# HBase Input This step reads data from an HBase table according to user-defined column metadata. HBase is a distributed, column-oriented database that provides random read and write access to the Hadoop File System. HBase stores all data as raw bytes without any associated metadata. A mapping provides metadata that allows the step to decode the binary values properly. --- # 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/9.3-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/hbase-input-cp-main-page.md?ask= ``` 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.