aspire describe command

Name

aspire describe - Describe resources in a running AppHost.

Synopsis

aspire describe [] [options]

Description

The aspire describe command displays resource details for a running Aspire AppHost. By default, it shows a snapshot table of all resources with their name, type, state, health status, and endpoints. Use the --follow option to continuously stream resource state changes in real time.

When a specific resource name is provided, only matching resources are displayed. If no matching resource is found, the command returns an error.

When executed without the --apphost option, the command:

1
Scans for all running AppHost processes.
2
If multiple AppHosts are running within the current directory scope, prompts you to select which one to target.
3
If only one AppHost is running in scope, connects to it directly.
4
If no in-scope AppHosts are found but out-of-scope AppHosts exist, displays all running AppHosts for selection.

Tip

The aspire resources command is a backward-compatible alias for aspire describe. Both names invoke the same command.

Arguments

<resource>

The name of the resource to display. If not specified, all resources are shown.

Options

The following options are available:

-f, --follow

Continuously stream resource state changes. In table mode, each update prints a line showing the resource name, state, health, and endpoints. In JSON mode, each update emits a single JSON object per line (Newline Delimited JSON (NDJSON) format).
--apphost <path>

The path to the Aspire AppHost project file. When specified, the command connects to the AppHost running from that project file without prompting for selection.
--format <Json|Table>

Output format. Use Json for machine-readable output suitable for scripting and automation. Defaults to Table. Values are case-insensitive.

In snapshot mode (without --follow), JSON output wraps resources in a { "resources": [...] } object. In follow mode, JSON output uses Newline Delimited JSON (NDJSON) for streaming, emitting one JSON object per line.
- - - - Examples

Show all resources in a running AppHost:

aspire describe

Example output:

Name            Type        State    Health    Endpoints
cache           container   Running  Healthy   tcp://localhost:63122
webfrontend     project     Running  Healthy   https://localhost:17015, http://localhost:15099
apiservice      project     Running  Healthy   https://localhost:17016, http://localhost:15100

Show details for a specific resource:
```
aspire describe webfrontend
```
Continuously stream resource state changes:
```
aspire describe --follow
```
Stream state changes for a specific resource:
```
aspire describe webfrontend --follow
```
Output resource details as JSON:
```
aspire describe --format Json
```
Stream resource changes as Newline Delimited JSON (NDJSON) for scripting:
```
aspire describe --follow --format Json
```

Target a specific AppHost project:

aspire describe --apphost './src/MyApp.AppHost/MyApp.AppHost.csproj'