data-formulator README

The project's README from github.com/microsoft/data-formulator. As one markdown file: README.md.

Data Formulator icon  Data Formulator: AI-powered Data Visualization

🪄 Explore data with visualizations, powered by AI agents.

Try Online Demo   Install Locally

PyPI  License: MIT  YouTube  build  Discord

Why Data Formulator?

Working with data is hard for two simple reasons:

  1. Data lives everywhere. Connecting agents to files, databases, warehouses, and BI tools takes time. It is even harder when agents start answering before the relationships between data sources are clear.
  2. Questions evolve as you explore. Each answer can lead to follow-up questions, comparisons, and new directions. A long chat history makes it hard to see where you are and how you got there.

Data Formulator provides one visual workspace for exploring and analyzing data:

  1. Data connectors give agents a common way to connect to different data sources and maintains a data memory to remember the relationships between them.
  2. Data Threads let you branch into different questions, compare paths, and use visualizations to discover deeper insights without losing context.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8e4f8a08-6423-4227-a1f7-559e0126ce31

[!TIP] Love the charts? They're built on Flint. It's an open-source visualization language that compiles compact chart specs into polished visualizations.

News 🔥🔥🔥

[08-15-2026] Data Formulator 0.8 beta 1 (0.8.0b1) introduces:

Preview with pip install --pre data_formulator==0.8.0b1 or uvx [email protected]. Install the latest stable release (0.7) with pip install data_formulator or run instantly with uvx data_formulator.

See the changelog for release details.

Previous Updates

Here are milestones that lead to the current design:

Overview

Data Formulator is a Microsoft Research project for data exploration with visualizations powered by AI agents. It combines UI interactions with natural language so analysts can communicate intent, branch into alternative analyses, and share results — starting from any data format (screenshot, text, CSV, or database).

Get Started

Play with Data Formulator with one of the following options.

Desktop downloads

CI builds self-contained Windows and macOS applications for pull requests and every update to main. Download the latest archives from the Artifacts section of the most recent desktop builds workflow. Workflow artifacts are retained for 30 days. Tagged builds are also attached as permanent downloads to the corresponding GitHub Release.

Extract the archive, then launch Data Formulator using the instructions for your operating system:

[!WARNING] These are automated preview builds and are not currently code-signed or notarized. Only bypass the operating-system warning when the archive was downloaded directly from this repository's workflow artifacts or releases.

Using Data Formulator

Start with the data you already have: upload CSV, TSV, Excel, JSON, screenshots, or text; connect to databases and data platforms; or ask the analyst to find and load the data you need. The analyst can discover sources, clarify your request, propose a loading plan, and let you review the data before adding it to the workspace.

Continue the conversation in the Data Thread. Ask questions in natural language and follow the reasoning through explanations, tables, and editable charts in one history. Refine a result directly, branch from any earlier step to explore an alternative, or delegate the next investigation to the analyst. When the analysis is ready, compose the results into a report to share.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/164aff58-9f93-4792-b8ed-9944578fbb72

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA-bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., label, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repositories using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact [email protected] with any additional questions or comments.

Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft's Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party's policies.

data-formulator (microsoft/data-formulator)

duckdb
Searching Database…

What is this?Data Formulator is an interactive AI-powered data analysis tool from Microsoft Research that lets you explore data by combining UI interactions with natural language, with AI agents handling data connections, transformations, and chart generation.
Is this a desktop app or something I run in a browser?It's a Python package that launches a local server and opens a workspace in your browser; CI also builds self-contained desktop apps for Windows and macOS.
How do I get it running?Fastest way is `uvx dataformulator` (or `pip install dataformulator`) to launch it instantly in your browser; a Docker Compose setup is also provided, or you can build it yourself per DEVELOPMENT.md.
Which AI providers do I need an API key for?You bring your own model access through LiteLLM, which supports OpenAI, Azure, Ollama, or Anthropic.
Any pitfalls with the desktop app downloads?The prebuilt Windows/macOS desktop apps are automated preview builds that aren't code-signed or notarized, so Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will flag them and you must manually allow the app to run.
Does it only run on Windows and macOS, or Linux too?Prebuilt desktop binaries only target Windows and macOS, but since it's distributed as a Python package you can run the browser-based version on Linux too via pip, uv, or Docker.
What is a Data Thread?It's the branching conversation history in the workspace: you can ask follow-up questions, compare alternative analysis paths from any earlier step, and never lose context like you would in a flat chat log.
Can I handle large datasets?Yes, Data Formulator integrates with DuckDB for large data support and offers automatic joins across multiple tables.
Can I share the results with others?Yes, once an analysis is ready you can compose the tables, charts, and explanations into a shareable report.
Is the interface available in languages other than English?As of v0.7 the UI is multilingual, supporting English and Chinese.
Creator
microsoft
Size
41.4 MB
Stars
17.6K
Age
2y
Commits · 90 Days