Configuration

Datui supports extensive customization through TOML configuration files. You can customize colors, defaults, performance settings, and more.

Quick Start

Generate a default configuration file:

datui --generate-config

This creates ~/.config/datui/config.toml with all available options and helpful comments.

Configuration File Location

• Linux: ~/.config/datui/config.toml
• macOS: ~/.config/datui/config.toml
• Windows: %APPDATA%\datui\config.toml

Configuration Priority

Settings are applied in this order (later values override earlier ones):

1. Default values (hardcoded)
2. Config file (~/.config/datui/config.toml)
3. Command-line arguments (highest priority)

Configuration Sections

File Loading Defaults

Customize how data files are loaded:

[file_loading]
delimiter = 44        # CSV delimiter (44 = comma). null = auto-detect
has_header = true     # Whether files have headers. null = auto-detect
skip_lines = 0        # Lines to skip at file start
skip_rows = 0         # Rows to skip when reading
parse_dates = true    # When true (default), CSV reader tries to parse string columns as dates (e.g. YYYY-MM-DD, ISO datetime)
decompress_in_memory = false  # When true, decompress compressed CSV into memory; when false (default), decompress to a temp file so scan can be used
temp_dir = null       # Directory for temp files when decompressing compressed CSV. null = system default (e.g. /tmp)

• delimiter — ASCII value of the CSV column separator (e.g. 44 for comma). Omit or set to null to use auto-detection.
• has_header — Whether the first row is a header. Omit or null for auto-detect; true or false to force.
• skip_lines / skip_rows — Number of lines (or rows) to skip before reading the header and data.
• parse_dates — When true (default), the CSV reader attempts to parse string columns that look like dates (e.g. YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS) into Polars Date or Datetime. Set to false to keep such columns as strings. Overridden by the --parse-dates CLI flag (e.g. --parse-dates false to disable; see command-line options).
• decompress_in_memory — When false (default), compressed CSV is decompressed to a temporary file so the lazy CSV reader can scan it. When true, compressed data is decompressed into memory (eager load). Use true if you have no temp filesystem. Overridden by --decompress-in-memory / --decompress-in-memory false.
• temp_dir — Directory used for temporary files when decompressing compressed CSV. Omit or set to null to use the system default (e.g. /tmp on Unix). Overridden by the --temp-dir CLI option.

Display Settings

Control how data is displayed:

[display]
pages_lookahead = 3   # Pages to buffer ahead (smoother scrolling)
pages_lookback = 3    # Pages to buffer behind
row_numbers = false   # Show row numbers on left side
row_start_index = 1   # Starting index for row numbers (0 or 1)
table_cell_padding = 1   # Spaces between columns in the main table (>= 0)

Example: Enable row numbers starting at 0

[display]
row_numbers = true
row_start_index = 0

Performance Settings

Tune performance and responsiveness:

[performance]
# sampling_threshold = 10000   # Optional: when set, sample datasets >= this size for analysis
event_poll_interval_ms = 25  # UI polling interval (lower = more responsive)

• event_poll_interval_ms — UI event polling interval in milliseconds. Lower values feel more responsive but use more CPU.

sampling_threshold (optional)

Controls whether Analysis Mode uses a sample of the data for large datasets. Default: sampling is off (full dataset is used).

Example: to sample only when a table has at least 50,000 rows, set sampling_threshold = 50000 under [performance], or run datui --sampling-threshold 50000 …. See command-line options for the CLI flag.

Chart View

Default limit for how many rows are used when building chart data (display and export). You can also change this in chart view with the Limit Rows option.

[chart]
row_limit = 10000  # Max rows for chart data (1 to 10_000_000). Default 10000

Color Themes

Customize the entire UI appearance:

[theme.colors]
keybind_hints = "cyan"              # Keybind hints
keybind_labels = "yellow"           # Action labels
primary_chart_series_color = "cyan" # Chart data
secondary_chart_series_color = "dark_gray" # Chart theory
chart_series_color_1 = "cyan"       # Chart view: first series
chart_series_color_2 = "magenta"    # Chart view: second series
chart_series_color_3 = "green"      # Chart view: third series
chart_series_color_4 = "yellow"    # Chart view: fourth series
chart_series_color_5 = "blue"      # Chart view: fifth series
chart_series_color_6 = "red"       # Chart view: sixth series
chart_series_color_7 = "bright_cyan" # Chart view: seventh series
error = "red"                       # Error messages
success = "green"                   # Success indicators
warning = "yellow"                  # Warnings
dimmed = "dark_gray"                # Dimmed elements
alternate_row_color = "default"    # Background for every other row ("default" = off, or a color name)

Color Formats

Three color formats are supported:

1. Named Colors

keybind_hints = "cyan"
error = "bright_red"
dimmed = "dark_gray"
background = "default"  # Use terminal default background
text_primary = "default"  # Use terminal default text color

Available names:

• Basic: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white
• Bright: bright_red, bright_green, bright_blue, etc.
• Grays: gray, dark_gray, light_gray
• Special: reset or default (uses terminal default colors - works in both light and dark themes)

2. Hex Colors

background = "#1e1e1e"
sidebar_border = "#007acc"
controls_bg = "#2d2d2d"

• Format: #rrggbb (6 hex digits)
• Case-insensitive: #FF0000 or #ff0000
• Automatically adapted to your terminal’s capabilities

3. Indexed Colors

controls_bg = "indexed(236)"  # Example: specific palette entry
surface = "indexed(239)"

• Direct reference to xterm 256-color palette (0-255)
• Respects your terminal’s color scheme
• Useful for matching specific terminal themes

Terminal Compatibility

Colors automatically adapt to your terminal:

• True color terminals (Alacritty, kitty, iTerm2): Hex colors display exactly
• 256-color terminals (xterm-256color): Hex converted to nearest palette match
• Basic terminals (8/16 colors): Colors map to nearest ANSI color
• Monochrome: Set NO_COLOR=1 to disable colors
• Light Theme Support:
  • The default values for background and text_primary are set to "default"
  • Datui will inherit your terminal’s default colors
  • The application renders correctly in both light and dark terminal themes
  • Be aware that setting explicit colors like "black" or "white" may result in poor visibility in certain terminal themes

Available Colors

All UI colors can be customized:

Query System

Configure query behavior:

[query]
history_limit = 1000      # Max queries to remember
enable_history = true     # Enable query history

Template Settings

Configure template behavior:

[templates]
auto_apply = false  # Auto-apply most relevant template on file open

Debug Settings

Configure debug overlay:

[debug]
enabled = false             # Show debug overlay by default
show_performance = true     # Show performance metrics
show_query = true           # Show LazyFrame query
show_transformations = true # Show transformation state

Example Configurations

Minimal Configuration

Simple customization for common preferences:

version = "0.2"

[display]
row_numbers = true
row_start_index = 0

[theme.colors]
keybind_hints = "blue"

Dracula Theme

Complete Dracula color scheme using the official palette (hex colors):

version = "0.2"

[theme.colors]
# Keybinds and UI chrome
keybind_hints = "#bd93f9"              # Purple
keybind_labels = "#ff79c6"             # Pink
throbber = "#bd93f9"                   # Purple

# Chart colors
primary_chart_series_color = "#bd93f9" # Purple
secondary_chart_series_color = "#6272a4" # Comment
chart_series_color_1 = "#8be9fd"       # Cyan
chart_series_color_2 = "#ff79c6"       # Pink
chart_series_color_3 = "#50fa7b"       # Green
chart_series_color_4 = "#f1fa8c"       # Yellow
chart_series_color_5 = "#bd93f9"       # Purple
chart_series_color_6 = "#ff5555"       # Red
chart_series_color_7 = "#ffb86c"       # Orange

# Status
success = "#50fa7b"                    # Green
error = "#ff5555"                      # Red
warning = "#ffb86c"                    # Orange
dimmed = "#6272a4"                     # Comment

# Backgrounds
background = "#282a36"                 # Background
surface = "#44475a"                    # Selection / current line
controls_bg = "#44475a"                # Controls bar

# Text
text_primary = "#f8f8f2"               # Foreground
text_secondary = "#6272a4"             # Comment
text_inverse = "#282a36"               # Background (for inverse)

# Table
table_header = "#f8f8f2"               # Foreground
table_header_bg = "#44475a"            # Selection
row_numbers = "#6272a4"                # Comment
column_separator = "#bd93f9"           # Purple
table_selected = "reversed"
alternate_row_color = "default"        # No stripe (or use "#3d3f4a" for subtle stripe)

# Column type colors (when column_colors enabled)
str_col = "#50fa7b"                    # Green
int_col = "#8be9fd"                    # Cyan
float_col = "#bd93f9"                  # Purple
bool_col = "#f1fa8c"                  # Yellow
temporal_col = "#ff79c6"               # Pink

# Borders and modals
sidebar_border = "#6272a4"             # Comment
modal_border_active = "#ff79c6"        # Pink
modal_border_error = "#ff5555"         # Red

# Cursor (query input, etc.)
cursor_focused = "#f8f8f2"             # Foreground
cursor_dimmed = "#6272a4"              # Comment

# Analysis / distributions
distribution_normal = "#50fa7b"        # Green
distribution_skewed = "#ffb86c"        # Orange
distribution_other = "#f8f8f2"         # Foreground
outlier_marker = "#ff5555"             # Red

Performance Tuned

Optimize for large datasets:

version = "0.2"

[display]
pages_lookahead = 5   # More buffering for smoother scrolling
pages_lookback = 5

[performance]
sampling_threshold = 50000  # Optional: sample only datasets >= 50k rows (omit to use full data)
event_poll_interval_ms = 16 # ~60 FPS polling (more responsive)

High Contrast Theme

Using named colors for maximum compatibility:

version = "0.2"

[theme.colors]
keybind_hints = "bright_cyan"
keybind_labels = "bright_yellow"
primary_chart_series_color = "bright_cyan"
secondary_chart_series_color = "dark_gray"
error = "bright_red"
success = "bright_green"
warning = "bright_yellow"
dimmed = "dark_gray"

background = "black"
controls_bg = "dark_gray"
text_primary = "bright_white"

Command-Line Overrides

CLI arguments always override config file settings:

# Config has row_numbers = true, but disable for this run:
datui data.csv --row-numbers=false

# Override page buffering:
datui data.csv --pages-lookahead 10

# Override delimiter:
datui data.csv --delimiter=9  # Tab character (ASCII 9)

Managing Configuration

View Current Config

Your config file is at ~/.config/datui/config.toml. Edit it with any text editor:

# Linux/macOS
nano ~/.config/datui/config.toml
vim ~/.config/datui/config.toml
code ~/.config/datui/config.toml

# Windows
notepad %APPDATA%\datui\config.toml

Reset to Defaults

Regenerate the default config file:

datui --generate-config --force

This overwrites your existing config with a fresh template.

Remove Configuration

Simply delete the config file:

# Linux/macOS
rm ~/.config/datui/config.toml

# Windows
del %APPDATA%\datui\config.toml

Datui will use default values when no config file exists.

Troubleshooting

Config Not Loading

If your config isn’t being used:

1. Check file location: Ensure config is at ~/.config/datui/config.toml
2. Check syntax: TOML must be valid. Run datui <file> and check for warnings
3. Check version: Config must start with version = "0.2"
4. Check validation: Ensure values are in valid ranges (e.g., if set, sampling_threshold > 0)

Invalid Color

If you see an error about invalid colors:

Error: Invalid color value for 'keybind_hints': Unknown color name: 'notacolor'

Solutions:

• Use valid color names (see list above)
• Use hex format: #ff0000
• Use indexed format: indexed(236)
• Check spelling and case (names are case-insensitive)

Config Parse Error

If TOML parsing fails:

Error: Failed to parse config file: expected newline, found ...

Solutions:

• Check TOML syntax at https://toml.io/
• Ensure proper quotes around strings
• Verify no typos in section names
• Regenerate config: datui --generate-config --force

Colors Look Wrong

If colors don’t look right:

1. Check terminal capabilities: Some terminals don’t support true color
2. Try named colors: More portable than hex colors
3. Try indexed colors: Match your terminal’s palette exactly
4. Check NO_COLOR: Unset with unset NO_COLOR if colors are disabled

Table Headers or Toolbar Text Cut Off or Deformed (VS Code, xterm-256)

On some terminals (e.g. VS Code integrated terminal, xterm-256color), custom background colors on headers/toolbar can cause text to render cut off or deformed. By default, controls_bg and table_header_bg use indexed(235), which works well on most setups.

If you see deformed text, set them to "default" or "none" for no custom background:

[theme.colors]
controls_bg = "default"
table_header_bg = "default"

See Also

• Command-Line Options - CLI flags that override config
• Quick Start Guide - Getting started with datui
• Keyboard Shortcuts - Available keybindings