DESCRIBE

The purpose of the DESCRIBE command is to inspect the structure of a table — not its data. In other words, it tells you what columns exist and how they’re defined.

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What DESCRIBE does in MySQL

DESCRIBE answers questions like:

• What columns does this table have?
• What are their data types?
• Which columns can be NULL?
• Which column is the primary key?
• Are there default values?

It’s a schema-inspection tool, not a data query.

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Basic syntax

Example:

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Typical output (what each column means)

This tells you how the table is built.

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Why DESCRIBE is important

1️⃣ Fast orientation

When you inherit a database (very common), DESCRIBE lets you understand a table in seconds.

2️⃣ Safer querying

Before writing:

You check:

So you don’t guess column names or types.

3️⃣ Debugging & validation

• Why is an insert failing?
• Why can’t a column be NULL?
• Why is a value auto-incrementing?

DESCRIBE usually answers immediately.

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DESCRIBE vs SELECT

This distinction is fundamental:

Think:

• DESCRIBE = blueprint
• SELECT = contents

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Related commands you should know

• SHOW COLUMNS FROM table; → same result as DESCRIBE
• SHOW CREATE TABLE table; → full table definition (DDL)
• INFORMATION_SCHEMA → advanced metadata queries

DESCRIBE is the quickest and most human-friendly option.

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Best practice (training standard)

Always DESCRIBE a table before modifying or querying it.

This prevents:

• Typos
• Wrong assumptions
• Data loss
• Time wasted debugging

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One-sentence definition (reusable)

DESCRIBE is used to view the structure and column definitions of a table in MySQL.

Related Topics:

• Compare DESCRIBE vs SHOW CREATE TABLE
• Apply this directly to WordPress or SuiteCRM tables
• Build a “first steps when exploring a database” checklist
• Show how GUI tools surface the same metadata