Tabiew is a lightweight terminal user interface application for viewing and querying tabular data files in formats including CSV, TSV, Parquet, JSON, Arrow, SQLite, Excel, and others.
The tool addresses the need to quickly inspect and analyze structured data without leaving the terminal. It automatically detects file formats based on extension and allows users to execute SQL queries directly against loaded data. The interface uses Vim-style keybindings for navigation and supports fuzzy search across table contents. Users can work with multiple tables simultaneously and visualize data through built-in plotting capabilities.
Tabiew suits developers and data analysts who work frequently with tabular datasets and prefer command-line workflows. It is particularly valuable for rapid data exploration and validation before processing in larger pipelines, with a preview mode that loads only the first rows of large files for schema inspection. The tool's broad format support makes it useful across different data sources without requiring format conversion. The extensive theme library with over four hundred options allows customization of the visual environment.
The project maintains active engagement with community feedback, having evolved from a simple CSV viewer into a feature-rich application. Documentation is organized in a dedicated wiki covering feature explanations and usage best practices. Installation is available through multiple channels including package managers for Linux distributions, Homebrew for macOS, and direct compilation from source with Rust.
