FAQ - Your Questions, Answered

Why should I trust this tool with my data?

Data privacy and security are our top priorities. Unlike traditional cloud-based tools, all data processing in our platform happens entirely within your browser using client-side JavaScript. This means your sensitive CSV files never leave your computer and are never uploaded to any server. The entire workflow—from file parsing to transformation and export—occurs locally in your machine's memory. We use modern Web APIs like FileReader and Blob to handle files securely. You can even disconnect from the internet after loading the page and continue working. For additional verification, you can inspect our network activity using your browser's Developer Tools to confirm zero data transmission. This architecture makes our tool ideal for handling confidential business data, personal information, financial records, or any dataset covered by GDPR, HIPAA, or other privacy regulations.

Is this really free?

Yes, this platform is completely free with no hidden costs or limitations. There are no trial periods, premium tiers, freemium upsells, or feature paywalls. All 50+ tools are accessible without registration, credit card information, or subscription fees. We believe data manipulation tools should be accessible to everyone—from students and researchers to small businesses and enterprise users. The project is sustained through optional donations and non-intrusive advertisements that don't compromise user experience. We're committed to keeping the core functionality free forever because we built this to solve real problems, not to extract recurring revenue. If you find value in our tools, consider supporting us through our donation page or sharing the platform with your colleagues.

Why does this exist?

This platform was born from years of frustration with existing data manipulation solutions. Excel, while powerful, frequently crashes with large datasets (>100MB), has inconsistent CSV parsing, automatically corrupts data through aggressive type conversion (dates, ZIP codes, scientific notation), and requires expensive licenses. Cloud solutions like Google Sheets are slow, have size limitations, and raise privacy concerns. Python and R are powerful but require programming knowledge, environment setup, library management, and aren't accessible to non-technical users. We created this toolkit to bridge the gap: providing Excel-level accessibility with programming-tool power, browser-based convenience with desktop-app privacy, and professional capabilities with zero cost. Our goal is democratizing data manipulation—making advanced operations like deduplication, pivoting, statistical analysis, and machine learning predictions accessible through intuitive interfaces.

Can I use this for huge files?

Yes, our platform is optimized for large-scale data processing. We've successfully tested CSV files exceeding 10GB and Excel files with millions of rows. The tools use several performance optimization techniques: Web Workers for multi-threaded processing, streaming algorithms to handle data in chunks, efficient memory management to prevent browser crashes, and progressive rendering for large result sets. Performance depends on your hardware—specifically RAM and CPU cores. Modern computers (16GB RAM, quad-core CPU) can comfortably handle files with 5-10 million rows. For extremely large datasets (50GB+), we recommend using the batch processing features or splitting files. Some tools also support incremental processing where you can apply operations to subsets and combine results. Unlike Excel which hard-limits at 1,048,576 rows, our tools have no artificial restrictions—the only limit is your browser's available memory.

Do I need to install anything?

No installation, extensions, or downloads required. The entire platform runs in modern web browsers (Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, Edge 90+) using standard web technologies: HTML5, JavaScript ES2020, WebAssembly, and Web Workers. Simply visit the site, and you're ready to work. This architecture provides several advantages: instant access from any device, automatic updates without manual intervention, cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS), no disk space consumption, and no security risks from downloaded executables. The tools work offline after initial page load—your browser caches the necessary code. This makes our platform perfect for shared computers, locked-down corporate environments, temporary workstations, or situations where you need quick data manipulation without admin privileges.

What file formats are supported?

We support the most common data formats: CSV (comma-separated values) with custom delimiters (comma, semicolon, tab, pipe), TSV (tab-separated values), Excel files (.xlsx, .xls) with multiple sheets, JSON (arrays and objects), and plain text with various encodings (UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252). The platform automatically detects file encoding and delimiter conventions. For CSV files, our parser handles edge cases that commonly break other tools: quoted fields containing delimiters, multi-line fields, inconsistent column counts, and mixed encodings. Excel file support includes formula preservation, date format recognition, and multiple worksheet handling. Export options include CSV with customizable delimiters and quotes, Excel with formatting, JSON with nested or flat structures, and SQL INSERT statements. We're actively developing support for additional formats like Parquet, Avro, and XML based on community feedback.

How do I handle special characters and encoding issues?

Encoding problems are one of the most common frustrations when working with CSV files. Our platform includes sophisticated encoding detection and conversion tools. When uploading a file, we automatically analyze the byte patterns to identify the encoding (UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252, etc.). If special characters appear corrupted (like ã instead of à), use our Encoding Converter tool to re-interpret the file with the correct character set. The tool preserves all Unicode characters including emojis, Asian languages, Cyrillic, Arabic, and other non-Latin scripts. For CSV generation, we default to UTF-8 with BOM (Byte Order Mark) which ensures proper rendering in Excel. You can also configure output encoding per your requirements. The Ghost Scrub tool specifically targets invisible characters that cause parsing issues: zero-width spaces, non-breaking spaces, directional markers, and control characters.

Can I automate repetitive tasks?

While our interface is designed for interactive use, there are several ways to automate workflows. First, most tools remember your previous settings, so repetitive operations become one-click actions. Second, you can bookmark specific tool configurations in your browser. Third, for power users, we expose a JavaScript API that can be accessed through browser console or bookmarklets to script common operations. The formula tool supports Excel-like formulas and SQL queries for complex transformations. For true automation at scale, consider our command-line companion tool (beta) which wraps the core algorithms in a Node.js package for batch processing and integration into data pipelines. Many users combine our interactive tools for exploration and prototype development, then transition to scripted solutions for production workflows.

What browsers are officially supported?

We officially support and test on modern evergreen browsers: Google Chrome/Chromium 90+, Mozilla Firefox 88+, Microsoft Edge 90+, Safari 14+, Opera 76+, and Brave 1.24+. Mobile browsers have limited support due to memory constraints and touch interface limitations—we recommend using a desktop or laptop for optimal experience. The platform requires JavaScript ES2020 features (BigInt, optional chaining, nullish coalescing), WebAssembly for performance-critical operations, Web Workers for background processing, FileReader API for local file access, and adequate memory (minimum 4GB RAM recommended). Internet Explorer is not supported due to its lack of modern web standards. If you experience issues, ensure your browser is updated to the latest version, JavaScript is enabled, and you have sufficient available RAM (check Task Manager/Activity Monitor).

How do I report bugs or request features?

We actively encourage community feedback and maintain several channels for user input. For bug reports, please use our GitHub Issues page at https://github.com/datastripes/feedback where you can search existing issues and create detailed reports. Include your browser version, operating system, file size/format, steps to reproduce, and expected vs. actual behavior. For feature requests, visit our public roadmap at https://datastripes.featurebase.app/ where you can submit ideas, vote on proposed features, and see what we're actively developing. We prioritize features based on community votes and implementation complexity. For general questions or discussions, join our community forum or reach out via email. For security vulnerabilities, please use responsible disclosure via security@datastripes.com rather than public channels. We typically respond within 48-72 hours and issue hotfixes for critical bugs within a week.

Still have questions? Open an issue on GitHub or don't. We're not your therapist.