vd - Man Page

a terminal utility for exploring and arranging tabular data

Synopsis

vd	[`options`] [`input` ...]

vd	[`options`] `--play` `cmdlog` [`-w` `waitsecs`] [`--batch`] [`-o` `output`] [`field=value`]

vd	[`options`] [`input` ...] `+toplevel`:`subsheet`:`col`:`row`

VisiData is an easy-to-use multipurpose tool to explore, clean, edit, and restructure data. Rows can be selected, filtered, and grouped; columns can be rearranged, transformed, and derived via regex or Python expressions; and workflows can be saved, documented, and replayed.

Replay Mode

-p, --play=cmdlog: replay a saved cmdlog within the interface
-w, --replay-wait=seconds: wait seconds between commands
-b, --batch: replay in batch mode (with no interface)
-o, --output=file: save final visible sheet to file as .tsv
--replay-movement: toggle --play to move cursor cell-by-cell
field=value: replace "{field}" in cmdlog contents with value

Commands During Replay

^U: pause/resume replay
^N: execute next row in replaying sheet
^K: cancel current replay

Global Commands

All keystrokes are case sensitive. The ^ prefix is shorthand for Ctrl.

Keystrokes to start off with

^Q: abort program immediately
^C: cancel user input or abort all async threads on current sheet
g^C: abort all secondary threads
q: quit current sheet
gq: quit all sheets (clean exit)
^H: view this man page
z^H: view sheet of command longnames and keybindings
Space longname: execute command by its longname
U: undo the most recent modification (requires enabled options.undo)
R: redo the most recent undo (requires enabled options.undo)

Cursor Movement

Arrow PgUp Home: go as expected
h j k l: go left/down/up/right
gh gj gk gl: go all the way to the left/bottom/top/right of sheet
G gg: go all the way to the bottom/top of sheet
^B ^F: scroll one page back/forward
zz: scroll current row to center of screen
^^ (Ctrl+^): jump to previous sheet (swaps with current sheet)
/ ? regex: search for regex forward/backward in current column
g/ g? regex: search for regex forward/backward over all visible columns
z/ z? expr: search by Python expr forward/backward in current column (with column names as variables)
n N: go to next/previous match from last regex search
< >: go up/down current column to next value
z< z>: go up/down current column to next null value
{ }: go up/down current column to next selected row

c regex: go to next column with name matching regex
r regex: go to next row with key matching regex
zc zr number: go to column/row number (0-based)
H J K L: slide current row/column left/down/up/right
gH gJ gK gL: slide current row/column all the way to the left/bottom/top/right of sheet
zH zJ zK zK number: slide current row/column number positions to the left/down/up/right
zh zj zk zl: scroll one left/down/up/right

Column Manipulation

_ (underscore): toggle width of current column between full and default width
g_: toggle widths of all visible columns between full and default width
z_ number: adjust width of current column to number
gz_ number: adjust widths of all visible columns to Ar number
- (hyphen): hide current column
z-: reduce width of current column by half
gv: unhide all columns
! z!: toggle/unset current column as a key column
~ # % $ @ z#: set type of current column to str/int/float/currency/date/len
^: edit name of current column
g^: set names of all unnamed visible columns to contents of selected rows (or current row)
z^: set name of current column to combined contents of current cell in selected rows (or current row)
gz^: set name of all visible columns to combined contents of current column for selected rows (or current row)
= expr: create new column from Python expr, with column names, and attributes, as variables
g= expr: set current column for selected rows to result of Python expr
gz= expr: set current column for selected rows to the items in result of Python sequence expr
z= expr: evaluate Python expression on current row and set current cell with result of Python expr
i (iota): add column with incremental values
gi: set current column for selected rows to incremental values
zi step: add column with values at increment step
gzi step: set current column for selected rows at increment step

' (tick): add a frozen copy of current column with all cells evaluated
g': open a frozen copy of current sheet with all visible columns evaluated
z' gz': add/reset cache for current/all visible column(s)
: regex: add new columns from regex split; number of columns determined by example row at cursor
; regex: add new columns from capture groups of regex (also requires example row)
z; expr: create new column from bash expr, with $columnNames as variables
* regex/subst: add column derived from current column, replacing regex with subst (may include \1 backrefs)
g* gz* regex/subst: modify selected rows in current/all visible column(s), replacing regex with subst (may include \1 backrefs)
( g(: expand current/all visible column(s) of lists (e.g. [3]) or dicts (e.g. {3}) fully
z( gz( depth: expand current/all visible column(s) of lists (e.g. [3]) or dicts (e.g. {3}) to given depth (0= fully)
): unexpand current column; restore original column and remove other columns at this level
zM: row-wise expand current column of lists (e.g. [3]) or dicts (e.g. {3}) within that column

Row Selection

s t u: select/toggle/unselect current row
gs gt gu: select/toggle/unselect all rows
zs zt zu: select/toggle/unselect all rows from top to cursor
gzs gzt gzu: select/toggle/unselect all rows from cursor to bottom
| \ regex: select/unselect rows matching regex in current column
g| g\ regex: select/unselect rows matching regex in any visible column
z| z\ expr: select/unselect rows matching Python expr in any visible column
, (comma): select rows matching display value of current cell in current column
g,: select rows matching display value of current row in all visible columns
z, gz,: select rows matching typed value of current cell/row in current column/all visible columns

Row Sorting/Filtering

[ ]: sort ascending/descending by current column; replace any existing sort criteria
g[ g]: sort ascending/descending by all key columns; replace any existing sort criteria
z[ z]: sort ascending/descending by current column; add to existing sort criteria
gz[ gz]: sort ascending/descending by all key columns; add to existing sort criteria
": open duplicate sheet with only selected rows
g": open duplicate sheet with all rows
gz": open duplicate sheet with deepcopy of selected rows

Editing Rows and Cells

a za: append blank row/column; appended columns cannot be copied to clipboard
ga gza number: append number blank rows/columns
d gd: delete current/selected row(s)
y gy: yank (copy) current/all selected row(s) to clipboard in Memory Sheet
zy gzy: yank (copy) contents of current column for current/selected row(s) to clipboard in Memory Sheet
zd gzd: set contents of current column for current/selected row(s) to options.null_value
p P: paste clipboard rows after/before current row
zp gzp: set cells of current column for current/selected row(s) to last clipboard value
Y gY: yank (copy) current/all selected row(s) to system clipboard (using options.clipboard_copy_cmd)
zY gzY: yank (copy) contents of current column for current/selected row(s) to system clipboard (using options.clipboard_copy_cmd)
f: fill null cells in current column with contents of non-null cells up the current column
e text: edit contents of current cell
ge text: set contents of current column for selected rows to text

Commands While Editing Input

Enter ^C: accept/abort input
^O: open external $EDITOR to edit contents
^R: reload initial value
^A ^E: go to beginning/end of line
^B ^F: go back/forward one character
^← ^→ (arrow): go back/forward one word
^H ^D: delete previous/current character
^T: transpose previous and current characters
^U ^K: clear from cursor to beginning/end of line
^Y: paste from cell clipboard
Backspace Del: delete previous/current character
Insert: toggle insert mode
Up Down: set contents to previous/next in history
Tab Shift+Tab: autocomplete input (when available)
Shift+Arrow: move cursor in direction of Arrow and re-enter edit mode

Data Toolkit

o input: open input in VisiData
^S g^S filename: save current/all sheet(s) to filename in format determined by extension (default .tsv)
: Note: if the format does not support multisave, or the filename ends in a /, a directory will be created.
z^S filename: save current column only to filename in format determined by extension (default .tsv)
^D filename.vd: save CommandLog to filename.vd file
A: open new blank sheet with one column
T: open new sheet that has rows and columns of current sheet transposed
+ aggregator: add aggregator to current column (see Frequency Table)
z+ aggregator: display result of aggregator over values in selected rows for current column; store result in Memory Sheet
&: concatenate top two sheets in Sheets Stack
g&: concatenate all sheets in Sheets Stack

Data Visualization

. (dot): plot current numeric column vs key columns. The numeric key column is used for the x-axis; categorical key column values determine color.
g.: plot a graph of all visible numeric columns vs key columns.

If rows on the current sheet represent plottable coordinates (as in .shp or vector .mbtiles sources), . plots the current row, and g. plots all selected rows (or all rows if none selected).

Canvas-specific Commands

+ -: increase/decrease zoom level, centered on cursor
_ (underscore): zoom to fit full extent
z_ (underscore): set aspect ratio
x xmin xmax: set xmin/xmax on graph
y ymin ymax: set ymin/ymax on graph
s t u: select/toggle/unselect rows on source sheet contained within canvas cursor
gs gt gu: select/toggle/unselect rows on source sheet visible on screen
d: delete rows on source sheet contained within canvas cursor
gd: delete rows on source sheet visible on screen
Enter: open sheet of source rows contained within canvas cursor
gEnter: open sheet of source rows visible on screen
1 - 9: toggle display of layers
^L: redraw all pixels on canvas
v: toggle show_graph_labels option
mouse scrollwheel: zoom in/out of canvas
left click-drag: set canvas cursor
right click-drag: scroll canvas

Split Screen

Z: split screen in half, so that second sheet on the stack is visible in a second pane
zZ: split screen, and queries for height of second pane

Split Window specific Commands

gZ: close an already split screen, current pane full screens
Z: push second sheet on current pane's stack to the top of the other pane's stack
Tab: jump to other pane
gTab: swap panes
g^^ (g Ctrl+^): cycle through sheets

Other Commands

Q: quit current sheet and remove it from the CommandLog
v: toggle sheet-specific visibility (multi-line rows on Sheet, legends/axes on Graph)
^E g^E: view traceback for most recent error(s)
z^E: view traceback for error in current cell
^L: refresh screen
^R: reload current sheet
z^R: clear cache for current column
^Z: suspend VisiData process
^G: show cursor position and bounds of current sheet on status line
^V: show version and copyright information on status line
^P: open Status History
m keystroke: first, begin recording macro; second, prompt for keystroke No, and complete recording. Macro can then be executed everytime provided keystroke is used. Will override existing keybinding. Macros will run on current row, column, sheet.
gm: open an index of all existing macros. Can be directly viewed with Enter, and then modified with ^S.

^Y z^Y g^Y: open current row/cell/sheet as Python object
^X expr: evaluate Python expr and opens result as Python object
z^X expr: evaluate Python expr, in context of current row, and open result as Python object
g^X stmt: execute Python stmt in the global scope

Internal Sheets List

.: VisiDataMenu (Shift+V) browse list of core sheets
.: Directory Sheet browse properties of files in a directory
.: Plugins Sheet browse, install, and (de)activate plugins
.: Memory Sheet (Alt+Shift+M) browse saved values, including clipboard

Metasheets
.: Columns Sheet (Shift+C) edit column properties
.: Sheets Sheet (Shift+S) jump between sheets or join them together
.: Options Sheet (Shift+O) edit configuration options
.: Commandlog (Shift+D) modify and save commands for replay
.: Error Sheet (Ctrl+E) view last error
.: Status History (Ctrl+P) view history of status messages
.: Threads Sheet (Ctrl+T) view, cancel, and profile asynchronous threads
Derived Sheets
.: Frequency Table (Shift+F) group rows by column value, with aggregations of other columns
.: Describe Sheet (Shift+I) view summary statistics for each column
.: Pivot Table (Shift+W) group rows by key and summarize current column
.: Melted Sheet (Shift+M) unpivot non-key columns into variable/value columns
.: Transposed Sheet (Shift+T) open new sheet with rows and columns transposed

Internal Sheets

VisiDataMenu (Shift+V)

(sheet-specific commands)

Enter: load sheet in current row

Directory Sheet

(global commands)

Space open-dir-current: open the Directory Sheet for the current directory

(sheet-specific commands)

Enter gEnter: open current/selected file(s) as new sheet(s)
^O g^O: open current/selected file(s) in external $EDITOR
^R z^R gz^R: reload information for all/current/selected file(s)

Plugins Sheet

Browse through a list of available plugins. VisiData needs to be restarted before plugin activation takes effect. Installation may require internet access.

(global commands)

Space open-plugins: open the Plugins Sheet

(sheet-specific commands)

a: install and activate current plugin
d: deactivate current plugin

Memory Sheet

Browse through a list of stored values, referanceable in expressions through their name.

(global commands)

Alt+Shift+M: open the Memory Sheet
Alt+M name: store value in current cell in Memory Sheet under name

(sheet-specific commands)

e: edit either value or name, to edit reference

Metasheets

Columns Sheet (Shift+C)

Properties of columns on the source sheet can be changed with standard editing commands (e ge g= Del) on the Columns Sheet. Multiple aggregators can be set by listing them (separated by spaces) in the aggregators column. The 'g' commands affect the selected rows, which are the literal columns on the source sheet.

(global commands)

gC: open Columns Sheet with all visible columns from all sheets

(sheet-specific commands)

&: add column from concatenating selected source columns
g! gz!: toggle/unset selected columns as key columns on source sheet
g+ aggregator: add Ar aggregator No to selected source columns
g- (hyphen): hide selected columns on source sheet
g~ g# g% g$ g@ gz# z%: set type of selected columns on source sheet to str/int/float/currency/date/len/floatsi
Enter: open a Frequency Table sheet grouped by column referenced in current row

Sheets Sheet (Shift+S)

open Sheets Stack, which contains only the active sheets on the current stack
(global commands)

gS: open Sheets Sheet, which contains all sheets from current session, active and inactive
Alt number: jump to sheet number

(sheet-specific commands)

Enter: jump to sheet referenced in current row
gEnter: push selected sheets to top of sheet stack
a: add row to reference a new blank sheet
gC gI: open Columns Sheet/Describe Sheet with all visible columns from selected sheets
g^R: reload all selected sheets
z^C gz^C: abort async threads for current/selected sheets(s)
g^S: save selected or all sheets
& jointype: merge selected sheets with visible columns from all, keeping rows according to jointype:

.: inner keep only rows which match keys on all sheets
.: outer keep all rows from first selected sheet
.: full keep all rows from all sheets (union)
.: diff keep only rows NOT in all sheets
.: append keep all rows from all sheets (concatenation)
.: extend copy first selected sheet, keeping all rows and sheet type, and extend with columns from other sheets
.: merge mostly keep all rows from first selected sheet, except prioritise cells with non-null/non-error values

Options Sheet (Shift+O)

(global commands)

Shift+O: edit global options (apply to all sheets)
zO: edit sheet options (apply to current sheet only)
gO: open options.config as TextSheet

(sheet-specific commands)

Enter e: edit option at current row
d: remove option override for this context

CommandLog (Shift+D)

(global commands)

D: open current sheet's CommandLog with all other loose ends removed; includes commands from parent sheets
gD: open global CommandLog for all commands executed in the current session
zD: open current sheet's CommandLog with the parent sheets commands' removed

(sheet-specific commands)

x: replay command in current row
gx: replay contents of entire CommandLog
^C: abort replay

Derived Sheets

Frequency Table (Shift+F)

A Frequency Table groups rows by one or more columns, and includes summary columns for those with aggregators.
(global commands)

gF: open Frequency Table, grouped by all key columns on source sheet
zF: open one-line summary for all rows and selected rows

(sheet-specific commands)

s t u: select/toggle/unselect these entries in source sheet
Enter gEnter: open copy of source sheet with rows that are grouped in current cell / selected rows

Describe Sheet (Shift+I)

A Describe Sheet contains descriptive statistics for all visible columns.
(global commands)

gI: open Describe Sheet for all visible columns on all sheets

(sheet-specific commands)

zs zu: select/unselect rows on source sheet that are being described in current cell
!: toggle/unset current column as a key column on source sheet
Enter: open a Frequency Table sheet grouped on column referenced in current row
zEnter: open copy of source sheet with rows described in current cell

Pivot Table (Shift+W)

Set key column(s) and aggregators on column(s) before pressing Shift+W on the column to pivot.
(sheet-specific commands)

Enter: open sheet of source rows aggregated in current pivot row
zEnter: open sheet of source rows aggregated in current pivot cell

Melted Sheet (Shift+M)

Open Melted Sheet (unpivot), with key columns retained and all non-key columns reduced to Variable-Value rows.
(global commands)

gM regex: open Melted Sheet (unpivot), with key columns retained and regex capture groups determining how the non-key columns will be reduced to Variable-Value rows.

Python Object Sheet (^X ^Y g^Y z^Y)

(sheet-specific commands)

Enter: dive further into Python object
v: toggle show/hide for methods and hidden properties
gv zv: show/hide methods and hidden properties

Commandline Options

Add -n/--nonglobal to make subsequent CLI options sheet-specific (applying only to paths specified directly on the CLI). By default, CLI options apply to all sheets.

Options can also be set via the Options Sheet or a .visidatarc (see Files).

-P=longname: preplay longname before replay or regular launch; limited to Base Sheet bound commands
+toplevel:subsheet:col:row: launch vd with subsheet of toplevel at top-of-stack, and cursor at col and row; all arguments are optional
-f, --filetype=filetype: tsv set loader to use for filetype instead of file extension
-y, --confirm-overwrite=F: True overwrite existing files without confirmation

--mouse-interval=int 1: max time between press/release for click (ms)
--null-value=NoneType None: a value to be counted as null
--undo=bool True: enable undo/redo
--col-cache-size=int 0: max number of cache entries in each cached column
--clean-names False: clean column/sheet names to be valid Python identifiers
--default-width=int 20: default column width
--default-height=int 10: default column height
--textwrap-cells=bool True: wordwrap text for multiline rows
--quitguard False: confirm before quitting last sheet
--debug False: exit on error and display stacktrace
--skip=int 0: skip N rows before header
--header=int 1: parse first N rows as column names
--load-lazy False: load subsheets always (False) or lazily (True)
--force-256-colors False: use 256 colors even if curses reports fewer
--note-pending=str ⌛: note to display for pending cells
--note-format-exc=str ?: cell note for an exception during formatting
--note-getter-exc=str !: cell note for an exception during computation
--note-type-exc=str !: cell note for an exception during type conversion
--scroll-incr=int 3: amount to scroll with scrollwheel
--name-joiner=str _: string to join sheet or column names
--value-joiner=str: string to join display values
--wrap False: wrap text to fit window width on TextSheet
--save-filetype=str tsv: specify default file type to save as
--profile=str: filename to save binary profiling data
--min-memory-mb=int 0: minimum memory to continue loading and async processing
--input-history=str: basename of file to store persistent input history
--encoding=str utf-8: encoding passed to codecs.open
--encoding-errors=str surrogateescape: encoding_errors passed to codecs.open
--bulk-select-clear False: clear selected rows before new bulk selections
--some-selected-rows False: if no rows selected, if True, someSelectedRows returns all rows; if False, fails
--delimiter=str: field delimiter to use for tsv/usv filetype
--row-delimiter=str: " row delimiter to use for tsv/usv filetype
--tsv-safe-newline=str ?: replacement for newline character when saving to tsv
--tsv-safe-tab=str ?: replacement for tab character when saving to tsv
--visibility=int 0: visibility level (0=low, 1=high)
--expand-col-scanrows=int 1000: number of rows to check when expanding columns (0 = all)
--json-indent=NoneType None: indent to use when saving json
--json-sort-keys False: sort object keys when saving to json
--default-colname=str: column name to use for non-dict rows
--filetype=str: specify file type
--confirm-overwrite=bool True: whether to prompt for overwrite confirmation on save
--safe-error=str #ERR: error string to use while saving
--clipboard-copy-cmd=str: command to copy stdin to system clipboard
--clipboard-paste-cmd=str: command to get contents of system clipboard
--fancy-chooser False: a nicer selection interface for aggregators and jointype
--describe-aggrs=str mean stdev: numeric aggregators to calculate on Describe sheet
--histogram-bins=int 0: number of bins for histogram of numeric columns
--numeric-binning False: bin numeric columns into ranges
--replay-wait=float 0.0: time to wait between replayed commands, in seconds
--replay-movement False: insert movements during replay
--visidata-dir=str ~/.visidata/: directory to load and store additional files
--rowkey-prefix=str キ: string prefix for rowkey in the cmdlog
--cmdlog-histfile=str: file to autorecord each cmdlog action to
--regex-flags=str I: flags to pass to re.compile() [AILMSUX]
--regex-maxsplit=int 0: maxsplit to pass to regex.split
--default-sample-size=int 100: number of rows to sample for regex.split
--show-graph-labels=bool True: show axes and legend on graph
--plot-colors=str: list of distinct colors to use for plotting distinct objects
--zoom-incr=float 2.0: amount to multiply current zoomlevel when zooming
--motd-url=str: source of randomized startup messages
--dir-recurse False: walk source path recursively on DirSheet
--dir-hidden False: load hidden files on DirSheet
--config=str ~/.visidatarc: config file to exec in Python
--play=str: file.vd to replay
--batch False: replay in batch mode (with no interface and all status sent to stdout)
--output=NoneType None: save the final visible sheet to output at the end of replay
--preplay=str: longnames to preplay before replay
--imports=str plugins: imports to preload before .visidatarc (command-line only)
--incr-base=float 1.0: start value for column increments
--csv-dialect=str excel: dialect passed to csv.reader
--csv-delimiter=str ,: delimiter passed to csv.reader
--csv-quotechar=str ": quotechar passed to csv.reader
--csv-skipinitialspace=bool True: skipinitialspace passed to csv.reader
--csv-escapechar=NoneType None: escapechar passed to csv.reader
--csv-lineterminator=str: " lineterminator passed to csv.writer
--safety-first False: sanitize input/output to handle edge cases, with a performance cost
--fixed-rows=int 1000: number of rows to check for fixed width columns
--fixed-maxcols=int 0: max number of fixed-width columns to create (0 is no max)
--postgres-schema=str public: The desired schema for the Postgres database
--http-max-next=int 0: max next.url pages to follow in http response
--html-title=str <h2>{sheet.name}</h2>: table header when saving to html
--pcap-internet=str n: (y/s/n) if save_dot includes all internet hosts separately (y), combined (s), or does not include the internet (n)
--graphviz-edge-labels=bool True: whether to include edge labels on graphviz diagrams
--pdf-tables False: parse PDF for tables instead of pages of text
--plugins-url=str https://visidata.org/plugins/plugins.jsonl: source of plugins sheet

Display Options

Display options can only be set via the Options Sheet or a .visidatarc (see Files).

disp_splitwin_pct 0: height of second sheet on screen
disp_currency_fmt %.02f: default fmtstr to format for currency values
disp_float_fmt {:.02f}: default fmtstr to format for float values
disp_int_fmt {:.0f}: default fmtstr to format for int values
disp_date_fmt %Y-%m-%d: default fmtstr to strftime for date values
disp_note_none ⌀: visible contents of a cell whose value is None
disp_truncator …: indicator that the contents are only partially visible
disp_oddspace ·: displayable character for odd whitespace
disp_more_left <: header note indicating more columns to the left
disp_more_right >: header note indicating more columns to the right
disp_error_val: displayed contents for computation exception
disp_ambig_width 1: width to use for unicode chars marked ambiguous
disp_pending: string to display in pending cells
color_note_pending bold magenta: color of note in pending cells
color_note_type 226 yellow: color of cell note for non-str types in anytype columns
color_note_row 220 yellow: color of row note on left edge
disp_column_sep |: separator between columns
disp_keycol_sep ║: separator between key columns and rest of columns
disp_rowtop_sep |
disp_rowmid_sep ⁝
disp_rowbot_sep ⁝
disp_rowend_sep ║
disp_keytop_sep ║
disp_keymid_sep ║
disp_keybot_sep ║
disp_endtop_sep ║
disp_endmid_sep ║
disp_endbot_sep ║
disp_selected_note •
disp_sort_asc ↑↟⇞⇡⇧⇑: characters for ascending sort
disp_sort_desc ↓↡⇟⇣⇩⇓: characters for descending sort
color_default white on black: the default fg and bg colors
color_default_hdr bold: color of the column headers
color_bottom_hdr underline: color of the bottom header row
color_current_row reverse: color of the cursor row
color_current_col bold: color of the cursor column
color_current_hdr bold reverse: color of the header for the cursor column
color_column_sep 246 blue: color of column separators
color_key_col 81 cyan: color of key columns
color_hidden_col 8: color of hidden columns on metasheets
color_selected_row 215 yellow: color of selected rows
disp_rstatus_fmt {sheet.longname} {sheet.nRows:9d} {sheet.rowtype} {sheet.options.disp_selected_note}{sheet.nSelectedRows}: right-side status format string
disp_status_fmt {sheet.shortcut}› {sheet.name}|: status line prefix
disp_lstatus_max 0: maximum length of left status line
disp_status_sep |: separator between statuses
color_keystrokes white: color of input keystrokes on status line
color_status bold: status line color
color_error red: error message color
color_warning yellow: warning message color
color_top_status underline: top window status bar color
color_active_status bold: active window status bar color
color_inactive_status 8: inactive window status bar color
color_working green: color of system running smoothly
color_edit_cell white: cell color to use when editing cell
disp_edit_fill _: edit field fill character
disp_unprintable ·: substitute character for unprintables
disp_histogram *: histogram element character
disp_histolen 50: width of histogram column
disp_replay_play ▶: status indicator for active replay
disp_replay_pause ‖: status indicator for paused replay
color_status_replay green: color of replay status indicator
disp_pixel_random False: randomly choose attr from set of pixels instead of most common
color_graph_hidden 238 blue: color of legend for hidden attribute
color_graph_selected bold: color of selected graph points
color_graph_axis bold: color for graph axis labels
color_add_pending green: color for rows pending add
color_change_pending reverse yellow: color for cells pending modification
color_delete_pending red: color for rows pending delete
color_xword_active green: color of active clue

Examples

vd foo.tsv

open the file foo.tsv in the current directory

vd -f sqlite bar.db

open the file bar.db as a sqlite database

vd foo.tsv -n -f sqlite bar.db

open foo.tsv as tsv and bar.db as a sqlite database

vd -f sqlite foo.tsv bar.db

open both foo.tsv and bar.db as a sqlite database

vd -b countries.fixed -o countries.tsv

convert countries.fixed (in fixed width format) to countries.tsv (in tsv format)

vd postgres://username:password@hostname:port/database

open a connection to the given postgres database

vd --play tests/pivot.vd --replay-wait 1 --output tests/pivot.tsv

replay tests/pivot.vd, waiting 1 second between commands, and output the final sheet to test/pivot.tsv

ls -l | vd -f fixed --skip 1 --header 0

parse the output of ls -l into usable data

ls | vd | lpr

interactively select a list of filenames to send to the printer

vd newfile.tsv

open a blank sheet named newfile if file does not exist

vd sample.xlsx +:sheet1:2:3

launch with sheet1 at top-of-stack, and cursor at column 2 and row 3

vd -P open-plugins

preplay longname open-plugins before starting the session

Files

At the start of every session, VisiData looks for $HOME/.visidatarc, and calls Python exec() on its contents if it exists. For example:

   options.min_memory_mb=100  # stop processing without 100MB free

   bindkey('0', 'go-leftmost')   # alias '0' to go to first column, like vim

   def median(values):
       L = sorted(values)
       return L[len(L)//2]

   aggregator('median', median)

Functions defined in .visidatarc are available in python expressions (e.g. in derived columns).

Supported Sources

Core VisiData includes these sources:

tsv (tab-separated value)

Plain and simple. VisiData writes tsv format by default. See the --tsv-delimiter option.

csv (comma-separated value)

.csv files are a scourge upon the earth, and still regrettably common.
See the --csv-dialect, --csv-delimiter, --csv-quotechar, and --csv-skipinitialspace options.
Accepted dialects are excel-tab, unix, and excel.

fixed (fixed width text)

Columns are autodetected from the first 1000 rows (adjustable with --fixed-rows).

json (single object) and jsonl/ndjson/ldjson (one object per line).

Cells containing lists (e.g. [3]) or dicts ({3}) can be expanded into new columns with ( and unexpanded with ).

sqlite

May include multiple tables. The initial sheet is the table directory;: Enter loads the entire table into memory. z^S saves modifications to source.

URL schemes are also supported:

http (requires requests); can be used as transport for with another filetype

For a list of all remaining formats supported by VisiData, see https://visidata.org/formats.

In addition, .zip, .gz, .bz2, and .xz files are decompressed on the fly.

Supported Output Formats

These are the supported savers: