Skip to main content

Core Keys Cheatsheet

All the essential VisiData keystrokes organized for fast lookup during daily use.

Launching VisiData​

vd file.csv                      # open CSV
vd -f tsv file.txt               # open as TSV
vd -f fixed --skip 1 file.txt    # open as fixed-width
command | vd -f fixed            # pipe command output
vd -b input.csv -o output.json   # batch convert
vd --play session.vdj            # replay CommandLog

Global Commands​

^Q              abort VisiData immediately
^C              cancel current input / abort async threads
q               quit current sheet
gq              quit all sheets (exit VisiData)
Q               quit current sheet, remove from CommandLog
^H              open man page (full reference)
Alt+H           open help menu
z^H             view command sheet for current sheet type
Space           open command palette (type longname)
^G              show cursor position and sheet bounds
^V              show VisiData version

Cursor Movement​

h j k l         ← ↓ ↑ → (also arrow keys)
gh gj gk gl     go all the way to edge of sheet
gg              go to first row
G               go to last row
^F              scroll page forward (down)
^B              scroll page back (up)
zz              scroll current row to center
zr N            go to row number N (0-based)
zc N            go to column number N (0-based)
c regex         go to next column matching regex
r regex         go to next row (key) matching regex

Sheet Stack​

Shift+S         open Sheets Sheet (all open sheets)
Ctrl+^          jump to previous sheet
Alt+1–9         jump to sheet by number
q               pop current sheet
gq              quit all sheets
Z               split screen (view two sheets)
Tab             switch focus between panes
gZ              close split

Row Selection​

s               select current row
u               unselect current row
t               toggle selection
gs / gu / gt    select / unselect / toggle ALL rows
|  regex        select matching rows in current column
g| regex        select matching rows in ANY column
z|  expr        select rows matching Python expression
,               select rows matching current cell value
"               open filtered sheet (selected rows only)
{  }            jump to prev/next selected row

Column Operations​

^               rename current column
_               toggle column width (full ↔ default)
g_              toggle ALL column widths
-               hide current column
gv              unhide all columns
H L             slide column left / right
gH gL           slide column to far left / far right
!               toggle key column (blue)
z!              unset key column
~  #  %  $  @  z#   set type: str/int/float/currency/date/len
=  expr         create derived column from Python expression
g= expr         set column for selected rows to expression result
:  regex        split column into multiple by regex
;  regex        extract capture groups as new columns
+  aggregator   add aggregator to current column

Sorting​

[               sort ascending by current column
]               sort descending by current column
g[              sort ascending by all key columns
g]              sort descending by all key columns
z[              sort ascending, preserve existing sort

Analysis Sheets​

Shift+F         frequency table for current column
gF              frequency table grouped by all key columns
zF              one-line summary for current/selected rows
Shift+I         Describe Sheet (statistics for all columns)
gI              Describe Sheet for all sheets
Shift+W         pivot table (key column × aggregated column)
Shift+C         Columns Sheet (edit all column metadata)
Shift+D         CommandLog for current sheet
gD              global CommandLog
Shift+M         Melt Sheet (unpivot)
/  regex        search forward in current column
?  regex        search backward
n  N            next / previous match
g/  regex       search forward in ALL columns
g?  regex       search backward in ALL columns
z/  expr        search by Python expression (current column)

Visualization​

.               plot current numeric column vs key column(s)
g.              plot ALL numeric columns vs key column(s)
# In canvas (graph) sheet:
+  -            zoom in / out
_               zoom to fit all data
x               set x-axis range
y               set y-axis range
Enter           open source rows at canvas cursor

Editing​

e               edit current cell
ge text         set current column for selected rows
^O              open cell in external $EDITOR
U  R            undo / redo
a               append blank row
ga N            append N blank rows
d               delete current row
gd              delete selected rows
y  gy           yank (copy) current / selected rows
p               paste clipboard rows after cursor
Ctrl+S          save current sheet to file
g Ctrl+S        save all sheets

Data Import / Export​

o file          open file in VisiData
^S file         save current sheet to file
g^S             save all sheets
z^S file        save current column only
Ctrl+D file     save CommandLog to .vdj file

Miscellaneous​

Ctrl+E          view last error traceback
Ctrl+T          open Threads Sheet
Ctrl+L          redraw screen
Ctrl+R          reload current sheet from source
m key           record macro (start/stop)
gm              open Macro Index

Next​