explain_sql

What explain_sql does on Metabase MCP

AI agents call explain_sql to retrieve information from Metabase MCP without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Why explain_sql is rated Low

This tool performs query analysis and explanation only—a retrieval and informational operation. It does not execute SQL, modify data, or trigger side effects. The worst-case misuse would be explaining sensitive queries to reveal their structure, but this is a read-only information disclosure risk rather than a data manipulation or execution risk. Severity is low because explanation alone cannot alter system state.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'explain_sql' and description 'Explain a SQL query in plain English' indicates this tool analyzes and describes existing SQL queries without executing them or modifying any data.

The rule that runs explain_sql safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Metabase MCP, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For explain_sql, this is the rule to start with:

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "explain_sql": {}
  }
}

Questions about explain_sql