Skip to content
| Marketplace
Sign in
Visual Studio Code>Other>Flat File ReaderNew to Visual Studio Code? Get it now.
Flat File Reader

Flat File Reader

Mahesh

|
240 installs
| (1) | Free
Open and explore CSV, Parquet, and Excel files with a modern table UI inside VS Code.
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
Copied to clipboard
More Info

📊 Flat File Reader - VS Code Extension

Seamlessly explore and analyze CSV, TSV, Parquet, and Excel files with a powerful, intuitive table viewer – directly in VS Code. Now with AI-powered SQL generation! No external dependencies required!

Demo Video

Watch Demo Video

🤖 UI

Extension Screenshot

🤖 AI-Powered SQL Generation

Extension Screenshot

🤖 Visulize your data

Extension Screenshot


✨ Features

  • 🚀 Lightning Fast – Powered by DuckDB for blazing-fast data processing
  • 🤖 AI-Powered SQL Generation – Generate complex queries using OpenAI GPT or Google Gemini
  • 📁 Multi-Format Support – CSV, TSV, Parquet, Excel files
  • 🔍 Advanced Querying – Run custom SQL queries on your data
  • 🎯 Smart Search – Full-text search across all columns
  • 📄 Pagination – Navigate through large datasets efficiently (1000 rows per page)
  • 📤 Export – Save filtered results as CSV
  • 🎨 Modern UI – Beautiful dark theme with smooth animations
  • 🔄 Reset – Quickly reset to view all data
  • 🛡️ No Dependencies – Pure Node.js, works out-of-the-box

📦 Installation

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows) to open Extensions
  3. Search for "Flat File Reader"
  4. Click Install

That's it! 🎉 No additional setup or dependencies required.


🚀 Usage

Opening Files

  • Right-click any supported file → Open With... → Flat File Reader
  • Or use Command Palette: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Flat File Reader: Open File"

Interface Overview

  • SQL Editor – Write custom queries (table name: data)
  • Search Bar – Quick text search across all columns
  • Execute Query – Run your SQL with loading indicator
  • Reset – Return to SELECT * FROM data and reload all data
  • Export CSV – Download current results as CSV

Example Queries

-- View first 100 rows
SELECT * FROM data LIMIT 100

-- Filter by condition
SELECT * FROM data WHERE age > 25

-- Aggregate data
SELECT category, COUNT(*) as count FROM data GROUP BY category

🤖 AI-Powered SQL Generation

Generate SQL queries using AI! Click the "Generate SQL with AI" button to open the AI assistant.

Setup Your API Key

  1. Choose Provider: Select OpenAI or Gemini (free option available)
  2. Get API Key:
    • Gemini (Free): Click "Get free API token" for step-by-step instructions
    • OpenAI: Visit OpenAI API Keys
  3. Enter Key: Paste your API key in the secure input field
  4. Select Model: Choose your preferred AI model

Generate Queries

  • Describe what you want: "Show me sales by region" or "Find customers over 30"
  • AI generates SQL: Get complex queries instantly
  • Insert & Execute: Click "Insert" to add the query to your editor
  • Iterate: Ask follow-up questions to refine your analysis

Example AI Prompts:

  • "Calculate total revenue by product category"
  • "Find the top 10 customers by purchase amount"
  • "Show monthly trends for the last year"
  • "Identify outliers in the price column"

📋 Supported File Formats

Format Extensions Notes
CSV .csv Comma-separated values
TSV .tsv Tab-separated values
Parquet .parquet, .pq Columnar storage format
Excel .xlsx, .xls Spreadsheet files

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.


🙏 Acknowledgments

  • DuckDB – Fast analytical database
  • ExcelJS – Excel file processing
  • PapaParse – CSV parsing
  • VS Code Extension API – Extension framework

Made with ❤️ for data enthusiasts everywhere!

If you find this extension useful, please ⭐ star the repository and share with your colleagues!

  • Contact us
  • Jobs
  • Privacy
  • Manage cookies
  • Terms of use
  • Trademarks
© 2025 Microsoft