search_objects

Search and list database objects (schemas, tables, columns, procedures, functions, indexes) with pattern matching. This unified tool supports both targeted searches and browsing all objects, implementing progressive disclosure to minimize token usage.

Parameters

object_type (required): Type of object to search - "schema", "table", "column", "procedure", "function", or "index"
pattern (optional): Search pattern using SQL LIKE syntax (% for wildcard, _ for single character). Defaults to "%" (match all)
schema (optional): Filter results to a specific schema
detail_level (optional): Level of detail - "names" (default), "summary", or "full"
limit (optional): Maximum results to return (default: 100, max: 1000)

Detail Levels

{
  "object_type": "table",
  "pattern": "user%",
  "detail_level": "names"
}

// Returns:
{
  "count": 3,
  "results": [
    { "name": "users", "schema": "public" },
    { "name": "user_profiles", "schema": "public" },
    { "name": "user_sessions", "schema": "public" }
  ]
}

{
  "object_type": "table",
  "pattern": "users",
  "detail_level": "summary"
}

// Returns:
{
  "count": 1,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "users",
      "schema": "public",
      "column_count": 8,
      "row_count": 1523,
      "comment": "Application users"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "object_type": "table",
  "pattern": "users",
  "detail_level": "full"
}

// Returns complete table structure with columns, indexes, and comments:
{
  "count": 1,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "users",
      "schema": "public",
      "column_count": 3,
      "row_count": 1523,
      "comment": "Application users",
      "columns": [
        { "name": "id", "type": "integer", "nullable": false, "default": null },
        { "name": "name", "type": "varchar", "nullable": false, "default": null, "description": "Full name of the user" },
        { "name": "email", "type": "varchar", "nullable": false, "default": null, "description": "Unique email address" }
      ],
      "indexes": [
        { "name": "users_pkey", "columns": ["id"], "unique": true, "primary": true }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Examples

{
  "object_type": "table",
  "pattern": "user%",
  "detail_level": "names",
  "limit": 10
}

{
  "object_type": "table",
  "schema": "public",
  "detail_level": "names"
}

{
  "object_type": "column",
  "pattern": "%_id",
  "detail_level": "summary"
}

{
  "object_type": "schema",
  "detail_level": "summary"
}

{
  "object_type": "function",
  "pattern": "calc%",
  "detail_level": "summary"
}

Pattern Syntax

Use SQL LIKE pattern syntax for flexible matching:

% - Matches any sequence of characters
_ - Matches exactly one character
Case-insensitive matching

Examples:

user% → Matches “users”, “user_profiles”, “user_sessions”
%_id → Matches “user_id”, “order_id”, “product_id”
test_ → Matches “test_1”, “test_a” (but not “test_10”)
%user% → Matches “users”, “user_profiles”, “app_users”

Token Efficiency

This tool can reduce token usage by 90-99% compared to listing all objects:

Scenario	Traditional Approach	Search Approach	Token Savings
Find “users” table in 500 tables	List all (full)	Search (names)	99%
Explore table structure	List all tables first	Search + drill down	95%
Find ID columns	Load all schemas	Search columns	85%

Always start with detail_level: "names" and only request "summary" or "full" when you need additional information. This minimizes token usage while exploring the database.

Table and Column Comments

When using detail_level: "summary" or "full", the tool includes database comments/descriptions if they exist. This helps LLMs understand the purpose of tables and columns, especially in complex or legacy databases.

Table comments appear as the comment field on table results (summary and full levels)
Column descriptions appear as the description field on each column (full level only)
Fields are omitted when no comment is set, keeping responses token-efficient

Database	Table Comments	Column Comments
PostgreSQL	`COMMENT ON TABLE`	`COMMENT ON COLUMN`
MySQL	`ALTER TABLE ... COMMENT`	`ALTER TABLE ... MODIFY COLUMN ... COMMENT`
MariaDB	`ALTER TABLE ... COMMENT`	`ALTER TABLE ... MODIFY COLUMN ... COMMENT`
SQL Server	`sp_addextendedproperty` (MS_Description)	`sp_addextendedproperty` (MS_Description)
SQLite	Not supported	Not supported

Usage Patterns

// Find specific tables by pattern
{
  "object_type": "table",
  "pattern": "user%",
  "detail_level": "names"
}

// List all tables (pattern defaults to "%")
{
  "object_type": "table",
  "schema": "public",
  "detail_level": "summary"
}

// Step 1: List table names
{
  "object_type": "table",
  "schema": "public",
  "detail_level": "names"
}

// Step 2: Get full details for specific table
{
  "object_type": "table",
  "pattern": "users",
  "detail_level": "full"
}

Pattern defaults to "%" - You can omit the pattern parameter entirely to list all objects of the specified type. This unified tool replaces both search and list operations with a single, consistent interface.

The tool supports all three detail levels (names, summary, full) and works seamlessly with multi-database configurations. Results are limited by the limit parameter (default: 100, max: 1000) to prevent excessive token usage.

Getting Started

MCP Tools

Workbench

Configuration

Parameters

Detail Levels

Examples

Pattern Syntax

Token Efficiency

Table and Column Comments

Usage Patterns

​Parameters

​Detail Levels

​Examples

​Pattern Syntax

​Token Efficiency

​Table and Column Comments

​Usage Patterns

Parameters

Detail Levels

Examples

Pattern Syntax

Token Efficiency

Table and Column Comments

Usage Patterns