DESCRIBE
Describes a resource or a specific method on a resource.
See also: [ StackQL Resource Hierarchy ]
Syntax
describeStatement::=
DESCRIBE [ METHOD ] [ EXTENDED ] <multipartIdentifier> ;
DESC [ EXTENDED ] <multipartIdentifier> ;
DESC is accepted as an alias for DESCRIBE when describing a resource; DESCRIBE METHOD requires the full keyword.
Response
- DESCRIBE
- DESCRIBE METHOD
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
name | Field name |
type | Datatype (string, integer, boolean, number, object, array) |
description | Field description (if EXTENDED is supplied) |
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
name | Field name |
type | Datatype (string, integer, boolean, number, object, array) |
param_type | input_required, input_optional, or output |
shape | JSON Schema subset for object and array fields; empty for scalars. Includes nested properties, items, required, enum, default, description, and optionally includes booleans if made available by the provider (readOnly, writeOnly, deprecated) |
description | Field description (if EXTENDED is supplied) |
Examples
Basic DESCRIBE Statement
Run a basic DESCRIBE statement to list the fields in a resource from an authenticated session.
-- Show the available fields in a Compute Engine resource
DESCRIBE google.compute.instances;
Extended DESCRIBE Statement
Run an extended DESCRIBE statement to list the fields in a resource and their descriptions from an authenticated session.
-- Show the available fields in a Compute Engine resource
DESCRIBE EXTENDED google.compute.instances;
DESC Alias
DESC is shorthand for DESCRIBE on a resource, with or without EXTENDED. It is treated as a read-only statement everywhere DESCRIBE is, including the MCP server's run_select_query tool in read_only and safe modes.
-- Same result as DESCRIBE EXTENDED google.compute.instances
DESC EXTENDED google.compute.instances;
Basic DESCRIBE METHOD Statement
Introspect a single method on a resource. The result includes input parameters and response fields, with nested structure rendered in the shape column.
-- Show the inputs and outputs for the buckets.get method
DESCRIBE METHOD google.storage.buckets.get;
Extended DESCRIBE METHOD Statement
Run an extended DESCRIBE METHOD statement to include per-field descriptions alongside the shape.
-- Show inputs, outputs, and descriptions for the buckets.insert method
DESCRIBE METHOD EXTENDED google.storage.buckets.insert;
Discovering an INSERT Payload
DESCRIBE METHOD is the canonical way to discover what fields an INSERT (or any mutating method) accepts. The shape column carries nested structure agents and humans can use to construct a payload in one query.
-- See what google.compute.instances.insert requires
DESCRIBE METHOD EXTENDED google.compute.instances.insert;