How to View Schema in Snowflake

How do I view the schema of a table in Snowflake?

Use SHOW and DESCRIBE commands to list tables and view column-level details in any Snowflake schema.

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Description

Why do developers need to view a schema in Snowflake?

Confirming column names, data types, and constraints helps you write joins, validate ETL jobs, and detect breaking model changes.

What commands list all tables in a schema?

Run SHOW TABLES IN SCHEMA ;. The result set includes table name, kind, owner, row count, and comment.

How can I see every column in a table?

DESCRIBE TABLE

Use DESC TABLE schema.table_name; to return column order, names, data types, nullability, default values, and policy tags.

SHOW COLUMNS

SHOW COLUMNS IN TABLE schema.table_name; provides similar output but lets you query the results with RESULT_SCAN().

How do I filter or sort the SHOW output?

Wrap the command in a sub-query: SELECT * FROM TABLE(RESULT_SCAN(LAST_QUERY_ID())) WHERE type='NUMBER' ORDER BY ordinal_position;.

Can I view multiple tables at once?

Loop through table names in a scripting block, or generate SQL with SHOW TABLES + DESCRIBE TABLE for each table.

Best practices for inspecting schemas

Always include the database and schema in fully-qualified names. Store SHOW/RESULT_SCAN queries in version control so teammates reuse them.

Common mistakes and fixes

Omitting the schema qualifier: prefix tables with database.schema to avoid “table not found” in other contexts.

Using INFORMATION_SCHEMA for real-time structure: it can lag. Prefer SHOW or DESCRIBE for the latest metadata.

Additional questions

See the FAQ below for quick answers on permissions, large schemas, and querying RESULT_SCAN.

Why How to View Schema in Snowflake is important

How to View Schema in Snowflake Example Usage


-- Check the Customers table structure before adding an index
DESCRIBE TABLE analytics.public.customers;

How to View Schema in Snowflake Syntax


-- List tables in a schema
SHOW TABLES IN SCHEMA analytics.public;

-- View columns for one table
DESCRIBE TABLE analytics.public.customers;

-- Alternative column listing with queryable result
SHOW COLUMNS IN TABLE analytics.public.orders;

-- Find numeric columns in Orders
WITH cols AS (
  SHOW COLUMNS IN TABLE analytics.public.orders
)
SELECT "column_name", "data_type"
FROM   TABLE(RESULT_SCAN(LAST_QUERY_ID()))
WHERE  data_type ILIKE '%NUMBER%';

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to fully qualify the table name (db.schema.table) causes errors when your current role’s default schema differs. Always include the full path.
Querying INFORMATION_SCHEMA for immediate changes can return stale data. Use SHOW or DESCRIBE for real-time metadata instead.