Returns the full bundle of a single semantic context: its metadata, pinned tables, expressions, example queries, sample questions, virtual constraints, and auto-detected joins. Read-only.
DESCRIBE SEMANTIC CONTEXT <name>## Overview DESCRIBE SEMANTIC CONTEXT returns the complete bundle of one semantic context as a readable, grouped result: its metadata (title, description, instructions), every pinned table, every named expression, every trusted example query, every sample question, every informational virtual constraint, and the joins auto-detected between its pinned tables. It is the read-only drill-in surface that complements the SHOW SEMANTIC CONTEXTS listing. The context is addressed by its machine name, matched case-insensitively. The detail aggregate is assembled by the control plane, which owns the semantic context store; a compute node never reads the store directly, so the command is served through the control plane API. ## Behavior - The result is a multi-row batch grouped by section. The columns are section, item, and detail. Each row describes one element of the context, with the section column grouping rows by kind. - Sections cover the context metadata (title, description, instructions), one row per pinned table (with its description), one row per expression (its name and body), one row per example query (its title and the question it answers), one row per sample question, one row per virtual constraint, and one row per auto-detected join. - The auto-detected joins are read from DeltaForge's observed join graph (the same source as SHOW TABLE JOINS), filtered to the context's pinned tables. They populate only once a query that joins the pinned tables has been observed, so a brand-new context shows no joins until such a query runs. - Virtual constraints shown here are informational only. They are never enforced and never alter the physical Delta or Iceberg table; they describe a relationship for grounding and join detection. - The command is read-only. It never changes the context, any table, or any table data. - Describing a context whose name does not resolve raises a clear not-found error. ## Access Control Reads one semantic context's bundle; a read-only metadata command served by the control plane. Describing a context grants no data access; the tables it pins remain governed by their existing table-level privileges. ## Compatibility DESCRIBE SEMANTIC CONTEXT is a DeltaForge extension. It is read-only, in the same family as SHOW TABLE JOINS and SHOW TABLE USAGE. There is no ANSI SQL equivalent. The same bundle is returned to assistants by the get_semantic_context grounding tool.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name | Specifies the machine name (slug) of the semantic context to describe. Matched case-insensitively. The control plane resolves the name to the stored id and returns that context's full detail aggregate. A name that does not resolve raises a clear not-found error. |
-- Inspect everything in a semantic context
DESCRIBE SEMANTIC CONTEXT sales;