Glossary · Database

Schema Introspection

Schema introspection is the automatic process of reading a database's own metadata to discover its tables, columns, data types, keys, and relationships.

Every major database can describe itself: Postgres and MySQL expose catalogs like information_schema that list every table, column, type, and constraint. Schema introspection queries this metadata so a tool can learn a database's structure in seconds with no manual setup–no uploading documentation, no hand-drawn diagrams. For AI query tools this is the critical first step: the introspected schema is what gets sent to the model so it generates SQL against your real structure rather than a guess. It also means the tool stays current–re-introspect after a migration and the AI knows about the new columns.

Fig — every answer ships with the tables, rows and SQL behind it.