As you explore the ysqlsh interactive shell, it’s useful to know that you can view the SQL queries executed for each meta-command you run.
This feature can be incredibly insightful for understanding the catalog tables that support your YugabyteDB YSQL database.
Keep in mind, though, that multiple SQL queries are often executed to produce the desired output. Therefore, it’s best to enable this feature only briefly when you’re trying to learn about something specific.
There are two ways to enable this feature.
Option 1: From the command line with the -E
option.
[root@localhost ~]# ysqlsh -E -c "\d accounts"
********* QUERY **********
SELECT c.oid,
n.nspname,
c.relname
FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace
WHERE c.relname OPERATOR(pg_catalog.~) '^(accounts)$'
AND pg_catalog.pg_table_is_visible(c.oid)
ORDER BY 2, 3;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT c.relchecks, c.relkind, c.relhasindex, c.relhasrules, c.relhastriggers, c.relrowsecurity, c.relforcerowsecurity, c.relhasoids, '', c.reltablespace, CASE WHEN c.reloftype = 0 THEN '' ELSE c.reloftype::pg_catalog.regtype::pg_catalog.text END, c.relpersistence, c.relreplident
FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_class tc ON (c.reltoastrelid = tc.oid)
WHERE c.oid = '16394';
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT grpname, is_colocated
FROM pg_catalog.yb_table_properties(16394) p
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_yb_tablegroup gr
ON gr.oid = p.tablegroup_oid;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT yb_is_database_colocated();
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT a.attname,
pg_catalog.format_type(a.atttypid, a.atttypmod),
(SELECT substring(pg_catalog.pg_get_expr(d.adbin, d.adrelid) for 128)
FROM pg_catalog.pg_attrdef d
WHERE d.adrelid = a.attrelid AND d.adnum = a.attnum AND a.atthasdef),
a.attnotnull,
(SELECT c.collname FROM pg_catalog.pg_collation c, pg_catalog.pg_type t
WHERE c.oid = a.attcollation AND t.oid = a.atttypid AND a.attcollation <> t.typcollation) AS attcollation,
a.attidentity
FROM pg_catalog.pg_attribute a
WHERE a.attrelid = '16394' AND a.attnum > 0 AND NOT a.attisdropped
ORDER BY a.attnum;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT inhparent::pg_catalog.regclass,
pg_catalog.pg_get_expr(c.relpartbound, inhrelid)
FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c JOIN pg_catalog.pg_inherits i ON c.oid = inhrelid
WHERE c.oid = '16394' AND c.relispartition;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT pol.polname, pol.polpermissive,
CASE WHEN pol.polroles = '{0}' THEN NULL ELSE pg_catalog.array_to_string(array(select rolname from pg_catalog.pg_roles where oid = any (pol.polroles) order by 1),',') END,
pg_catalog.pg_get_expr(pol.polqual, pol.polrelid),
pg_catalog.pg_get_expr(pol.polwithcheck, pol.polrelid),
CASE pol.polcmd
WHEN 'r' THEN 'SELECT'
WHEN 'a' THEN 'INSERT'
WHEN 'w' THEN 'UPDATE'
WHEN 'd' THEN 'DELETE'
END AS cmd
FROM pg_catalog.pg_policy pol
WHERE pol.polrelid = '16394' ORDER BY 1;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT oid, stxrelid::pg_catalog.regclass, stxnamespace::pg_catalog.regnamespace AS nsp, stxname,
(SELECT pg_catalog.string_agg(pg_catalog.quote_ident(attname),', ')
FROM pg_catalog.unnest(stxkeys) s(attnum)
JOIN pg_catalog.pg_attribute a ON (stxrelid = a.attrelid AND
a.attnum = s.attnum AND NOT attisdropped)) AS columns,
'd' = any(stxkind) AS ndist_enabled,
'f' = any(stxkind) AS deps_enabled
FROM pg_catalog.pg_statistic_ext stat WHERE stxrelid = '16394'
ORDER BY 1;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT pubname
FROM pg_catalog.pg_publication p
JOIN pg_catalog.pg_publication_rel pr ON p.oid = pr.prpubid
WHERE pr.prrelid = '16394'
UNION ALL
SELECT pubname
FROM pg_catalog.pg_publication p
WHERE p.puballtables AND pg_catalog.pg_relation_is_publishable('16394')
ORDER BY 1;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT c.oid::pg_catalog.regclass FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c, pg_catalog.pg_inherits i WHERE c.oid=i.inhparent AND i.inhrelid = '16394' AND c.relkind != 'p' ORDER BY inhseqno;
**************************
********* QUERY **********
SELECT c.oid::pg_catalog.regclass, pg_catalog.pg_get_expr(c.relpartbound, c.oid), c.relkind FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c, pg_catalog.pg_inherits i WHERE c.oid=i.inhrelid AND i.inhparent = '16394' ORDER BY pg_catalog.pg_get_expr(c.relpartbound, c.oid) = 'DEFAULT', c.oid::pg_catalog.regclass::pg_catalog.text;
**************************
Table "public.accounts"
Column | Type | Collation | Nullable | Default
---------+---------+-----------+----------+---------
name | text | | |
balance | integer | | |
Options 2: If already in an active session, set the ECHO_HIDDEN
variable to true
.
yugabyte=# \set ECHO_HIDDEN true
yugabyte=# \di test
********* QUERY **********
SELECT n.nspname as "Schema",
c.relname as "Name",
CASE c.relkind WHEN 'r' THEN 'table' WHEN 'v' THEN 'view' WHEN 'm' THEN 'materialized view' WHEN 'i' THEN 'index' WHEN 'S' THEN 'sequence' WHEN 's' THEN 'special' WHEN 'f' THEN 'foreign table' WHEN 'p' THEN 'table' WHEN 'I' THEN 'index' END as "Type",
pg_catalog.pg_get_userbyid(c.relowner) as "Owner",
c2.relname as "Table"
FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_index i ON i.indexrelid = c.oid
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_class c2 ON i.indrelid = c2.oid
WHERE c.relkind IN ('i','I','s','')
AND n.nspname !~ '^pg_toast'
AND c.relname OPERATOR(pg_catalog.~) '^(test)$'
AND pg_catalog.pg_table_is_visible(c.oid)
ORDER BY 1,2;
**************************
Did not find any relation named "test".
yugabyte=# \di test_idx
********* QUERY **********
SELECT n.nspname as "Schema",
c.relname as "Name",
CASE c.relkind WHEN 'r' THEN 'table' WHEN 'v' THEN 'view' WHEN 'm' THEN 'materialized view' WHEN 'i' THEN 'index' WHEN 'S' THEN 'sequence' WHEN 's' THEN 'special' WHEN 'f' THEN 'foreign table' WHEN 'p' THEN 'table' WHEN 'I' THEN 'index' END as "Type",
pg_catalog.pg_get_userbyid(c.relowner) as "Owner",
c2.relname as "Table"
FROM pg_catalog.pg_class c
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_index i ON i.indexrelid = c.oid
LEFT JOIN pg_catalog.pg_class c2 ON i.indrelid = c2.oid
WHERE c.relkind IN ('i','I','s','')
AND n.nspname !~ '^pg_toast'
AND c.relname OPERATOR(pg_catalog.~) '^(test_idx)$'
AND pg_catalog.pg_table_is_visible(c.oid)
ORDER BY 1,2;
**************************
List of relations
Schema | Name | Type | Owner | Table
--------+----------+-------+----------+-------
public | test_idx | index | yugabyte | test
(1 row)
Have Fun!
![](https://yugabytedb.tips/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/StowAway-851x1024.webp)