/explore
Explore a database schema token-efficiently via the DBHub tools; use before writing SQL against a schema you haven't seen.
$ npx -y skills add bytebase/dbhub --skill explore --agent claude-codeHow it fires
How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
- Fires itselfAuto-invocation. Claude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.Auto-invocation is when the right skill fires by itself at the right moment, driven by a FLOW.md router and a hook, instead of you invoking it by name. It is the difference between a skill being installed and a skill actually getting used.Read the full definition →
- You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
- Slash command
/explore
Context preview
The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.
Explore a database schema token-efficiently via the DBHub tools; use before writing SQL against a schema you haven't seen.
SKILL.md
explore.SKILL.mddescription: Explore a database schema token-efficiently via the DBHub tools; use before writing SQL against a schema you haven't seen.
DBHub Schema Exploration
Use `search_objects` with progressive disclosure — always coarse to fine:
1. **Orient:** `object_type: "table"`, `detail_level: "names"` (pattern defaults to `%`, matching all). Cheap even on large schemas. 2. **Narrow:** `detail_level: "summary"` for the tables that matter (row/column counts, comments), using a pattern like `%order%` rather than listing everything. 3. **Drill in:** `detail_level: "full"` only for the tables you will actually query (complete columns, types, keys) — never as a first, pattern-less call on an unfamiliar schema.
Searching `object_type: "column"` with a pattern like `%email%` is the fastest way to find which tables hold a concept.
Querying
- Always add `LIMIT` (or `TOP` on SQL Server) when sampling data — start with `LIMIT 10`. Prefer aggregates (`COUNT`, `GROUP BY`) over pulling rows to characterize data.
- Check a table's `full` detail before writing JOINs so you use real column names — don't guess and retry.
- This plugin is read-only; if a write is rejected, tell the user rather than trying to work around it.
Minimal database MCP server for Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, MariaDB, SQLite.
Repo: bytebase/dbhub
Other skills on dbhub.
- /fix-bug
Use when given a GitHub issue URL or number to investigate and implement a fix. Triggers on "fix issue", "fix bug", "fix #123", GitHub issue URLs, or any request to resolve a reported problem from a GitHub issue. Also triggers when asked to investigate errors, diagnose failures,
Open skill - /testing
Run and troubleshoot tests for DBHub, including unit tests, integration tests with Testcontainers, and database-specific tests. Use when asked to run tests, fix test failures, debug integration tests, troubleshoot Docker/database container issues, or add new tests. Also use when
Open skill - /setup
Connect DBHub to a database or fix a failing connection; also covers changing the DSN, write access, or multiple databases.
Open skill - /dbhub
Guide for querying databases through DBHub MCP server. Use this skill whenever you need to explore database schemas, inspect tables, or run SQL queries via DBHub's MCP tools (search_objects, execute_sql, and the opt-in explain_sql and health_check). Activates on any database
Open skill

