Official agent skill

Read File

Read any data file (CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, Excel, spatial, SQLite) or remote URL (S3, HTTPS).

OfficialMITAuto-check: notesDocuments & Office

Install Read File

skills CLI

$ npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install duckdb/duckdb-skills read-file --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/read-file .claude/skills/read-file && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "read-file" agent skill from https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file into .claude/skills/read-file/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-file", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install duckdb/duckdb-skills read-file --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/read-file .agents/skills/read-file && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "read-file" agent skill from https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file into .agents/skills/read-file/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-file", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install duckdb/duckdb-skills read-file --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/read-file .cursor/skills/read-file && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "read-file" agent skill from https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file into .cursor/skills/read-file/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-file", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git --path skills/read-file

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install duckdb/duckdb-skills read-file --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/read-file .gemini/skills/read-file && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "read-file" agent skill from https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file into .gemini/skills/read-file/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-file", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install duckdb/duckdb-skills read-file

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/read-file .github/skills/read-file && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "read-file" agent skill from https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file into .github/skills/read-file/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-file", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install duckdb/duckdb-skills read-file --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/read-file .opencode/skills/read-file && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "read-file" agent skill from https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills/tree/main/skills/read-file into .opencode/skills/read-file/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "read-file", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: read-file
GitHub stars: 600
Used in: 1 other repo
Token cost: ~917 tokens
SKILL.md length: 183 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 8
Repo updated: Apr 23, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Read any data file (CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, Excel, spatial, SQLite) or remote URL (S3, HTTPS).

Works in 2 steps: Read it → Answer
User references a data file
SKILL.md covers Step 1 — Read it and Step 2 — Answer
Calls duckdb

What it does

Read File is an agent skill from duckdb/duckdb-skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Read any data file (CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, Excel, spatial, SQLite) or remote URL (S3, HTTPS). Use when user references a data file, asks "what's in this file", or wants to preview/profile a dataset. Not for source code.

Its SKILL.md is about 920 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Documents & Office, covering File uploads and storage, Excel spreadsheets and DataFrames. It works with SQLite, DuckDB, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Azure. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

User references a data file
Asks whats in this file
Wants to preview/profile a dataset

Example prompts

“s in this file”
“/read-file”

Requirements

Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Bash

Workflow steps

2 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Read it
Answer

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 7feda8e. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
- Bash
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- duckdb
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Read File loads about 917 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 58 tokens; SKILL.md has 183 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~58
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~917

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md
```
allowed-tools: Bash
```

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from duckdb/duckdb-skills at commit 7feda8e, republished under its MIT licence (© duckdb). 183 words, ~917 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/read-file/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: read-file
description: Read any data file (CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, Excel, spatial, SQLite) or remote URL (S3, HTTPS). Use when user references a data file, asks "what's in this file", or wants to preview/profile a dataset. Not for source code.
allowed-tools: Bash
argument-hint: <filename or URL> [question about the data]

You are helping the user read and analyze a data file using DuckDB.

Filename given: $0 Question: ${1:-describe the data}

Step 1 — Read it

RESOLVED_PATH is $0. If the user gave a bare filename (no /), resolve it to a full path with find first.

Run a single DuckDB command that defines the read_any macro inline and reads the file.

For remote files, prepend the necessary LOAD/SECRET before the macro:

Protocol	Prepend
`https://` / `http://`	`LOAD httpfs;`
`s3://`	`LOAD httpfs; CREATE SECRET (TYPE S3, PROVIDER credential_chain);`
`gs://` / `gcs://`	`LOAD httpfs; CREATE SECRET (TYPE GCS, PROVIDER credential_chain);`
`az://` / `azure://` / `abfss://`	`LOAD httpfs; LOAD azure; CREATE SECRET (TYPE AZURE, PROVIDER credential_chain);`

For local files, no prefix needed.

bash

duckdb -csv -c "
CREATE OR REPLACE MACRO read_any(file_name) AS TABLE
  WITH json_case AS (FROM read_json_auto(file_name))
     , csv_case AS (FROM read_csv(file_name))
     , parquet_case AS (FROM read_parquet(file_name))
     , avro_case AS (FROM read_avro(file_name))
     , blob_case AS (FROM read_blob(file_name))
     , spatial_case AS (FROM st_read(file_name))
     , excel_case AS (FROM read_xlsx(file_name))
     , sqlite_case AS (FROM sqlite_scan(file_name, (SELECT name FROM sqlite_master(file_name) LIMIT 1)))
     , ipynb_case AS (
         WITH nb AS (FROM read_json_auto(file_name))
         SELECT cell_idx, cell.cell_type,
                array_to_string(cell.source, '') AS source,
                cell.execution_count
         FROM nb, UNNEST(cells) WITH ORDINALITY AS t(cell, cell_idx)
         ORDER BY cell_idx
     )
  FROM query_table(
    CASE
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.json' OR file_name ILIKE '%.jsonl' OR file_name ILIKE '%.ndjson' OR file_name ILIKE '%.geojson' OR file_name ILIKE '%.geojsonl' OR file_name ILIKE '%.har' THEN 'json_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.csv' OR file_name ILIKE '%.tsv' OR file_name ILIKE '%.tab' OR file_name ILIKE '%.txt' THEN 'csv_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.parquet' OR file_name ILIKE '%.pq' THEN 'parquet_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.avro' THEN 'avro_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.xlsx' OR file_name ILIKE '%.xls' THEN 'excel_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.shp' OR file_name ILIKE '%.gpkg' OR file_name ILIKE '%.fgb' OR file_name ILIKE '%.kml' THEN 'spatial_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.ipynb' THEN 'ipynb_case'
      WHEN file_name ILIKE '%.db' OR file_name ILIKE '%.sqlite' OR file_name ILIKE '%.sqlite3' THEN 'sqlite_case'
      ELSE 'blob_case'
    END
  );

DESCRIBE FROM read_any('RESOLVED_PATH');
SELECT count(*) AS row_count FROM read_any('RESOLVED_PATH');
FROM read_any('RESOLVED_PATH') LIMIT 20;
"

If this fails:

duckdb: command not found → invoke /duckdb-skills:install-duckdb and retry.
Missing extension (e.g. spatial files, xlsx, sqlite) → retry with INSTALL spatial; LOAD spatial; or INSTALL sqlite_scanner; LOAD sqlite_scanner; prepended before the macro.
Wrong reader / parse error → use the correct read_* function directly instead of read_any.

Step 2 — Answer

Using the schema, row count, and sample rows, answer:

${1:-describe the data: summarize column types, row count, and any notable patterns.}

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/read-file of duckdb/duckdb-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7feda8e

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in duckdb/duckdb-skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

ipea/geocodebr.claude/skills/read-file

Compare with similar skills

Read File next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Read File compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Read File this skillduckdb/duckdb-skills	600	1 repos	~917	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	5 mo ago
Exploring Dataoaustegard/claude-skills	150	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Data AnalysisHezaoHezao/poirot	250	—	~997	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 mo ago
Excel ParserHarryoung/efka	104	—	~2.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	6 mo ago
Sn Da Image CaptionMichaelYang-lyx/AIDABench	111	1 repos	~2k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	10 days ago
CSV and Excel MergerOneWave-AI/claude-skills	323	—	~1.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	6 days ago

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Questions about Read File

What does Read File do?

Read any data file (CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, Excel, spatial, SQLite) or remote URL (S3, HTTPS). Read File is an agent skill from duckdb/duckdb-skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Read any data file (CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, Excel, spatial, SQLite) or remote URL (S3, HTTPS).

When should I use Read File?

Read File fits situations like: user references a data file; asks whats in this file; wants to preview/profile a dataset.

How do I install Read File in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/read-file in duckdb/duckdb-skills) into .claude/skills/read-file in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Read File in Codex?

Run `npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/read-file in duckdb/duckdb-skills) into .agents/skills/read-file in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Read File in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill read-file -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/read-file, .gemini/skills/read-file, .github/skills/read-file and .opencode/skills/read-file in your project.

What does Read File need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Read File needs the command-line tools its instructions call (duckdb). Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Bash.

Does Read File access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Read File safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Read File use?

Read File is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Read File use?

About 917 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Read File?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Read File: Exploring Data (oaustegard/claude-skills, 150 stars), Data Analysis (HezaoHezao/poirot, 250 stars), Excel Parser (Harryoung/efka, 104 stars) and Sn Da Image Caption (MichaelYang-lyx/AIDABench, 111 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Read File?

duckdb (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in duckdb/duckdb-skills, which has 600 GitHub stars. The repository holds 8 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on April 23, 2026.

Source: duckdb/duckdb-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Read File

Install Read File

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Step 1 — Read it

Step 2 — Answer

Files

Used in 1 other repository

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Exploring Data

Data Analysis

Excel Parser

Sn Da Image Caption

CSV and Excel Merger

Generate Codebook

More from duckdb/duckdb-skills

Spatial

Convert File

S3 Explore

Attach DB

Duckdb Docs

Query

Questions about Read File

Install Read File

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Step 1 — Read it

Step 2 — Answer

Files

Used in 1 other repository

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from duckdb/duckdb-skills

Related

Questions about Read File