# GraphiteMergeTree
This engine is designed for rollup (thinning and aggregating/averaging) [Graphite](http://graphite.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html) data. It may be helpful to developers who want to use ClickHouse as a data store for Graphite.
Graphite stores full data in ClickHouse, and data can be retrieved in the following ways:
- Without thinning.
Uses the [MergeTree](mergetree.md#table_engines-mergetree) engine.
- With thinning.
Using the `GraphiteMergeTree` engine.
The engine inherits properties from MergeTree. The settings for thinning data are defined by the [graphite_rollup](../server_settings/settings.md#server_settings-graphite_rollup) parameter in the server configuration.
## Using the engine
The Graphite data table must contain the following fields at minimum:
- `Path` – The metric name (Graphite sensor).
- `Time` – The time for measuring the metric.
- `Value` – The value of the metric at the time set in Time.
- `Version` – Determines which value of the metric with the same Path and Time will remain in the database.
Rollup pattern:
```text
pattern
regexp
function
age -> precision
...
pattern
...
default
function
age -> precision
...
```
When processing a record, ClickHouse will check the rules in the `pattern`clause. If the metric name matches the `regexp`, the rules from `pattern` are applied; otherwise, the rules from `default` are used.
Fields in the pattern.
- `age` – The minimum age of the data in seconds.
- `function` – The name of the aggregating function to apply to data whose age falls within the range `[age, age + precision]`.
- `precision`– How precisely to define the age of the data in seconds.
- `regexp`– A pattern for the metric name.
Example of settings:
```xml
click_cost
any
0
5
86400
60
max
0
60
3600
300
86400
3600
```