diff --git a/docs/sources/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/feature-toggles/index.md b/docs/sources/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/feature-toggles/index.md
index 278884d76a5..a1c363e4250 100644
--- a/docs/sources/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/feature-toggles/index.md
+++ b/docs/sources/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/feature-toggles/index.md
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ Most [generally available](https://grafana.com/docs/release-life-cycle/#general-
 | `nestedFolders`                        | Enable folder nesting                                                                                                                                              | Yes                |
 | `logsContextDatasourceUi`              | Allow datasource to provide custom UI for context view                                                                                                             | Yes                |
 | `lokiQuerySplitting`                   | Split large interval queries into subqueries with smaller time intervals                                                                                           | Yes                |
-| `prometheusMetricEncyclopedia`         | Adds the metrics explorer component to the Prometheus query builder as an option in metric select                                                                  | Yes                |
 | `influxdbBackendMigration`             | Query InfluxDB InfluxQL without the proxy                                                                                                                          | Yes                |
 | `dataplaneFrontendFallback`            | Support dataplane contract field name change for transformations and field name matchers where the name is different                                               | Yes                |
 | `unifiedRequestLog`                    | Writes error logs to the request logger                                                                                                                            | Yes                |
diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/featureToggles.gen.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/featureToggles.gen.ts
index 46cebb3309b..b76935732b2 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/featureToggles.gen.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/featureToggles.gen.ts
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ export interface FeatureToggles {
   lokiQuerySplitting?: boolean;
   lokiQuerySplittingConfig?: boolean;
   individualCookiePreferences?: boolean;
-  prometheusMetricEncyclopedia?: boolean;
   influxdbBackendMigration?: boolean;
   influxqlStreamingParser?: boolean;
   influxdbRunQueriesInParallel?: boolean;
diff --git a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.test.tsx b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.test.tsx
index d23fda227f7..c9ff1d55cd2 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.test.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';
 import '@testing-library/jest-dom';
 
 import { DataSourceInstanceSettings, MetricFindValue } from '@grafana/data';
-import { config } from '@grafana/runtime';
 
 import { PrometheusDatasource } from '../../datasource';
 import { PromOptions } from '../../types';
@@ -125,29 +124,17 @@ describe('MetricCombobox', () => {
     expect(mockOnChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ metric: 'random_metric', labels: [], operations: [] });
   });
 
-  it("doesn't show the metrics explorer button by default", () => {
+  it('shows the metrics explorer button by default', () => {
     render(<MetricCombobox {...defaultProps} />);
-    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: /open metrics explorer/i })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: /open metrics explorer/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  describe('when metrics explorer toggle is enabled', () => {
-    beforeAll(() => {
-      jest.replaceProperty(config, 'featureToggles', {
-        prometheusMetricEncyclopedia: true,
-      });
-    });
+  it('opens the metrics explorer when the button is clicked', async () => {
+    render(<MetricCombobox {...defaultProps} onGetMetrics={() => Promise.resolve([])} />);
 
-    afterAll(() => {
-      jest.restoreAllMocks();
-    });
+    const button = screen.getByRole('button', { name: /open metrics explorer/i });
+    await userEvent.click(button);
 
-    it('opens the metrics explorer when the button is clicked', async () => {
-      render(<MetricCombobox {...defaultProps} onGetMetrics={() => Promise.resolve([])} />);
-
-      const button = screen.getByRole('button', { name: /open metrics explorer/i });
-      await userEvent.click(button);
-
-      expect(screen.getByText('Metrics explorer')).toBeInTheDocument();
-    });
+    expect(screen.getByText('Metrics explorer')).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.tsx b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.tsx
index 80c2be2c262..81b3d830779 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricCombobox.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import { useCallback, useState } from 'react';
 
 import { GrafanaTheme2, SelectableValue } from '@grafana/data';
 import { EditorField, EditorFieldGroup, InputGroup } from '@grafana/experimental';
-import { config } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import { Button, ComponentSize, InlineField, InlineFieldRow, useStyles2 } from '@grafana/ui';
 import { Combobox, ComboboxOption } from '@grafana/ui/src/components/Combobox/Combobox';
 import { getPropertiesForButtonSize } from '@grafana/ui/src/components/Forms/commonStyles';
@@ -89,8 +88,6 @@ export function MetricCombobox({
     return metrics;
   }, [onGetMetrics]);
 
-  const metricsExplorerEnabled = config.featureToggles.prometheusMetricEncyclopedia;
-
   const styles = useStyles2(getMectricComboboxStyles);
 
   const asyncSelect = () => {
@@ -105,29 +102,24 @@ export function MetricCombobox({
           onChange={onComboboxChange}
           createCustomValue
         />
-
-        {metricsExplorerEnabled ? (
-          <Button
-            size={BUTTON_SIZE}
-            tooltip="Open metrics explorer"
-            aria-label="Open metrics explorer"
-            variant="secondary"
-            icon="book-open"
-            onClick={() => {
-              tracking('grafana_prometheus_metric_encyclopedia_open', null, '', query);
-              setMetricsModalOpen(true);
-            }}
-          />
-        ) : (
-          <></>
-        )}
+        <Button
+          size={BUTTON_SIZE}
+          tooltip="Open metrics explorer"
+          aria-label="Open metrics explorer"
+          variant="secondary"
+          icon="book-open"
+          onClick={() => {
+            tracking('grafana_prometheus_metric_encyclopedia_open', null, '', query);
+            setMetricsModalOpen(true);
+          }}
+        />
       </InputGroup>
     );
   };
 
   return (
     <>
-      {metricsExplorerEnabled && !datasource.lookupsDisabled && metricsModalOpen && (
+      {!datasource.lookupsDisabled && metricsModalOpen && (
         <MetricsModal
           datasource={datasource}
           isOpen={metricsModalOpen}
diff --git a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.test.tsx b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.test.tsx
index e6e9c5e9946..1f6780392f7 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.test.tsx
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ const instanceSettings = {
 
 const dataSourceMock = new PrometheusDatasource(instanceSettings);
 const mockValues = [{ label: 'random_metric' }, { label: 'unique_metric' }, { label: 'more_unique_metric' }];
-
 // Mock metricFindQuery which will call backend API
 //@ts-ignore
 dataSourceMock.metricFindQuery = jest.fn((query: string) => {
@@ -69,7 +68,8 @@ describe('MetricSelect', () => {
     await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('random_metric')).toBeInTheDocument());
     await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('unique_metric')).toBeInTheDocument());
     await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('more_unique_metric')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(3));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('Metrics explorer')).toBeInTheDocument());
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(4));
   });
 
   it('truncates list of metrics to 1000', async () => {
@@ -81,7 +81,10 @@ describe('MetricSelect', () => {
 
     render(<MetricSelect {...props} />);
     await openMetricSelect();
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(1000));
+    // the metrics explorer is added as a custom option
+    const optionsLength = screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option).length;
+    const optionsLengthMinusMetricsExplorer = optionsLength - 1;
+    await waitFor(() => expect(optionsLengthMinusMetricsExplorer).toBe(1000));
   });
 
   it('shows option to set custom value when typing', async () => {
@@ -97,7 +100,8 @@ describe('MetricSelect', () => {
     await openMetricSelect();
     const input = screen.getByRole('combobox');
     await userEvent.type(input, 'unique');
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(3));
+    const optionsLength = mockValues.length + 1; // the metrics explorer is added as a custom option
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(optionsLength));
   });
 
   it('searches on split words', async () => {
@@ -105,7 +109,8 @@ describe('MetricSelect', () => {
     await openMetricSelect();
     const input = screen.getByRole('combobox');
     await userEvent.type(input, 'more unique');
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(2));
+    // the metrics explorer is added as a custom option
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(3));
   });
 
   it('searches on multiple split words', async () => {
@@ -113,7 +118,8 @@ describe('MetricSelect', () => {
     await openMetricSelect();
     const input = screen.getByRole('combobox');
     await userEvent.type(input, 'more unique metric');
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(2));
+    // the metrics explorer is added as a custom option
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByTestId(selectors.components.Select.option)).toHaveLength(3));
   });
 
   it('highlights matching string', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.tsx b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.tsx
index e983eb23be9..0181641f45b 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/MetricSelect.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import Highlighter from 'react-highlight-words';
 import { GrafanaTheme2, SelectableValue, toOption } from '@grafana/data';
 import { selectors } from '@grafana/e2e-selectors';
 import { EditorField, EditorFieldGroup } from '@grafana/experimental';
-import { config } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import {
   AsyncSelect,
   Button,
@@ -67,8 +66,6 @@ export function MetricSelect({
     resultsTruncated?: boolean;
   }>({});
 
-  const prometheusMetricEncyclopedia = config.featureToggles.prometheusMetricEncyclopedia;
-
   const metricsModalOption: SelectableValue[] = [
     {
       value: 'BrowseMetrics',
@@ -77,33 +74,25 @@ export function MetricSelect({
     },
   ];
 
-  const customFilterOption = useCallback(
-    (option: SelectableValue, searchQuery: string) => {
-      const label = option.label ?? option.value;
-      if (!label) {
-        return false;
-      }
+  const customFilterOption = useCallback((option: SelectableValue, searchQuery: string) => {
+    const label = option.label ?? option.value;
+    if (!label) {
+      return false;
+    }
 
-      // custom value is not a string label but a react node
-      if (!label.toLowerCase) {
-        return true;
-      }
+    // custom value is not a string label but a react node
+    if (!label.toLowerCase) {
+      return true;
+    }
 
-      const searchWords = searchQuery.split(splitSeparator);
+    const searchWords = searchQuery.split(splitSeparator);
 
-      return searchWords.reduce((acc, cur) => {
-        const matcheSearch = label.toLowerCase().includes(cur.toLowerCase());
-
-        let browseOption = false;
-        if (prometheusMetricEncyclopedia) {
-          browseOption = label === 'Metrics explorer';
-        }
-
-        return acc && (matcheSearch || browseOption);
-      }, true);
-    },
-    [prometheusMetricEncyclopedia]
-  );
+    return searchWords.reduce((acc, cur) => {
+      const matcheSearch = label.toLowerCase().includes(cur.toLowerCase());
+      const browseOption = label === 'Metrics explorer';
+      return acc && (matcheSearch || browseOption);
+    }, true);
+  }, []);
 
   const formatOptionLabel = useCallback(
     (option: SelectableValue, meta: FormatOptionLabelMeta<any>) => {
@@ -159,11 +148,7 @@ export function MetricSelect({
         };
       });
 
-      if (prometheusMetricEncyclopedia) {
-        return [...metricsModalOption, ...resultsOptions];
-      } else {
-        return resultsOptions;
-      }
+      return [...metricsModalOption, ...resultsOptions];
     });
   };
 
@@ -286,22 +271,14 @@ export function MetricSelect({
             truncateResult(metrics);
           }
 
-          if (prometheusMetricEncyclopedia) {
-            setState({
-              // add the modal button option to the options
-              metrics: [...metricsModalOption, ...metrics],
-              isLoading: undefined,
-              // pass the initial metrics into the metrics explorer
-              initialMetrics: initialMetrics,
-              resultsTruncated: resultsLength > metrics.length,
-            });
-          } else {
-            setState({
-              metrics,
-              isLoading: undefined,
-              resultsTruncated: resultsLength > metrics.length,
-            });
-          }
+          setState({
+            // add the modal button option to the options
+            metrics: [...metricsModalOption, ...metrics],
+            isLoading: undefined,
+            // pass the initial metrics into the metrics explorer
+            initialMetrics: initialMetrics,
+            resultsTruncated: resultsLength > metrics.length,
+          });
         }}
         loadOptions={metricLookupDisabled ? metricLookupDisabledSearch : debouncedSearch}
         isLoading={state.isLoading}
@@ -309,8 +286,8 @@ export function MetricSelect({
         onChange={(input) => {
           const value = input?.value;
           if (value) {
-            // if there is no metric and the m.e. is enabled, open the modal
-            if (prometheusMetricEncyclopedia && value === 'BrowseMetrics') {
+            // if there is no metric and the value is the custom m.e. option, open the modal
+            if (value === 'BrowseMetrics') {
               tracking('grafana_prometheus_metric_encyclopedia_open', null, '', query);
               setState({ ...state, metricsModalOpen: true });
             } else {
@@ -320,9 +297,7 @@ export function MetricSelect({
             onChange({ ...query, metric: '' });
           }
         }}
-        components={
-          prometheusMetricEncyclopedia ? { Option: CustomOption, MenuList: CustomMenu } : { MenuList: CustomMenu }
-        }
+        components={{ Option: CustomOption, MenuList: CustomMenu }}
         onBlur={onBlur}
       />
     );
@@ -330,7 +305,7 @@ export function MetricSelect({
 
   return (
     <>
-      {prometheusMetricEncyclopedia && !datasource.lookupsDisabled && state.metricsModalOpen && (
+      {!datasource.lookupsDisabled && state.metricsModalOpen && (
         <MetricsModal
           datasource={datasource}
           isOpen={state.metricsModalOpen}
diff --git a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.test.tsx b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.test.tsx
index efe436a4f2c..835879214b9 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.test.tsx
@@ -19,9 +19,14 @@ describe('PromQueryBuilderContainer', () => {
 
     expect(screen.getByText('metric_test')).toBeInTheDocument();
     await addOperationInQueryBuilder('Range functions', 'Rate');
+    // extra fields here are for storing metrics explorer settings. Future work: store these in local storage.
     expect(props.onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      disableTextWrap: false,
       expr: 'rate(metric_test{job="testjob"}[$__rate_interval])',
+      fullMetaSearch: false,
+      includeNullMetadata: true,
       refId: 'A',
+      useBackend: false,
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.tsx b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.tsx
index 2b1c05e52a0..171d8afc3f5 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.tsx
+++ b/packages/grafana-prometheus/src/querybuilder/components/PromQueryBuilderContainer.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import { createSlice, PayloadAction } from '@reduxjs/toolkit';
 import { useEffect, useReducer } from 'react';
 
 import { PanelData } from '@grafana/data';
-import { config } from '@grafana/runtime';
 
 import { PrometheusDatasource } from '../../datasource';
 import { PromQuery } from '../../types';
@@ -29,8 +28,6 @@ export interface State {
   expr: string;
 }
 
-const prometheusMetricEncyclopedia = config.featureToggles.prometheusMetricEncyclopedia;
-
 /**
  * This component is here just to contain the translation logic between string query and the visual query builder model.
  */
@@ -40,17 +37,14 @@ export function PromQueryBuilderContainer(props: PromQueryBuilderContainerProps)
   // Only rebuild visual query if expr changes from outside
   useEffect(() => {
     dispatch(exprChanged(query.expr));
-
-    if (prometheusMetricEncyclopedia) {
-      dispatch(
-        setMetricsModalSettings({
-          useBackend: query.useBackend ?? false,
-          disableTextWrap: query.disableTextWrap ?? false,
-          fullMetaSearch: query.fullMetaSearch ?? false,
-          includeNullMetadata: query.includeNullMetadata ?? true,
-        })
-      );
-    }
+    dispatch(
+      setMetricsModalSettings({
+        useBackend: query.useBackend ?? false,
+        disableTextWrap: query.disableTextWrap ?? false,
+        fullMetaSearch: query.fullMetaSearch ?? false,
+        includeNullMetadata: query.includeNullMetadata ?? true,
+      })
+    );
   }, [query]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -61,12 +55,8 @@ export function PromQueryBuilderContainer(props: PromQueryBuilderContainerProps)
     const expr = promQueryModeller.renderQuery(visQuery);
     dispatch(visualQueryChange({ visQuery, expr }));
 
-    if (prometheusMetricEncyclopedia) {
-      const metricsModalSettings = getSettings(visQuery);
-      onChange({ ...props.query, expr: expr, ...metricsModalSettings });
-    } else {
-      onChange({ ...props.query, expr: expr });
-    }
+    const metricsModalSettings = getSettings(visQuery);
+    onChange({ ...props.query, expr: expr, ...metricsModalSettings });
   };
 
   if (!state.visQuery) {
@@ -109,7 +99,7 @@ const stateSlice = createSlice({
       }
     },
     setMetricsModalSettings: (state, action: PayloadAction<MetricsModalSettings>) => {
-      if (state.visQuery && prometheusMetricEncyclopedia) {
+      if (state.visQuery) {
         state.visQuery.useBackend = action.payload.useBackend;
         state.visQuery.disableTextWrap = action.payload.disableTextWrap;
         state.visQuery.fullMetaSearch = action.payload.fullMetaSearch;
diff --git a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/registry.go b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/registry.go
index f5858478fc1..48c0755d0df 100644
--- a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/registry.go
+++ b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/registry.go
@@ -272,15 +272,6 @@ var (
 			Stage:       FeatureStageExperimental,
 			Owner:       grafanaBackendGroup,
 		},
-		{
-			Name:           "prometheusMetricEncyclopedia",
-			Description:    "Adds the metrics explorer component to the Prometheus query builder as an option in metric select",
-			Expression:     "true",
-			Stage:          FeatureStageGeneralAvailability,
-			FrontendOnly:   true,
-			Owner:          grafanaObservabilityMetricsSquad,
-			AllowSelfServe: true,
-		},
 		{
 			Name:           "influxdbBackendMigration",
 			Description:    "Query InfluxDB InfluxQL without the proxy",
diff --git a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.csv b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.csv
index 456e915dbba..906ff00efe5 100644
--- a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.csv
+++ b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.csv
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ lokiShardSplitting,experimental,@grafana/observability-logs,false,false,true
 lokiQuerySplitting,GA,@grafana/observability-logs,false,false,true
 lokiQuerySplittingConfig,experimental,@grafana/observability-logs,false,false,true
 individualCookiePreferences,experimental,@grafana/grafana-backend-group,false,false,false
-prometheusMetricEncyclopedia,GA,@grafana/observability-metrics,false,false,true
 influxdbBackendMigration,GA,@grafana/observability-metrics,false,false,true
 influxqlStreamingParser,experimental,@grafana/observability-metrics,false,false,false
 influxdbRunQueriesInParallel,privatePreview,@grafana/observability-metrics,false,false,false
diff --git a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.go b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.go
index c28ff8058a8..e6043312bb7 100644
--- a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.go
+++ b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.go
@@ -147,10 +147,6 @@ const (
 	// Support overriding cookie preferences per user
 	FlagIndividualCookiePreferences = "individualCookiePreferences"
 
-	// FlagPrometheusMetricEncyclopedia
-	// Adds the metrics explorer component to the Prometheus query builder as an option in metric select
-	FlagPrometheusMetricEncyclopedia = "prometheusMetricEncyclopedia"
-
 	// FlagInfluxdbBackendMigration
 	// Query InfluxDB InfluxQL without the proxy
 	FlagInfluxdbBackendMigration = "influxdbBackendMigration"
diff --git a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.json b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.json
index c36e5cd724c..ca2f0132b57 100644
--- a/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.json
+++ b/pkg/services/featuremgmt/toggles_gen.json
@@ -2952,6 +2952,7 @@
         "name": "prometheusMetricEncyclopedia",
         "resourceVersion": "1720021873452",
         "creationTimestamp": "2023-03-07T18:41:05Z",
+        "deletionTimestamp": "2024-12-30T14:42:45Z",
         "annotations": {
           "grafana.app/updatedTimestamp": "2024-07-03 15:51:13.452477 +0000 UTC"
         }