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;