> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.biobox.io/guide/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.biobox.io/guide/how-to/ask-biobox-with-claude/tools/list-entity-types.md).

# list\_entity\_types — List entity types

List entity types

List entity types

## What it does

List every entity type (ontology class) in the org's knowledge graph — e.g. Gene, Disease, Drug, Pathway — with how many instances each has and its direct subtype classes (children).

**When to use:** the user asks "what entity types / classes / kinds of things exist in the graph?"; you need to pick the right class before describing it (describe\_entity\_type) or searching its instances; the user wants to see which classes are populated (instance counts) or which have subtypes.

**When NOT to use:** you want the full schema + relationship overview (class + edge counts, the whole map) — use get\_graph\_schema; you want the details of ONE class (its definition, subtypes, properties, relationships) — use describe\_entity\_type.

**Parameters:** none.

**Returns:** An object { classes, count }. Each class has: displayName (human label, e.g. "Gene"), dbLabel (the canonical identifier — pass this to describe\_entity\_type to drill into the class, and the Neo4j/Cypher label that run\_graph\_query and get\_entity\_connections accept), description (human-readable ontology definition for the class, or null if not set), numInstances (how many instances of the class are in the graph), and children (the dbLabels of the class's DIRECT SCO subtype classes, one level down — an empty array means no subtypes; these are graph dbLabels you can pass straight back to describe\_entity\_type / run\_graph\_query, so the hierarchy is available without a second call). `count` is the number returned — this is the org's FULL inventory (it is not paginated or capped).

## Parameters

*No parameters.*

## Response

```ts
{
  classes: Array<{
    displayName: string;
    dbLabel: string | null;
    description: string | null;
    numInstances: number | null;
    children: string[];
  }>;
  count: number;
}
```

## Example

```json
// list_entity_types({})
{}
```

Response (arrays truncated):

```json
{
  "classes": [
    {
      "displayName": "Allele",
      "dbLabel": "Allele",
      "description": "One of a set of sequence features known to exist at a particular genomic location. An allele is a seqeunce feature at a genomic location where variation occurs (i.e. where >1 different sequence is kno…",
      "numInstances": 108940,
      "children": []
    },
    {
      "displayName": "Antibody",
      "dbLabel": "Antibody",
      "description": "antibody expressed within a cell line",
      "numInstances": 2,
      "children": []
    },
    {
      "displayName": "Biological Process",
      "dbLabel": "BiologicalProcess",
      "description": "A biological process is the execution of a genetically-encoded biological module or program. It consists of all the steps required to achieve the specific biological objective of the module. A biologi…",
      "numInstances": 27061,
      "children": []
    },
    "… 68 more"
  ],
  "count": 71
}
```