# excluding metrics to backend with regex

**URL:** <https://community.netdata.cloud/t/excluding-metrics-to-backend-with-regex/2354>\
**Category:** Help\
**Tags:** agent\
**Created:** [December 31, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.netdata.cloud/t/excluding-metrics-to-backend-with-regex/2354 "2021-12-31T14:46:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![solipsist01](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/community.netdata.cloud/solipsist01/32/1426_2.png) [@solipsist01](https://community.netdata.cloud/u/solipsist01)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.netdata.cloud/t/excluding-metrics-to-backend-with-regex/2354/1 "2021-12-31T14:46:51Z")

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Hello.

I’m monitoring a docker host, and send my charts to a graphite time series db.

When i build docker images, a docker image with a random name runs temporarily.  
like:

awesome\_container  
forward\_beginner

I was thinking, perhaps i can exclude all containers that have a underscore in the name.  
The graph is named like:

cgroup\_awesome\_container

There will always be a underscore, so i don’t want a underscore, after cgroup\_  
I came up with: `!cgroup_*\_*.`

In the documentation only is mentioned that you can use \*.

Am i right that we cannot use regexes for selection of metrics we want to send ?  
I have tried numerous options, none seem to work.

This is my config right now.  
`send charts matching = disk_space.* disk.* cpu.* system.* net.* mem.* sensors.* mdstat.* !cgroup_*\_*. cgroup*`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vlvkobal](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/community.netdata.cloud/vlvkobal/32/219_2.png) [@vlvkobal](https://community.netdata.cloud/u/vlvkobal)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://community.netdata.cloud/t/excluding-metrics-to-backend-with-regex/2354/2 "2021-12-31T14:51:21Z")

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> [@solipsist01](#):
>
> Am i right that we cannot use regexes for selection of metrics we want to send ?

You are right. You can use only [simple patterns](https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/agent/libnetdata/simple_pattern). That’s because of performance reasons.