# Query HCP

The Query HCP step uses the [Metadata Query Engine (MQE)](https://knowledge.hitachivantara.com/Documents/Storage/Content_Platform/8.1.2/Developer_documentation/Searching_Namespaces/01_Introduction_to_searching_in_HCP#Search_facilities) to query your [Hitachi Content Platform (HCP)](https://knowledge.hitachivantara.com/Documents/Storage/Content_Platform/8.1.2/System_administration/Introduction_to_Hitachi_Content_Platform/01_About_Hitachi_Content_Platform) repository for objects, their URLs, and system metadata properties. You can use the resulting object URL to define [HCP object and custom metadata](https://github.com/pentaho/documentation/blob/main/PDIA/10.2/PDI/Advanced%20Pentaho%20Data%20Integration%20topics/Advanced%20topics%20\(Pentaho%20Data%20Integration%20overview\)/PDI%20and%20Hitachi%20Content%20Platform%20\(HCP\)=GUID-F4977458-2FA6-4D2C-8991-1391D0849655=6=en=.md) locations for the PDI [Read metadata from HCP](https://github.com/pentaho/documentation/blob/main/PDIA/10.2/PDI/Transformation%20steps/PDI%20transformation%20steps%20reference%20\(overview\)/Read%20metadata%20from%20HCP=GUID-8452E7E6-3B0E-4DCC-A8CF-468DD73A0A6B=2=en=.md) and [Write metadata to HCP](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/write-metadata-to-hcp.md) steps.

**Note:** After modifying an HCP object, your change may not be immediately reflected in your query results of the HCP repository until the search index has been updated.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/query-hcp.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.