SQL Explainer

Overview

SQL Explainer sends the `query` you POST, up to 50,000 characters, to a Gemini language model with instructions to explain it in plain English and return structured JSON. The model runs at temperature 0, so the same query normally produces the same explanation. Output is always in English, whatever language the query's comments or identifiers use.

The `detail` parameter sets the length. `brief`, the default, asks for one or two sentences. `standard` asks for two to four. `detailed` asks for a step-by-step breakdown and allows the longest output. An unrecognised value falls back to `brief`.

`explanation` is the prose description. `operation` is the primary statement type, such as `SELECT`, `INSERT`, `UPDATE`, `DELETE` or `CREATE`. `tables` lists the table names the model identifies in the query. `complexity` is one of `simple`, `moderate` or `complex`.

The model also judges whether the input is SQL at all. If it is not, the call returns a 400 with an example of a valid query instead of an explanation. Input that fails the text safety check is rejected with a 400 before the model is called. The query is never executed or connected to a database, so the explanation describes intent from the text alone: it cannot know your schema, indexes or row counts, and `complexity` reflects the query's structure, not its run time. On the Free plan `detail` is ignored, so every explanation is brief, and `complexity` is removed.

Live Test SQL Explainer API →

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

curl -X POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/sqlexplainer \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "query": "SELECT u.name, COUNT(o.id) as order_count FROM users u LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id WHERE u.created_at > '2024-01-01' GROUP BY u.id HAVING COUNT(o.id) > 5 ORDER BY order_count DESC",
  "detail": "standard"
}'

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/sqlexplainer', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "query": "SELECT u.name, COUNT(o.id) as order_count FROM users u LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id WHERE u.created_at > '2024-01-01' GROUP BY u.id HAVING COUNT(o.id) > 5 ORDER BY order_count DESC",
  "detail": "standard"
}),
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/sqlexplainer",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    json={
    "query": "SELECT u.name, COUNT(o.id) as order_count FROM users u LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id WHERE u.created_at > '2024-01-01' GROUP BY u.id HAVING COUNT(o.id) > 5 ORDER BY order_count DESC",
    "detail": "standard"
},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"strings"
)

func main() {
	body := strings.NewReader(`{
  "query": "SELECT u.name, COUNT(o.id) as order_count FROM users u LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id WHERE u.created_at > '2024-01-01' GROUP BY u.id HAVING COUNT(o.id) > 5 ORDER BY order_count DESC",
  "detail": "standard"
}`)
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/sqlexplainer", body)
	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "your_api_key_here")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

Parameters

Sent as JSON in the request body. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "explanation": "This SQL query retrieves the names of users and the number of orders they have placed. It filters users who were created after January 1, 2024. The query then groups the results by user ID and only in…",
    "operation": "SELECT",
    "tables": [
      "users",
      "orders"
    ],
    "complexity": "moderate"
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Use cases

Learning SQL

Understand complex queries while learning database concepts

Code Reviews

Quickly grasp what SQL queries do during reviews

Documentation

Generate explanations for query documentation

Debugging

Understand legacy or unfamiliar queries

Other ways to use SQL Explainer

Set up SQL Explainer on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Related

More in Data Processing: