diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/api/disk.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/api/disk.py
index 28a14befa..0fb083402 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/api/disk.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/api/disk.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ from clan_lib.api.modules import Frontmatter, extract_frontmatter
 from clan_lib.dirs import TemplateType, clan_templates
 from clan_lib.errors import ClanError
 from clan_lib.git import commit_file
-from clan_lib.machines.hardware import HardwareConfig, show_machine_hardware_config
+from clan_lib.machines.hardware import HardwareConfig, get_machine_hardware_config
 from clan_lib.machines.machines import Machine
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ def set_machine_disk_schema(
     Set the disk placeholders of the template
     """
     # Assert the hw-config must exist before setting the disk
-    hw_config = show_machine_hardware_config(machine)
+    hw_config = get_machine_hardware_config(machine)
     hw_config_path = hw_config.config_path(machine)
 
     if not hw_config_path.exists():
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/machines/hardware.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/machines/hardware.py
index 8324a7953..402213faa 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/machines/hardware.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_lib/machines/hardware.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import logging
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from enum import Enum
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import TypedDict
 
 from clan_lib.api import API
 from clan_lib.cmd import RunOpts, run
@@ -40,19 +41,7 @@ class HardwareConfig(Enum):
         return HardwareConfig.NONE
 
 
-@API.register
-def show_machine_hardware_config(machine: Machine) -> HardwareConfig:
-    """
-    Show hardware information for a machine returns None if none exist.
-    """
-    return HardwareConfig.detect_type(machine)
-
-
-@API.register
-def show_machine_hardware_platform(machine: Machine) -> str | None:
-    """
-    Show hardware information for a machine returns None if none exist.
-    """
+def get_machine_target_platform(machine: Machine) -> str | None:
     config = nix_config()
     system = config["system"]
     cmd = nix_eval(
@@ -132,7 +121,7 @@ def generate_machine_hardware_info(
         f"machines/{opts.machine}/{hw_file.name}: update hardware configuration",
     )
     try:
-        show_machine_hardware_platform(opts.machine)
+        get_machine_target_platform(opts.machine)
         if backup_file:
             backup_file.unlink(missing_ok=True)
     except ClanCmdError as e:
@@ -150,3 +139,29 @@ def generate_machine_hardware_info(
         ) from e
 
     return opts.backend
+
+
+def get_machine_hardware_config(machine: Machine) -> HardwareConfig:
+    """
+    Detect and return the full hardware configuration for the given machine.
+
+    Returns:
+        HardwareConfig: Structured hardware information, or None if unavailable.
+    """
+    return HardwareConfig.detect_type(machine)
+
+
+class MachineHardwareBrief(TypedDict):
+    hardware_config: HardwareConfig
+    platform: str | None
+
+
+@API.register
+def describe_machine_hardware(machine: Machine) -> MachineHardwareBrief:
+    """
+    Return a high-level summary of hardware config and platform type.
+    """
+    return {
+        "hardware_config": get_machine_hardware_config(machine),
+        "platform": get_machine_target_platform(machine),
+    }