---
schema_version: "1"
id: 558eb69f1bfc123d6d80a7c1f1459ff88327767c6ceb6b8ac2081ef6c2be5624
title: sobject describe
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/developer/current/en-us/salesforcedx/sfclireference/guides/sobject/cli_reference_sobject_describe.md
canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/salesforce-cli-reference/guide/cli_reference_sobject_describe.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: d71096eb61776fd29cdfe1e045ab7b525ab3766e471c06b6d8ac298e64a19fbc
products:
  - Salesforce CLI Command Reference
  - salesforcedx
---
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# sobject describe

Display the metadata for a standard or custom object or a Tooling API object.

## Description for sobject describe

The metadata is displayed in JSON format. See this topic for a description of each property: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_calls_describesobjects_describesobjectresult.htm.

This command displays metadata for Salesforce objects by default. Use the --use-tooling-api flag to view metadata for a Tooling API object.

## Aliases for sobject describe

`force:schema:sobject:describe`

## Flags

| Flag Name (Long) | Flag Name (Short) | Description |
|------------------|-------------------|-------------|
| <code>&#8209;&#8209;api&#8209;version</code> | N/A | **Type:** Value<br><br>Override the api version used for api requests made by this command |
| <code>&#8209;&#8209;flags&#8209;dir</code> | N/A | **Type:** Value<br><br>Import flag values from a directory. |
| <code>&#8209;&#8209;json</code> | N/A | **Type:** Boolean<br><br>Format output as json. |
| <code>&#8209;&#8209;sobject</code> | <code>&#8209;s</code> | **Type:** Value<br>**Required**<br><br>API name of the object to describe. |
| <code>&#8209;&#8209;target&#8209;org</code> | <code>&#8209;o</code> | **Type:** Value<br>**Required**<br><br>Username or alias of the target org. Not required if the `target-org` configuration variable is already set. |
| <code>&#8209;&#8209;use&#8209;tooling&#8209;api</code> | <code>&#8209;t</code> | **Type:** Boolean<br><br>Use Tooling API to display metadata for Tooling API objects. |

## Examples for sobject describe

Display the metadata of the "Account" standard object in your default org:

```shell
sf sobject describe --sobject Account
```

Display the metadata of the "MyObject__c" custom object in the org with alias "my-scratch-org":

```shell
sf sobject describe --sobject MyObject__c --target-org my-scratch-org
```

Display the metadata of the ApexCodeCoverage Tooling API object in your default org:

```shell
sf sobject describe --sobject ApexCodeCoverage --use-tooling-api
```
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