diff --git a/skills/hotdata-analytics/SKILL.md b/skills/hotdata-analytics/SKILL.md
index 5717240..12fcb63 100644
--- a/skills/hotdata-analytics/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hotdata-analytics/SKILL.md
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ hotdata results <result_id> [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] [--output table|json
    Or managed parquet:
 
    ```bash
-   hotdata databases create --description "analytics" --table slice
+   hotdata databases create --name analytics --table slice
    hotdata databases set <returned-id>
    hotdata databases tables load slice --file ./slice.parquet
    ```
diff --git a/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md b/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md
index 43684a8..3aee941 100644
--- a/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md
@@ -187,11 +187,11 @@ hotdata connections create \
 
 ```
 hotdata databases list [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] [--output table|json|yaml]
-hotdata databases create [--description <label>] [--table <table> ...] [--schema public] [--expires-at <duration|timestamp>] [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] [--output table|json|yaml]
+hotdata databases create [--name <catalog_name>] [--table <table> ...] [--schema public] [--expires-at <duration|timestamp>] [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] [--output table|json|yaml]
 hotdata databases set <id_or_description>
 hotdata databases <id_or_description> [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] [--output table|json|yaml]
 hotdata databases delete <id_or_description> [--workspace-id <workspace_id>]
-hotdata databases run [--database <id>] [--description <label>] [--schema public] [--table <table> ...] [--expires-at <duration|timestamp>] [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] <cmd> [args...]
+hotdata databases run [--database <id>] [--name <catalog_name>] [--schema public] [--table <table> ...] [--expires-at <duration|timestamp>] [--workspace-id <workspace_id>] <cmd> [args...]
 hotdata databases <id> run <cmd> [args...]
 
 # Dot-notation shorthand for load: database.table or database.schema.table
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ hotdata databases tables delete <table> [--database <id_or_desc>] [--schema publ
 ```
 
 - `list` — all managed databases in the workspace.
-- `create` — creates a new managed database. `--description` is an optional human-readable label (databases are addressed by id, not description). `--expires-at` accepts relative durations (`24h`, `7d`, `90m`) or an RFC 3339 timestamp; defaults to `24h` when omitted. Repeat `--table` to declare tables up front.
+- `create` — creates a new managed database. `--name` is an optional catalog alias used in queries (`SELECT … FROM <name>.public.<table>`); must be `[a-z_][a-z0-9_]*`. `--expires-at` accepts relative durations (`24h`, `7d`, `90m`) or an RFC 3339 timestamp; defaults to `24h` when omitted. Repeat `--table` to declare tables up front.
 - `set` — saves `<id_or_description>` as the active database. Subsequent `databases tables` and `context` commands use it automatically.
 - `<id_or_description>` — inspect one database (id, description, expires_at).
 - `delete` — removes the managed database; clears the active-database config if it matched.
@@ -211,12 +211,12 @@ hotdata databases tables delete <table> [--database <id_or_desc>] [--schema publ
 - `tables list` — lists tables with `TABLE` (`<database_id>.<schema>.<table>`), `SYNCED`, `LAST_SYNC`. Uses active database when `--database` is omitted.
 - `tables load` — uploads a local parquet file (`--file`), a remote parquet URL (`--url`), or a pre-staged upload (`--upload-id`) and publishes with **replace** mode.
 - `tables delete` — drops a table from the managed database.
-- `run` — mints a database-scoped JWT (via `POST /v1/auth/database`) and execs `<cmd>` with `HOTDATA_DATABASE_TOKEN`, `HOTDATA_DATABASE_REFRESH_TOKEN`, `HOTDATA_DATABASE`, `HOTDATA_WORKSPACE`, and `HOTDATA_API_URL` injected. Pass a database id as a group positional (`hotdata databases <id> run ...`, sandbox-style) or via `--database <id>`; omit both to auto-create a scratch database using `--description` / `--schema` / `--table` / `--expires-at`. Use this to launch an agent or child process whose API access is scoped to a single database. The minted JWT carries `database`, `workspaces`, `permissions:["read","write"]`, `source:"database_token"`. The session is persisted at `~/.hotdata/database_session.json` (mode `0600`); the child's exit code is propagated.
+- `run` — mints a database-scoped JWT (via `POST /v1/auth/database`) and execs `<cmd>` with `HOTDATA_DATABASE_TOKEN`, `HOTDATA_DATABASE_REFRESH_TOKEN`, `HOTDATA_DATABASE`, `HOTDATA_WORKSPACE`, and `HOTDATA_API_URL` injected. Pass a database id as a group positional (`hotdata databases <id> run ...`, sandbox-style) or via `--database <id>`; omit both to auto-create a scratch database using `--name` / `--schema` / `--table` / `--expires-at`. Use this to launch an agent or child process whose API access is scoped to a single database. The minted JWT carries `database`, `workspaces`, `permissions:["read","write"]`, `source:"database_token"`. The session is persisted at `~/.hotdata/database_session.json` (mode `0600`); the child's exit code is propagated.
 
 Example:
 
 ```
-hotdata databases create --description "sales" --table orders
+hotdata databases create --name sales --table orders
 hotdata databases set <returned-id>
 hotdata databases tables load orders --file ./orders.parquet
 hotdata query "SELECT count(*) FROM <database_id>.public.orders"
diff --git a/src/command.rs b/src/command.rs
index 82d15ae..2384764 100644
--- a/src/command.rs
+++ b/src/command.rs
@@ -639,9 +639,9 @@ pub enum DatabasesCommands {
         #[arg(long)]
         database: Option<String>,
 
-        /// Description for the auto-created database (only used when --database is omitted)
+        /// Name for the auto-created database (only used when --database is omitted)
         #[arg(long)]
-        description: Option<String>,
+        name: Option<String>,
 
         /// Schema for tables declared in the auto-created database (default: public)
         #[arg(long, default_value = "public")]
diff --git a/src/databases.rs b/src/databases.rs
index 8fe6c07..e7f3030 100644
--- a/src/databases.rs
+++ b/src/databases.rs
@@ -453,13 +453,13 @@ pub fn get(workspace_id: &str, id_or_name: &str, format: &str) {
 /// the id instead of printing.
 fn create_and_return_id(
     api: &ApiClient,
-    description: Option<&str>,
+    name: Option<&str>,
     schema: &str,
     tables: &[String],
     expires_at: Option<&str>,
 ) -> String {
     use crossterm::style::Stylize;
-    let body = create_database_request(description, schema, tables, expires_at);
+    let body = create_database_request(name, schema, tables, expires_at);
     let (status, resp_body) = api.post_raw("/databases", &body);
     if !status.is_success() {
         eprintln!("{}", crate::util::api_error(resp_body).red());
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ fn mint_database_token(api: &ApiClient, database_id: &str) -> DatabaseTokenRespo
 pub fn run(
     database: Option<&str>,
     workspace_id: &str,
-    description: Option<&str>,
+    name: Option<&str>,
     schema: &str,
     tables: &[String],
     expires_at: Option<&str>,
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ pub fn run(
     // for the child process, addressed only by the token we mint below.
     let database_id = match database {
         Some(id) => id.to_string(),
-        None => create_and_return_id(&api, description, schema, tables, expires_at),
+        None => create_and_return_id(&api, name, schema, tables, expires_at),
     };
 
     let resp = mint_database_token(&api, &database_id);
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 4c3c5c8..90b9c2d 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ fn main() {
                 // group-level name_or_id is treated as a `show` shorthand.
                 if let Some(DatabasesCommands::Run {
                     database,
-                    description,
+                    name,
                     schema,
                     tables,
                     expires_at,
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ fn main() {
                     databases::run(
                         db,
                         &workspace_id,
-                        description.as_deref(),
+                        name.as_deref(),
                         &schema,
                         &tables,
                         expires_at.as_deref(),