Keyspace, table, and column information

Use CQL to query system_schema tables to view keyspace, table, and column information. The same information is also available using the cqlsh DESCRIBE commands, which is the preferred method. The system_schema table does not show search index or row-level access control settings.

To secure schema data, enable system_keyspaces_filtering. Users can only access schema information of objects for which they have permission to access.

Procedure

Query the defined keyspaces using the SELECT statement.
```
SELECT * FROM system_schema.keyspaces;
```

Get the schema information for tables in the cycling keyspace.

EXPAND ON;
SELECT * FROM system_schema.tables 
  WHERE keyspace_name = 'cycling' AND table_name = 'cyclist_name';
EXPAND OFF;

The following results show the record for the cyclist_name table formatted with the cqlsh EXPAND ON option.

Get details about a table’s columns from system_schema.columns.

SELECT * FROM system_schema.columns 
  WHERE keyspace_name = 'cycling' AND table_name = 'cyclist_name';

Keyspace, table, and column information

Procedure

Was this helpful?

Give Feedback