VisiData In 60 Seconds

TL;DR? Here’s a three-step introduction to VisiData.

Step 1: Use vd to open a data file

Download faa-wildlife-strikes.csv, a dataset of all aircraft-wildlife collisions reported to the Federal Aviation Administration between 2010 and mid-2016.

From your terminal, move into the directory where you downloaded the dataset. Then run the following command:

vd faa-wildlife-strikes.csv

If it worked, you should see something like this:

  File  Edit  View  Column  Row  Data  Plot  System  Help     | VisiData 3.0.2 | Alt+H for help men
 OPERATOR            ATYPE         INCIDENT_DATE      STATE  AIRPORT             PHASE_OF_FLT>
 BUSINESS           │ PA-28        │ 05/22/15 00:00:00 │ FL    │ VERO BEACH MUNICIP…│ APPROACH     │
 BUSINESS            BE-1900       06/18/15 00:00:00  AK     KENAI MUNICIPAL AR… APPROACH      BUSINESS            PA-46 MALIBU  09/20/15 00:00:00  TX     DAVID WAYNE HOOKS …               DELTA AIR LINES     B-717-200     11/07/15 00:00:00  MO     LAMBERT-ST LOUIS I… APPROACH      BUSINESS            BE-90 KING    12/17/15 00:00:00  FL     POMPANO BEACH AIRP… LANDING ROLL  DELTA AIR LINES     B-757         07/17/15 00:00:00  VI     HENRY E ROHLSEN AR…               DELTA AIR LINES     B-717-200     08/02/15 00:00:00  TX     SAN ANTONIO INTL    APPROACH      BUSINESS            C-414         08/03/15 00:00:00  TX     LONE STAR EXECUTIV… DEPARTURE     ALLEGIANT AIR       MD-80         09/02/15 00:00:00  FL     TAMPA INTL          APPROACH      TRANS STATES AIRLI… EMB-145       09/07/15 00:00:00  MO     LAMBERT-ST LOUIS I… APPROACH      BUSINESS            C-172         11/28/15 00:00:00  FL     OPA-LOCKA EXECUTIV… APPROACH      GOVERNMENT          EC120         12/08/15 00:00:00  CA     NORMAN Y. MINETA S…               AMERICAN AIRLINES   A-321         05/06/15 00:00:00  FL     FORT LAUDERDALE/HO… APPROACH      EXPRESSJET AIRLINES CRJ100/200    05/06/15 00:00:00  AR     FORT SMITH REGIONA… CLIMB         MESA AIRLINES       CRJ900        05/08/15 00:00:00  AR     BILL AND  HILLARY … LANDING ROLL  BUSINESS            HELICOPTER    05/06/15 00:0┌──────────────────────────────────| statuses |─┐ DELTA AIR LINES     A-320         05/07/15 00:0│ saul.pw/VisiData v3.0.2                        DELTA AIR LINES     A-320         05/08/15 00:0│ opening datasets/faa-wildlife-strikes.csv as  │ LUFTHANSA           A-380         05/10/15 00:0│ csv                                            BUSINESS            C-172         05/08/15 00:0│ As if I would talk on such a subject!         │ SPIRIT AIRLINES     A-319         05/10/15 00:0└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘1› faa-wildlife-strikes|                                                                73448 rows 

Step 2: Test-drive a frequency table

One of VisiData’s strengths is how quickly it lets you summarize your data. Frequency tables are a great example. To create one, press Shift+F.

If it worked, you should see something like this:

  File  Edit  View  Column  Row  Data  Plot  System  Help     | VisiData 3.0.2 | Alt+H for help men
 OPERATOR           ↓count♯ percent% histogram                             ~                   
 UNKNOWN            ║ 23076 │   31.42 │ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ║
 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES   7752    10.55  ■■■■■■■■■■■■                            BUSINESS             5868     7.99  ■■■■■■■■■                               AMERICAN AIRLINES    4337     5.90  ■■■■■■■                                 DELTA AIR LINES      2817     3.84  ■■■■                                    FEDEX EXPRESS        2709     3.69  ■■■■                                    UNITED AIRLINES      2194     2.99  ■■■                                     US AIRWAYS           1885     2.57  ■■■                                     UPS AIRLINES         1773     2.41  ■■                                      SKYWEST AIRLINES     1769     2.41  ■■                                      JETBLUE AIRWAYS      1740     2.37  ■■                                      EXPRESSJET AIRLINES  1347     1.83  ■■                                      AMERICAN EAGLE AIR…  1041     1.42                                        ENVOY AIR             883     1.20                                      ALASKA AIRLINES       835     1.14                                        REPUBLIC AIRLINES     804     1.09                                        MESA AIRLINES         693     0.94                                        AIR WISCONSIN AIRL…   623     0.85                                        PSA AIRLINES          577     0.79                                          PRIVATELY OWNED       516     0.70                                          PHI INC               491     0.67                                         2› faa-wildlife-strikes_OPERATOR_freq|                                  Shift+F           282 bins 

Step 3: Explore the menu

Pressing Control-h will open VisiData’s menu system, where you can explore the most common commands:

  File  Edit  View  Column  Row  Data  Plot  System  Help     | VisiData 3.0.2 | Alt+H for help men
 OPERATOR           ↓count♯ percent% histogram    VisiData Feature Guides           ⎘         
 UNKNOWN            ║ 23076 │   31.42 │ ■■■■■■■■■■■■│ Version                    Ctrl+V SOUTHWEST AIRLINES   7752    10.55  ■■■■■■■■■■■■│ VisiData tutorial                   BUSINESS             5868     7.99  ■■■■■■■■■   │ Sheet commands            zCtrl+H ⎘│
 AMERICAN AIRLINES    4337     5.90  ■■■■■■■     │ All commands             gzCtrl+H ⎘│
 DELTA AIR LINES      2817     3.84  ■■■■        │ Quick reference           gCtrl+H FEDEX EXPRESS        2709     3.69  ■■■■        │ Command list              zCtrl+H ⎘│
 UNITED AIRLINES      2194     2.99  ■■■         └────────────────────────────────────┘
 US AIRWAYS           1885     2.57  ■■■                                     UPS AIRLINES         1773     2.41  ■■                                      SKYWEST AIRLINES     1769     2.41  ■■                                      JETBLUE AIRWAYS      1740     2.37  ■■                                      EXPRESSJET AIRLINES  1347     1.83  ■■                                      AMERICAN EAGLE AIR…  1041     1.42                                        ENVOY AIR             883     1.20                                      ALASKA AIRLINES       835  ┌────────────────── open-guide-index ────────────────────────────┐
 REPUBLIC AIRLINES     804  │ open VisiData guides table of contents                          MESA AIRLINES         693                                                                   AIR WISCONSIN AIRL…   623  │    ⎘ pushes sheet                                               PSA AIRLINES          577  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
 PRIVATELY OWNED       516     0.70                                          PHI INC               491     0.67                                         2› faa-wildlife-strikes_OPERATOR_freq|                            Bksp   menu-help        282 bins 

You can navigate the menu either with your arrow keys or by pointing and clicking with your mouse. To run a command from the menu, press Enter or click a second time on the selected item.