microsoft/data-formulator

What is it?

Key features

• 01Connects to CSV, Excel, JSON, databases, and data platforms like Databricks.
• 02AI analyst agent discovers sources and proposes a loading plan for review.
• 03Data Thread keeps each question, answer, and chart in one branchable history.
• 04Charts are editable and built on the Flint visualization language.
• 05Compose analysis results into shareable reports.
• 06Runs locally via uvx or pip, or with Docker.

Use cases

• Exploring a new CSV or Excel dataset with natural-language questions and charts.
• Comparing alternative analysis paths side by side without losing earlier context.
• Querying a company database or data platform through an agent and building charts from the results.
• Turning exploration results into a report to share with colleagues.

Quick start

1. 1

   Install and run via uv (recommended)

   uvx data_formulator
2. 2

   Or install via pip

   pip install data_formulator
3. 3

   Run after pip install and open the browser at localhost:5567

   python -m data_formulator

Things to know

• !Desktop preview builds for Windows and macOS are not code-signed or notarized, so the OS will show a warning.
• !The latest version is a beta preview (0.8.0b1); the stable release is 0.7.
• !AI features need a configured model provider, so you need your own API key or a local model.

Topics

FAQ

What is data-formulator?

AI-powered data exploration tool that connects to files and databases and turns questions into editable visualizations, from Microsoft Research. Data Formulator is a visual workspace for exploring and analyzing data with AI agents. You can start from CSV, TSV, Excel, JSON, screenshots, text, or databases and data platforms such as Databricks. An analyst agent helps locate and load sources, proposes a loading plan, and lets you review data before it joins the workspace.

Is data-formulator free to use? What license does it have?

data-formulator is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is data-formulator still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to data-formulator was on Oct 20, 2026.

What can I use data-formulator for?

Exploring a new CSV or Excel dataset with natural-language questions and charts. Comparing alternative analysis paths side by side without losing earlier context. Querying a company database or data platform through an agent and building charts from the results. Turning exploration results into a report to share with colleagues.

How do I install data-formulator?

Install and run via uv (recommended): uvx data_formulator Or install via pip: pip install data_formulator Run after pip install and open the browser at localhost:5567: python -m data_formulator

Where can I get data-formulator?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/data-formulator