---
schema_version: "1"
id: b3a6473243bbc1c4999ce4f58f82d8cce039129ce227bc1b1f31d32c556982eb
title: Describing Metadata Types
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/platform/salesforce-migration-guide/guides/daas/forcemigrationtool-describemetadata.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-migration-guide/guide/forcemigrationtool-describemetadata.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 6575e092280966a2698da48c6f71dac11c54f5190c455e0efa040b34e4da4098
products:
  - Ant Migration Tool Guide
  - Platform Developer Content
---

# Describing Metadata Types

**note:** The Ant Migration Tool is retired with Spring ’24. The tool continues to function as-is for future API versions but isn’t updated with new functionality and isn’t supported. If Salesforce adds a new feature that is incompatible with Ant, the Ant Migration Tool won't be updated to support it. To manage metadata changes, switch to Salesforce CLI for a modern, supported developer experience.

The `describeMetadata` target returns a list of metadata types that are enabled for your organization. This target is useful when you want to identify the syntax needed for a metadata type in a `<name>` element in package.xml; for example, `CustomObject` for custom objects or `Layout` for page layouts. The following parameters may be set for each `<sf:describeMetadata>` target:

|Field|Description|
|-----|-----------|
|`username`|Required if `sessionId` isn’t specified. The Salesforce username used for login. The username associated with this connection must have the Modify Metadata through Metadata API Functions permission.|
|`password`|Required if `sessionId` isn’t specified. The password you use to log in to the organization associated with this project. If you are using a security token, paste the 25-digit token value to the end of your password.|
|`sessionId`|Required if `username` and `password` aren’t specified. The ID of an active Salesforce session or the OAuth access token. A session is created after a user logs in to Salesforce successfully with a username and password. Use a session ID for logging in to an existing session instead of creating a new session. Alternatively, use an access token for OAuth authentication. For more information, see [Authenticating Apps with OAuth](https://help.salesforce.com/apex/HTViewHelpDoc?id=remoteaccess_authenticate.htm) in the Salesforce Help.|
|`serverurl`|Optional. The Salesforce server URL (if blank, defaults to `login.salesforce.com`). To connect to a sandbox instance, change this value to `test.salesforce.com`.|
|`apiVersion`|Optional. The API version to use for the metadata. The default is 68.0.|
|`resultFilePath`|Optional. The path of the output file where results are stored. The default output is the console. Directing the output to a file makes it easier to extract the relevant information for your package.xml manifest file.|
|`trace`|Optional. Defaults to `false`. Prints the SOAP requests and responses to the console. This option shows the user’s password in plain text during login.|

To get the list of metadata types enabled for your organization, specify a target in the build.xml file using `<sf:describeMetadata>`.

```xml
<target name="describeMetadata">
  <sf:describeMetadata
    username="${sf.username}"
    password="${sf.password}"
    sessionId="${sf.sessionId}"
    serverurl="${sf.serverurl}"
    resultFilePath="describeMetadata/describe.log"/>
</target>
```