---
schema_version: "1"
id: 36a3fc2fe0df6fb964ab3f0b827348abb85c3c89a9f77e11697217d83ca8d55f
title: sObject Describe
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/platform/api-rest/guides/resources/resources-sobject-describe.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/api-rest/guide/resources-sobject-describe.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: ef5de461460134e90ea830b1b63fe71d4bf344cd61c6342084335907e94d6cec
products:
  - REST API Developer Guide
  - Platform Developer Content
---

# sObject Describe

Completely describes the individual metadata at all levels for the specified object. For example, this can be used to retrieve the fields, URLs, and child relationships for the Account object.

For more information about the metadata that is retrieved, see [DescribesObjectResult](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_calls_describesobjects_describesobjectresult.htm) in the *SOAP API Developers Guide*.

You can use the `If-Modified-Since` or `If-Unmodified-Since` header with this resource. When using the `If-Modified-Since` header, if no available object’s metadata has changed since the provided date, a `304 Not Modified` status code is returned with no response body.

## Syntax

**URI:** `/services/data/vXX.X/sobjects/sObject/describe/`

**Formats:** JSON, XML

**HTTP Method:** GET

**Authentication:** `Authorization: Bearer token`

**Parameters**

|Parameter|Description|
|---------|-----------|
|`sObject`|The name of the object. For example, `Account`. A required path parameter.|
|`If-Modified-Since`|An optional header specifying a date and time. The request returns records that have been modified after that date and time. The format is `EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss z`. For example: `If-Modified-Since: Mon, 30 Nov 2020 08:34:54 MST`.|
|`If-Unmodified-Since`|An optional header specifying a date and time. The request returns records that have not been modified after that date and time. The format is `EEE, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss z`. For example: `If-Unmodified-Since: Mon, 30 Nov 2020 08:34:54 MST`.|

## Example

See [Get Field and Other Metadata for an Object](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/api-rest/do-me/dome-sobject-describe.md). For an example that uses the `If-Modified-Since` HTTP header, see [Get Object Metadata Changes](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/api-rest/do-me/sobject-describe-with-ifmodified-header.md).

**See Also**  


-   [Object Reference for the Salesforce Platform](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/)
-   [Conditional Request Headers](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/api-rest/intro/intro-rest-conditional-requests.md)