# Exporting Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch
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Performance Insights lets you export the preconfigured or custom metrics dashboard for your DB instance to Amazon CloudWatch. You can export the metrics dashboard as a new dashboard or add it to an existing CloudWatch dashboard. When you choose to add the dashboard to an existing CloudWatch dashboard, you can create a header label so that the metrics appear in a separate section in the CloudWatch dashboard.

You can view the exported metrics dashboard in the CloudWatch console. If you add new metrics to a Performance Insights metrics dashboard after you export it, you must export this dashboard again to view the new metrics in the CloudWatch console.

You can also select a metric widget in the Performance Insights dashboard and view the metrics data in the CloudWatch console.

For more information about viewing the metrics in the CloudWatch console, see [Viewing DB instance metrics in the CloudWatch console and AWS CLI](metrics_dimensions.md).

In the following sections, export Performance Insights metrics to CloudWatch as a new or existing dashboard and view Performance Insights metrics in CloudWatch.

**Topics**
+ [Exporting Performance Insights metrics as a new dashboard to CloudWatch](PI_metrics_export_CW.new_dashboard.md)
+ [Adding Performance Insights metrics to an existing CloudWatch dashboard](PI_metrics_export_CW.existing_dashboard.md)
+ [Viewing a Performance Insights metric widget in CloudWatch](PI_metrics_export_CW.individual_widget.md)