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Describe Settings

The describe section of the atmos.yaml configures the behavior of the atmos describe command output.

Configuration​

atmos.yaml
describe:
  settings:
    # Include empty values in the describe output
    include_empty: false
  affected:
    # Override which component sections `atmos describe affected` evaluates.
    # When set, this list fully replaces the built-in defaults.
    sections:
      - vars
      - env
      - providers
      - hooks

Fields​

settings.include_empty

When set to true, includes fields with empty values (empty strings, empty arrays, null values) in the describe command output. Default: false (empty values are omitted for cleaner output).

affected.sections

The authoritative list of top-level component sections that atmos describe affected compares when computing affected components. When empty or unset, Atmos uses the built-in defaults below.

Default sections: vars, env, providers, required_providers, required_version, generate, backend, backend_type, remote_state_backend, remote_state_backend_type, auth, command, dependencies, source, provision.

hooks is not a default — it is operational/execution-time behavior (commands that run before/after an operation), not provisioned infrastructure. Add it to this list if you want hook changes to mark a component as affected (reported as stack.hooks).

When set, this list fully replaces those defaults — it is not additive. To add a custom section (or hooks), list every default you still want plus the extra section name; to stop evaluating a default, omit it from the list. A custom section is reported as stack.<name> when it changes.

metadata and settings are always evaluated and cannot be disabled with this list: metadata gates whether a component is skipped, and settings also drives dependency change detection.

Examples​

Show All Fields Including Empty​

To see all configuration fields even when they have no value:

atmos.yaml
describe:
  settings:
    include_empty: true

This is useful for:

  • Understanding the full schema of component configurations
  • Debugging why a field might not be set
  • Documentation purposes

Default Behavior (Cleaner Output)​

By default, empty values are omitted:

atmos.yaml
describe:
  settings:
    include_empty: false

This produces cleaner, more readable output focused on the values that are actually configured.

Describe Components and Stacks

Use the describe commands to inspect your component and stack configurations.