| name | motherduck-explore |
| description | Discover and explore databases, tables, columns, and data shares in MotherDuck. Use when you need to understand what data is available, preview table contents, or search the data catalog. |
| license | MIT |
Explore MotherDuck Data
Use this skill when you need to discover what databases, tables, and columns exist in a MotherDuck account; preview and sample data; understand schemas and data types; find shared databases; or search the data catalog.
Prerequisites
- An established MotherDuck connection (or an active MotherDuck MCP server)
Default Posture
- Explore top-down: databases, then tables/views, then columns, then statistics, then sample rows.
- Use fully qualified table names once more than one database is attached.
- Check shared databases before concluding that data is unavailable.
- Use the MotherDuck MCP tools (
list_databases, list_tables, list_columns, search_catalog) when available because they return structured results faster than ad hoc SQL.
- Return a concise schema map with table grain, join keys, date columns, and likely measures before moving into modeling or dashboard work.
Workflow
- List databases in scope.
- List tables and views in the target database.
- Inspect columns, types, nullability, and comments before writing queries.
- Run
SUMMARIZE on important tables to understand ranges, cardinality, and null rates.
- Preview rows, capture grain and join assumptions, and only then move into analytical SQL or modeling work.
Open Next
- Read
references/EXPLORATION_PLAYBOOK.md for the full SQL workflow, share discovery patterns, MCP tool guidance, and common exploration mistakes
Related Skills
motherduck-connect for session setup and authenticationmotherduck-query for analytical SQL after the schema is understoodmotherduck-duckdb-sql for DuckDB syntax patterns during explorationmotherduck-share-data for creating and consuming shares once shared datasets become part of the workflow
