ktx/docs-site/content/docs/cli-reference/ktx-scan.mdx

---
title: "ktx scan"
description: "Run standalone database scans."
---

Discover a configured database connection's schema, including tables, columns, types, constraints, and optional relationship signals.

## Command signature

```bash
ktx scan <connectionId> [options]
```

## Options

| Flag | Description | Default |
|------|-------------|---------|
| `--mode <mode>` | Scan mode: `structural`, `enriched`, or `relationships` | `structural` |
| `--dry-run` | Run without writing scan results | `false` |
| `--database-introspection-url <url>` | Daemon URL for live-database introspection | — |
| `--yes` | Install the managed Python runtime without prompting when required | `false` |
| `--no-input` | Disable interactive managed runtime installation | — |

## Examples

```bash
ktx scan my-warehouse
ktx scan my-warehouse --mode enriched
ktx scan my-warehouse --mode relationships
ktx scan my-warehouse --dry-run
ktx scan my-warehouse --database-introspection-url http://127.0.0.1:8765
```

## Output

`ktx scan` prints a human summary and writes scan artifacts under the KTX project directory unless `--dry-run` is set. Use `ktx status` after a scan to inspect project readiness and next setup work.

## Common errors

| Error | Cause | Recovery |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Scan cannot connect | Connection credentials or network access are invalid | Run `ktx connection test <connectionId>` and update the connection before scanning |
| Enriched scan cannot describe columns | LLM credentials are missing or invalid | Complete LLM setup with `ktx setup` before enriched scans |
| Relationship scan has limited evidence | The connector cannot provide optional validation or statistics | Re-run with a connector that supports the missing capability, or treat relationship output as lower-confidence context |