> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kinetica.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# DESCRIBE CATALOG

<a id="sql-desc-catalog" />

Lists the tables available within an existing
[catalog](/content/sql/ddl/create-catalog#sql-create-catalog).

```sql title="DESCRIBE CATALOG Syntax" theme={null}
DESC[RIBE] CATALOG <catalog name>
```

<Info>
  `DESCRIBE CATALOG` queries the external catalog service directly,
  and will fail if that service is unreachable.
</Info>

## Parameters

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="<catalog name>" id="<catalog-name>" defaultOpen>
    Name of the existing *catalog* whose tables will be listed.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Response

The response to `DESCRIBE CATALOG` is a two-column result set:

| Output Column | Description                                                    |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Schema Name` | Name of the schema, within the *catalog*, containing the table |
| `Table Name`  | Name of the table within that schema                           |

A value from these two columns forms the `CATALOG PATH` used to create an
[external table](/content/sql/ddl/create-external-table#sql-create-ext-table) over the table.

## Examples

To list the tables available within a *catalog*:

```sql DESCRIBE CATALOG Example theme={null}
DESCRIBE CATALOG iceberg_rest_cat
```