Describe a connector

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Use connectors describe to inspect a configured connector before executing actions against it. The response includes the connector details plus a schema object returned by the connector's describe action.

Run this command before executing. Entity names, action names, parameters, and field names vary by connector.

describe vs. skill docs

describe returns the connector's raw schema — the machine-readable entity, action, and parameter contract you use when writing execute calls by hand or in a script. This is different from the connector's skill docs, which are prose guidance written for an AI agent to read at runtime. When you build an agent, prefer skill docs (through build_connector_tools in the SDK, or the inspect and read-docs steps in the API and MCP). Reach for describe when you want the schema itself.

Describe by name

airbyte-agent connectors describe --json '{
  "workspace": "default",
  "name": "GitHub"
}'

When you use name, include workspace. If you omit workspace, the CLI falls back to your saved default workspace, then to default.

Describe by ID

airbyte-agent connectors describe --json '{
  "id": "<connector-id>"
}'

Use id when two connectors in a workspace have the same name or when you want to avoid name resolution.

Read the schema

The response shape is connector-specific, but the schema object is the contract for execution. Use it to find:

• Available entities, such as issues, contacts, or messages.
• Supported actions for each entity, such as context_store_search, list, get, create, or update.
• Required and optional params for each action.
• Fields you can request with select_fields or remove with exclude_fields.

Use --fields to focus the output when you only need part of the schema:

airbyte-agent connectors describe --json '{
  "workspace": "default",
  "name": "GitHub"
}' --fields id,name,schema

Resolve errors

• not_found: run airbyte-agent connectors list --json '{"workspace": "default"}' and confirm the connector name or ID.
• validation_error: pass either id or name with workspace, not both.
• auth_error or unauthorized: run airbyte-agent login, then retry.