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)
has_header = true     # Whether files have headers
skip_lines = 0        # Lines to skip at file start
skip_rows = 0         # Rows to skip when reading
compression = "gzip"  # Default compression: "gzip", "zstd", "bzip2", "xz"

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)

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   # Sample datasets >= this size
event_poll_interval_ms = 25  # UI polling interval (lower = more responsive)

Memory vs Speed:

• Increase sampling_threshold to avoid sampling (uses more memory, full accuracy)
• Decrease sampling_threshold for faster analysis on large datasets (uses less memory)

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
error = "red"                       # Error messages
success = "green"                   # Success indicators
warning = "yellow"                  # Warnings
dimmed = "dark_gray"                # Dimmed elements

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 background and text_primary use "default" to inherit your terminal’s default colors. This ensures the app works correctly in both light and dark terminal themes. If you set explicit colors like "black" or "white", they may not work well in light 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 hex colors:

version = "0.2"

[theme.colors]
keybind_hints = "#bd93f9"              # Purple
keybind_labels = "#ff79c6"             # Pink
primary_chart_series_color = "#bd93f9" # Purple
secondary_chart_series_color = "#6272a4" # Comment gray
success = "#50fa7b"                    # Green
error = "#ff5555"                      # Red
warning = "#ffb86c"                    # Orange
dimmed = "#6272a4"                     # Comment gray

background = "#282a36"                 # Background (Dracula dark)
surface = "#44475a"                    # Current line
controls_bg = "#44475a"                # Controls bar

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

table_header = "#f8f8f2"               # Foreground
table_header_bg = "#44475a"            # Current line
column_separator = "#bd93f9"            # Purple
table_selected = "reversed"

sidebar_border = "#6272a4"             # Comment gray
modal_border_active = "#ff79c6"        # Pink
modal_border_error = "#ff5555"         # Red

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  # Sample only very large datasets
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., 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

See Also

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