Data Grid
A fast spreadsheet for CSV and TSV inside VS Code.
Most of the time you don’t need Excel for a data file — you need to see rows, jump around, find a value, tweak a cell, and save without the editor falling over on a big file. Data Grid opens local .csv and .tsv files as a calm grid: only the visible region is loaded from disk, so large files stay responsive. Light editing, column sort, undo, and a safe save path are there when you need them.
It is not a full workbook app (no XLSX, formulas, or pivot tables). It is a sharp tool for the plain-text data files you already keep.
Features
- Spreadsheet grid for local
.csv and .tsv — opens as the default editor
- Find (
⌘/Ctrl+F) with match highlight
- Go to cell (
⌘/Ctrl+G — e.g. B12, 12, or B)
- Formula-style bar: name box + cell value
- Status bar: canvas size, file size, delimiter, used range; Reload from disk
- Sparse A–Z × 1000 canvas with disk-backed paging for large files
- Edit cells, copy/paste, insert/delete rows and columns
- Sort column A→Z / Z→A
- Header row toggle (status bar): freezes row 1 for sort and uses it as column titles
- Undo / redo (
⌘/Ctrl+Z, ⌘⇧Z / Ctrl+Y)
- Save writes only the used range (atomic temp-file write) and refuses to overwrite if the file changed on disk
All values are plain text. CSV uses commas; TSV uses tabs. Standard double-quote escaping and UTF-8.
Install
Search Data Grid in the Extensions view (⌘⇧X / Ctrl+Shift+X), or install by id:
code --install-extension zephyrindustries.datagrid
Open on the Visual Studio Marketplace →
Cursor / VSCodium / other VS Code forks: search the Marketplace from that app, or use its CLI (e.g. cursor --install-extension zephyrindustries.datagrid).
Open a spreadsheet
- Open any
.csv or .tsv file — it opens in Data Grid by default.
- Switch to plain text: Data Grid: Open as Text (title bar or Command Palette), or Open With… → Text Editor.
- Return to the grid: Data Grid: Open as Spreadsheet, or Open With… → Data Grid Spreadsheet.
Shortcuts (while the grid is active)
| Action |
Shortcut |
| Find |
⌘/Ctrl+F |
| Go to cell |
⌘/Ctrl+G |
| Undo / redo |
⌘/Ctrl+Z · ⌘⇧Z / Ctrl+Y |
Column menu (header ▾ or right-click): insert/delete columns, Sort A→Z / Sort Z→A. Use the Header row control in the status bar when the first row is titles.
Requirements & limits
- Desktop VS Code (or a compatible fork) and local files only
- Not supported (yet): XLSX, formulas, filters, charts, remote/virtual workspaces, VS Code for the Web
Optional: install from VSIX or source
If you prefer a GitHub release build:
- Download the latest
.vsix from Releases.
code --install-extension path/to/datagrid-*.vsix --force- Fully quit and reopen VS Code so the webview loads the new build.
To build from source (Node.js 20+):
git clone https://github.com/zephyr-industries/datagrid.git
cd datagrid
npm install
npm run package
code --install-extension artifacts/datagrid.vsix --force
Uninstall
code --uninstall-extension zephyrindustries.datagrid
Development
npm install
npm run build # or: npm test · npm run package
Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host. Sample files: samples/people.csv, samples/people.tsv.
