# SEARCH.DESCRIBE

> Return metadata about a search index.

Use `SEARCH.DESCRIBE` to return metadata about a search index.

The reply reports how the index is defined, the key type and prefixes it covers, and the fields in its schema with their types and options, along with its current state such as the number of indexed documents. It is the way to confirm what an index actually indexes before writing queries against it, and to check whether a schema change was applied.

See [Describing an Index](/redis/search/index-management#describing-an-index) for the feature guide.

The command accepts an index name or alias. When an alias is used, the response describes its target and reports the target's index name.

## Syntax

```redis
SEARCH.DESCRIBE <name>
```

## Response

Returns index metadata as alternating field names and values. The response contains:

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `name` | The index name. |
| `type` | The indexed Redis value type: `HASH`, `JSON`, `STRING`, or `STREAM`. |
| `prefixes` | Key prefixes included in the index. For a `STREAM` index, the single stream key it covers. |
| `language` | Stemming language used by `TEXT` fields. |
| `indexSize` | Current index size in bytes. |
| `pendingUpdates` | Number of updates waiting to be indexed. |
| `schema` | Field definitions, including `FROM`, `NOSTEM`, `NOTOKENIZE`, and `FAST` options where present. |

```text
[
  "name", "products",
  "type", "JSON",
  "prefixes", ["product:"],
  "language", "english",
  "indexSize", 1234,
  "pendingUpdates", 0,
  "schema", [["name", "TEXT"], ["price", "F64", "FAST"]]
]
```

Returns `null` if the index does not exist.

## Examples

<AccordionGroup>

<Accordion title="Redis CLI" icon="terminal">

```bash
SEARCH.DESCRIBE products
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="@upstash/redis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">

```ts
import { Redis } from "@upstash/redis";

const redis = Redis.fromEnv();
const products = redis.search.index({ name: "products" });
const description = await products.describe();
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="upstash_redis" icon="python" iconType="brands">

```python
from upstash_redis import Redis

redis = Redis.from_env()
products = redis.search.index(name="products")
description = products.describe()
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="ioredis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">

```ts
import IORedis from "ioredis";
import { createSearch } from "@upstash/search-ioredis";

const redis = new IORedis(process.env.REDIS_URL!);
const search = createSearch(redis);
const products = search.index({ name: "products" });
const description = await products.describe();
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="node-redis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">

```ts
import { createClient } from "redis";
import { createSearch } from "@upstash/search-redis";

const client = await createClient({ url: process.env.REDIS_URL })
  .on("error", console.error)
  .connect();
const search = createSearch(client);
const products = search.index({ name: "products" });
const description = await products.describe();
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="redis-py" icon="python" iconType="brands">

```python
import os
import redis

client = redis.from_url(os.environ["REDIS_URL"])
result = client.execute_command("SEARCH.DESCRIBE", "products")
print(result)
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="go-redis" icon="golang" iconType="brands">

```go
package main

import (
    "context"
    "fmt"
    "os"

    "github.com/redis/go-redis/v9"
)

func main() {
    opts, err := redis.ParseURL(os.Getenv("REDIS_URL"))
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    client := redis.NewClient(opts)
    result, err := client.Do(context.Background(), "SEARCH.DESCRIBE", "products").Result()
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    fmt.Println(result)
}
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="jedis" icon="java" iconType="brands">

```java
import java.net.URI;

import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;

try (Jedis jedis = new Jedis(new URI(System.getenv("REDIS_URL")))) {
  Object result = jedis.sendCommand(() -> "SEARCH.DESCRIBE".getBytes(), "products");
  System.out.println(result);
}
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="redis-rs" icon="rust" iconType="brands">

```rust
fn main() -> redis::RedisResult<()> {
    let url = std::env::var("REDIS_URL").expect("REDIS_URL is not set");
    let client = redis::Client::open(url)?;
    let mut connection = client.get_connection()?;

    let mut command = redis::cmd("SEARCH.DESCRIBE");
    command.arg("products");
    let result: redis::Value = command.query(&mut connection)?;
    println!("{result:?}");
    Ok(())
}
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="curl">

```bash
curl -X POST https://YOUR_ENDPOINT.upstash.io \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN" \
  -d '["SEARCH.DESCRIBE", "products"]'
```

</Accordion>

</AccordionGroup>