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OpenRefine Data Cleaning CLI

Drive OpenRefine to import, clean, export and undo messy datasets via a command-line tool

Stars
58,084
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
1 file

What it does

This skill teaches an AI agent to use OpenRefine, a free tool for cleaning messy spreadsheets and datasets, through a command-line interface called cli-anything-openrefine. Once installed, the agent can import data into a project, apply saved sequences of cleaning operations written in JSON, inspect rows, export the cleaned result, and undo or redo steps in a session. It works against an OpenRefine server that must already be running.

Great for

  • Data analysts who already use OpenRefine and want an agent to repeat or automate cleaning steps
  • Developers building scripted data pipelines that need reproducible OpenRefine operation histories
  • People with large messy CSV or spreadsheet files who want an agent to do the first pass of cleaning

Skip it if

  • Users who do not have OpenRefine installed or running, since the skill depends on a live server
  • Sensitive or confidential datasets sent through a tool the file does not describe the data handling of, as the skill's network behaviour is not fully documented here
  • Anyone expecting the skill to explain or validate the cleaning logic itself; it only runs the operations supplied

Try asking

  • “Import this messy customer CSV into OpenRefine and show me the first 20 rows”
  • “Apply the operation history in cleaning-steps.json to my current project”
  • “Export the cleaned project as CSV and undo the last two operations if the output looks wrong”
  • “Inspect rows where the country column is empty”
Step-by-step guide: how to use OpenRefine Data Cleaning CLIInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    cli-anything-openrefine.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip cli-anything-openrefine.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip cli-anything-openrefine.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Start OpenRefine and confirm it is running before asking the agent to import or export data
  • Ask the agent to show a preview of the operation history before applying it to real data
  • Keep a backup of the original dataset, since applying operations modifies the project

What's inside

  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from HKUDS/CLI-Anything under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.