csvstat - Man Page

• Show all stats for all columns: csvstat data.csv
• Show all stats for columns 2 and 4: csvstat -c 2,4 data.csv
• Show sums for all columns: csvstat --sum data.csv
• Show the max value length for column 3: csvstat -c 3 --len data.csv
• Show the number of unique values in the "name" column: csvstat -c name --unique data.csv

tldr.sh

Prints descriptive statistics for all columns in a CSV file. Will intelligently determine the type of each column and then print analysis relevant to that type (ranges for dates, mean and median for integers, etc.):

usage: csvstat [-h] [-d DELIMITER] [-t] [-q QUOTECHAR] [-u {0,1,2,3}] [-b]
               [-p ESCAPECHAR] [-z FIELD_SIZE_LIMIT] [-e ENCODING] [-L LOCALE]
               [-S] [--blanks] [--null-value NULL_VALUES [NULL_VALUES ...]]
               [--date-format DATE_FORMAT] [--datetime-format DATETIME_FORMAT]
               [-H] [-K SKIP_LINES] [-v] [-l] [--zero] [-V] [--csv] [--json]
               [-i INDENT] [-n] [-c COLUMNS] [--type] [--nulls] [--non-nulls]
               [--unique] [--min] [--max] [--sum] [--mean] [--median]
               [--stdev] [--len] [--max-precision] [--freq]
               [--freq-count FREQ_COUNT] [--count]
               [--decimal-format DECIMAL_FORMAT] [-G] [-y SNIFF_LIMIT] [-I]
               [FILE]

Print descriptive statistics for each column in a CSV file.

positional arguments:
  FILE                  The CSV file to operate on. If omitted, will accept
                        input as piped data via STDIN.

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --csv                 Output results as a CSV table, rather than plain text.
  --json                Output results as JSON text, rather than plain text.
  -i INDENT, --indent INDENT
                        Indent the output JSON this many spaces. Disabled by
                        default.
  -n, --names           Display column names and indices from the input CSV
                        and exit.
  -c COLUMNS, --columns COLUMNS
                        A comma-separated list of column indices, names or
                        ranges to be examined, e.g. "1,id,3-5". Defaults to
                        all columns.
  --type                Only output data type.
  --nulls               Only output whether columns contains nulls.
  --non-nulls           Only output counts of non-null values.
  --unique              Only output counts of unique values.
  --min                 Only output smallest values.
  --max                 Only output largest values.
  --sum                 Only output sums.
  --mean                Only output means.
  --median              Only output medians.
  --stdev               Only output standard deviations.
  --len                 Only output the length of the longest values.
  --max-precision       Only output the most decimal places.
  --freq                Only output lists of frequent values.
  --freq-count FREQ_COUNT
                        The maximum number of frequent values to display.
  --count               Only output total row count.
  --decimal-format DECIMAL_FORMAT
                        %-format specification for printing decimal numbers.
                        Defaults to locale-specific formatting with "%.3f".
  -G, --no-grouping-separator
                        Do not use grouping separators in decimal numbers.
  -y SNIFF_LIMIT, --snifflimit SNIFF_LIMIT
                        Limit CSV dialect sniffing to the specified number of
                        bytes. Specify "0" to disable sniffing entirely, or
                        "-1" to sniff the entire file.
  -I, --no-inference    Disable type inference when parsing the input. Disable
                        reformatting of values.

See also: Arguments common to all tools.

Basic use:

csvstat examples/realdata/FY09_EDU_Recipients_by_State.csv

When an statistic name is passed, only that stat will be printed:

$ csvstat --min examples/realdata/FY09_EDU_Recipients_by_State.csv
  1. State Name: None
  2. State Abbreviate: None
  3. Code: 1
  4. Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty: 435
  5. Montgomery GI Bill- Selective Reserve: 48
  6. Dependents' Educational Assistance: 118
  7. Reserve Educational Assistance Program: 60
  8. Post-Vietnam Era Veteran's Educational Assistance Program: 1
  9. TOTAL: 768
 10. j: None

If a single stat and a single column are requested, only a value will be returned:

$ csvstat -c 4 --mean examples/realdata/FY09_EDU_Recipients_by_State.csv
6,263.904

Christopher Groskopf and contributors

2024, Christopher Groskopf and James McKinney