---
name: "csvpy"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "csvkit"
version: "2.2.0-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/csvpy"
---

# csvpy(1)

csvpy Documentation

## NAME

csvpy - csvpy Documentation

## DESCRIPTION

Loads a CSV file into a **agate.csv.Reader** object and then drops into a Python shell so the user can inspect the data however they see fit:

```
usage: csvpy [-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] [--dict] [--agate]
             [--no-number-ellipsis] [-y SNIFF_LIMIT] [-I]
             [FILE]
Load a CSV file into a CSV reader and then drop into a Python shell.
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
  --dict                Load the CSV file into a DictReader.
  --agate               Load the CSV file into an agate table.
  --no-number-ellipsis  Disable the ellipsis if the max precision is exceeded.
  -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 (and --locale, --date-format,
                        --datetime-format, --no-leading-zeroes) when parsing
                        the input.
```

This tool will automatically use the IPython shell if it is installed, otherwise it will use the running Python shell.

**NOTE:**

Due to platform limitations, csvpy does not accept file input as piped data via STDIN.

See also: *Arguments common to all tools*.

## EXAMPLES

Basic use:

```

```

- **$ csvpy examples/dummy.csv**

  Welcome! "examples/dummy.csv" has been loaded in a reader object named "reader". \>\>\> next(reader) \['a', 'b', 'c'\]

As a dictionary:

```
$ csvpy --dict examples/dummy.csv
Welcome! "examples/dummy.csv" has been loaded in a DictReader object named "reader".
>>> next(reader)
{'a': '1', 'c': '3', 'b': '2'}
```

As an agate table:

```
$ csvpy --agate examples/dummy.csv
Welcome! "examples/dummy.csv" has been loaded in a from_csv object named "reader".
>>> reader.print_table()
|    a | b | c |
| ---- | - | - |
| True | 2 | 3 |
```

## AUTHOR

Christopher Groskopf and contributors

## COPYRIGHT

2016, Christopher Groskopf and James McKinney