describe

The .describe command provides detailed information about a table or view, including its columns and data types. For tables, it also displays constraints, indexes, primary keys, and foreign key relationships. Primary keys and foreign keys are displayed with an "Inferred" column that indicates whether the relationship was declared in the database schema or inferred from column naming conventions (e.g., a user_id column referencing a users table, or a NOT NULL id column as a primary key). When describing a view, only columns are displayed.

Usage

.describe [table|view]

When to use

  • Use .describe to inspect table or view schemas before writing queries or performing data transformations.
  • Helpful for data exploration, debugging, and documentation.
  • Use to discover primary key and foreign key relationships, including inferred ones based on naming conventions.

Examples

Describe the table named users:

.describe users

Describe the view named user_emails:

.describe user_emails

Describe the current table (if context is set):

.describe

Troubleshooting

  • If you receive an error, ensure the table or view name is correct, and you have access permissions.
  • Some data sources may require fully qualified names (e.g., schema.table).

Demonstration