ok_or("unterminated range selector (missing ']')")?;
         if digits_end == 0 {
-            return Err("range selector must start with a number, e.g. [5m]".to_string());
+            return Err("range selector must start with a number, e.g. [5m] or [10]".to_string());
         }
         let digits: i64 = rest[..digits_end]
             .parse()
-            .map_err(|_| "range selector duration is not a valid number".to_string())?;
+            .map_err(|_| "range selector number is not a valid number".to_string())?;
         self.pos += digits_end;
 
-        let unit = self.peek().ok_or("range selector is missing a duration unit")?;
+        if self.peek() == Some(']') {
+            self.expect_char(']')?;
+            return Ok(Some(RangeSelector::BareWidth(digits as f64)));
+        }
+
+        let unit = self.peek().ok_or("range selector is missing a duration unit or ']'")?;
         let seconds_per_unit: i64 = match unit {
             's' => 1,
             'm' => 60,
@@ -213,14 +254,20 @@ impl<'a> Parser<'a> {
         };
         self.pos += unit.len_utf8();
         self.expect_char(']')?;
-        Ok(Some(Duration::from_secs((digits * seconds_per_unit).max(0) as u64)))
+        Ok(Some(RangeSelector::Duration(Duration::from_secs(
+            (digits * seconds_per_unit).max(0) as u64,
+        ))))
     }
 
     fn parse_vector_selector(&mut self) -> Result<PromqlQuery, String> {
         let metric_name = self.parse_identifier()?;
         let matchers = self.parse_label_matchers()?;
-        let range = self.parse_range_selector()?;
-        Ok(PromqlQuery { agg: None, metric_name, matchers, range })
+        let (range, bucket_width) = match self.parse_range_selector()? {
+            None => (None, None),
+            Some(RangeSelector::Duration(d)) => (Some(d), None),
+            Some(RangeSelector::BareWidth(w)) => (None, Some(w)),
+        };
+        Ok(PromqlQuery { agg: None, metric_name, matchers, range, bucket_width })
     }
 
     fn parse_query(&mut self) -> Result<PromqlQuery, String> {
@@ -231,6 +278,8 @@ impl<'a> Parser<'a> {
             "sum" => Some(AggOp::Sum),
             "avg" => Some(AggOp::Avg),
             "rate" => Some(AggOp::Rate),
+            "histogram" => Some(AggOp::Histogram),
+            "gauge" => Some(AggOp::Gauge),
             _ => None,
         };
         self.skip_whitespace();
@@ -366,4 +415,33 @@ mod tests {
         let err = parse_query("requests extra").unwrap_err();
         assert!(err.contains("unexpected trailing input"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parses_histogram_with_bare_width() {
+        let query = parse_query("histogram(latency_ms[10])").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(query.agg, Some(AggOp::Histogram));
+        assert_eq!(query.metric_name, "latency_ms");
+        assert_eq!(query.bucket_width, Some(10.0));
+        assert_eq!(query.range, None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_histogram_without_width() {
+        let err = parse_query("histogram(latency_ms)").unwrap_err();
+        assert!(err.contains("bucket width"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parses_gauge_with_no_range_selector() {
+        let query = parse_query(r#"gauge(connections{host="a"})"#).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(query.agg, Some(AggOp::Gauge));
+        assert_eq!(query.matchers, vec![LabelMatcher { name: "host".to_string(), value: "a".to_string() }]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rate_range_selector_is_still_a_duration_not_a_bare_width() {
+        let query = parse_query("rate(requests[5m])").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(query.range, Some(Duration::from_secs(300)));
+        assert_eq!(query.bucket_width, None);
+    }
 }

webapp/src/components/Docs.tsx

@@ -128,9 +128,17 @@ const SECTIONS: DocSection[] = [
     body: (
       <div className="flex flex-col gap-2">
         <p>
-          A metric declaration bundles a message-match regex with one or more named param matchers (each with its own
-          capture group and type). Every log line matching the regex produces a <em>bucket value</em>: a timestamped
-          occurrence, tagged with the labels captured from that line.
+          Every metric is fundamentally a <em>counter</em>: a message-match regex paired with one or more named param
+          matchers (each with its own capture group and type). Every log line matching the regex is one counter
+          increment — a timestamped occurrence, tagged with the labels captured from that line.
+        </p>
+        <p>
+          Each param is either a <strong>label</strong> (the default) or the metric's single <strong>value</strong>{' '}
+          param. Label params identify which bucket an occurrence belongs to; a value param's captured number becomes
+          that occurrence's stored value instead of a label — e.g. a <Code>duration</Code> param marked{' '}
+          <em>value</em> lets you query the distribution or latest reading of durations, not just how often they
+          occurred. A metric with only label params still works exactly as before: every occurrence's value defaults
+          to a fixed <Code>1</Code> (a pure occurrence count).
         </p>
         <p>
           Declaring a metric backfills it against everything already ingested, then continues indexing new lines as
@@ -139,8 +147,25 @@ const SECTIONS: DocSection[] = [
         <p>
           The Metrics panel lets you declare a metric, pick one from the declared list, and see its bucket values
           grouped by label combination over the active time range — occurrence count per group, plus a small trend
-          sparkline. That same data is what dashboard panels query via PromQL (see below).
+          sparkline. That same data is what dashboard panels query via PromQL (see below), including two forms{' '}
+          <em>derived</em> from a counter's value param rather than stored separately:
         </p>
+        <ul className="list-disc pl-5">
+          <li>
+            <span className="font-semibold text-text">
+              <Code>histogram(metric_name[width])</Code>
+            </span>{' '}
+            — buckets every matching event's value into fixed-width buckets of size <Code>width</Code>, e.g.{' '}
+            <Code>histogram(durations[10])</Code>.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            <span className="font-semibold text-text">
+              <Code>gauge(metric_name)</Code>
+            </span>{' '}
+            — the most-recent value per label combination in the active range, i.e. the counter collapsed to its
+            latest reading.
+          </li>
+        </ul>
       </div>
     ),
   },

webapp/src/components/Metrics.tsx

@@ -214,6 +214,15 @@ export function Metrics({ range }: { range: TimeRange | null }) {
                     <option value="number">number</option>
                     <option value="timestamp">timestamp</option>
                   </select>
+                  <select
+                    className="rounded border border-border-soft bg-surface-1 px-1 py-1 text-xs text-text focus:border-border-strong focus:outline-none"
+                    value={matcher.role ?? 'label'}
+                    onChange={(e) => updateMatcher(i, { role: e.target.value as MetricParamMatcher['role'] })}
+                    title="Label params identify a bucket; at most one Value param becomes the counter's per-event captured value (used by histogram()/gauge())"
+                  >
+                    <option value="label">label</option>
+                    <option value="value">value</option>
+                  </select>
                   <button
                     type="button"
                     onClick={() => removeMatcher(i)}

webapp/src/lib/api.ts

@@ -43,10 +43,15 @@ export interface Stats {
   last_timestamp_ms: number | null
 }
 
+/** Whether a param contributes to a bucket's labels or is its captured value (ticket 022). */
+export type ParamRole = 'label' | 'value'
+
 export interface MetricParamMatcher {
   param_name: string
   capture_group: string
   kind: 'string' | 'number' | 'timestamp'
+  /** Defaults to 'label' server-side when omitted. */
+  role?: ParamRole
 }
 
 export interface MetricDeclaration {