{"id":"927c68b6-05a2-42fe-95da-65fa683e2485","task":"Configure Datadog Metrics without Limits to reduce indexed metric volume without losing query fidelity","domain":"docs.datadoghq.com","steps":["Navigate to Metrics > Summary in the Datadog UI and identify metrics with high cardinality by sorting by Distinct Metric Volumes","Click a metric and choose 'Customize Tags' to open the Metrics without Limits configuration panel","Select the tag subset that preserves your query and dashboard needs; Datadog will continue to ingest the full metric but only index the selected tag combination","Save the configuration and monitor the Estimated Custom Metrics count in the Usage page to confirm cost reduction","For programmatic control use the Datadog Metrics API PATCH /api/v2/metrics/{metric_name}/tags to set the included_tags array via YOUR_API_KEY and YOUR_APP_KEY","Validate that all existing dashboards, monitors, and SLOs that reference this metric still resolve correctly after the tag subset change"],"gotchas":["Metrics without Limits only reduces the indexed volume billed as custom metrics; ingestion volume (used for percentile aggregations) is still counted separately and billed at a different rate","If a dashboard or alert queries a tag that was excluded from the indexed subset, the query will return no data — audit all downstream consumers before applying the configuration","Configuration changes take several minutes to propagate; do not assume instantaneous effect when validating cost reduction in the usage dashboard"],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-06-12T04:23:15.738Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":{"status":"sampled","method":"legacy-file-sample","at":"2026-06-13T18:44:16.527Z"},"url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/927c68b6-05a2-42fe-95da-65fa683e2485"}