# atmos describe edition

Use this command to show whether the project is pinned to an edition (a date anchor for defaults), where the pin came from, the resolved anchor date, and every default the pin keeps at its pre-change value.

> ⚠️ Experimental

**Pin Your Project to an Edition**

Learn how to pin your project's defaults to a date anchor with the top-level `edition` setting in your atmos.yaml.

Configuration Reference[Read more](/cli/configuration/edition)

## Usage

```shell
atmos describe edition [flags]
```

## Description

The `atmos describe edition` command reports the effect of the active edition pin:

- **pinned** — whether an edition is set at all
- **edition** — the raw pin as you wrote it (e.g. `2025-09`)
- **resolved\_date** — the fully resolved anchor date (partial dates round to the end of the period they name)
- **granularity** — how much of the date the pin specified: `year`, `month`, or `day`
- **source** — where the pin came from: `flag` (`--edition`), `env` (`ATMOS_EDITION`), or `config` (`atmos.yaml`)
- **overrides** — every default the pin rolls back, with the pinned (effective) value, the latest default you would get by unpinning, and the journal entries behind the change

Without a pin, it reports `pinned: false` with no overrides — the project follows the latest defaults.

## Flags

- **`--format, -f string`**
  Output format: 
  `yaml`
   or 
  `json`
   (default: 
  `yaml`
  )

## Examples

Show the active pin and its effect:

```shell
atmos describe edition
```

Output as JSON:

```shell
atmos describe edition --format=json
```

Preview the effect of a pin without changing your configuration, using the `--edition` global flag:

```shell
atmos --edition=2026-01 describe edition
```

## Example Output

```shell
pinned: true
edition: 2026-06
resolved_date: "2026-06-30"
granularity: month
source: config
overrides:
    - key: describe.component.filter
      kind: value
      from_value: full
      to_value: schema
      entries:
        - date: "2026-07-17"
          key: describe.component.filter
          kind: value
          old: full
          new: schema
          description: Component descriptions show only stack-manifest sections; set the filter to full for computed internals.
          ref: https://atmos.tools/changelog/config-editions
    - key: describe.error_mode
      kind: value
      from_value: strict
      to_value: warn
      entries:
        - date: "2026-07-13"
          key: describe.error_mode
          kind: value
          old: strict
          new: warn
          description: Describe commands substitute (computed) for unresolved YAML function values and continue instead of aborting.
          ref: https://atmos.tools/changelog/list-describe-graceful-degradation
    - key: describe.provenance
      kind: value
      from_value: false
      to_value: true
      entries:
        - date: "2026-07-16"
          key: describe.provenance
          kind: value
          old: false
          new: true
          description: Component descriptions include provenance annotations (which stack file set each value) by default.
          ref: https://atmos.tools/changelog/config-editions
    - key: list.error_mode
      kind: value
      from_value: strict
      to_value: warn
      entries:
        - date: "2026-07-13"
          key: list.error_mode
          kind: value
          old: strict
          new: warn
          description: List commands substitute (computed) for unresolved YAML function values and continue instead of aborting.
          ref: https://atmos.tools/changelog/list-describe-graceful-degradation
    - key: settings.terminal.help.filter
      kind: value
      from_value: false
      to_value: true
      entries:
        - date: "2026-07-06"
          key: settings.terminal.help.filter
          kind: value
          old: false
          new: true
          description: Bare --help shows a focused view without the GLOBAL FLAGS section; --help=all prints the full output.
          ref: https://github.com/cloudposse/atmos/pull/2696
```

In each override, `from_value` is the default your pinned project actually uses, and `to_value` is the latest default the project would get by unpinning.

:::tip
Use `atmos list editions` to browse the full journal of default changes, or to diff two editions with `--from` and `--to`.
:::

## See Also

- [`edition` configuration](/cli/configuration/edition) — Pin your project's defaults to a date anchor
- [`atmos list editions`](/cli/commands/list/editions) — Browse the journal of default changes, or diff two editions