---
title: "getrawmetatable"
description: "Returns the actual metatable, ignoring __metatable protection."
---

```lua
getrawmetatable(value: any): table?
```

---

## Aliases

None.

---

## Arguments

<ParamField body="value" type="any" required>
  The object whose raw metatable is queried.
</ParamField>

---

## Returns

<ResponseField name="metatable" type="table?">
  The raw metatable, or nil if there is none.
</ResponseField>

Returns nil when there is no metatable.

---

## Example

```lua
local t = setmetatable({}, {__metatable = "locked"})
print(type(getrawmetatable(t)))
```