csvtk (CSV Tool Kit)

Generally used in informatics and data science but also in other fields, CSV files store table data that can be processed manually in spreadsheet applications. csvtk, short for CSV Tool Kit, is designed to automate repetitive tasks for processing and manipulating CSV and TSV data, providing a console-based application that comes with multiple commands for you to use.

Working with csvtk is not difficult at all, especially if you have prior experience with the Windows console. Still, there are a few things you need to remember regarding the CSV parser. For instance, it is mandatory for all the lines in the input file to have the same number of fields or columns. Lines with spaces cause errors, but there is a command to skip them.

A few other mentions are displayed when running csvtk, related to the header row, the uniqueness of the column names and tab-delimited files. You should take all into account for the application to run as expected.

csvtk comes with over 45 commands that you can use to manipulate the content of CSV files. For instance, you can add a header to your data, stream a file to stdout, concatenate files by rows, select parts of fields and apply filters. Additional commands allow you to grep data by the chosen fields, print records and headers, rename rows and columns, join files, replace data and create new columns using regular expressions.

The application also includes file conversion options, allowing you to obtain JSON, markdown or tabular files from the input CSV. Moreover, it can turn a standard CSV file into a readable aligned table and convert XLSX spreadsheets into CSV files.

There is more to discover about csvtk, as it comes with commands to edit,  order, plot and convert data inside CSV files. Its practical functions allow easy file management and manipulation, with commands that can be used in pipe mode on all the major platforms. Thanks to its set of commands, you can easily automate tasks that would otherwise require scripts in Python or another language.