Save and Restore

How to save and replay a VisiData session

This example creates and then uses the file pivot.vdj.

To save and restore a session in VisiData:

1. Save the cmdlog using one of the following options:

   a. Press Ctrl+D to save the cmdlog to a fn.vdj file.

   or

   b. Press Shift+D to view the CommandLog Sheet, then press Ctrl+S and save it with a .vdj suffix.

2. Press gq to quit VisiData.

3. Replay the cmdlog, on the commandline: vd -p fn.vdj.

How to replay a cmdlog on a different file

Cmdlogs record the exact filename and sheet names from the original session. To reuse a cmdlog with a different input file, you need to make the cmdlog filename-independent.

Method: Edit the .vd/.vdj to remove hardcoded references

1. Save your cmdlog as usual (Shift+D to open the cmdlog, Ctrl+S to save).
2. Edit the .vdj file:
   • Remove the open-file line (the line with "longname": "open-file").
   • Erase all "sheet" values (for instance with gs gzd). A blank sheet name means "use the current sheet", so commands operate on whatever is on top of the stack.
3. Replay on a new file:

vd -b -p cmdlog.vdj newfile.csv -o output.tsv

The new file is passed as a positional argument, and -p replays the cmdlog against it. Use -b for batch (non-interactive) mode and -o to write the result.

Limitations: Blank sheet names only work for linear workflows where you never switch between sheets. If your analysis involves joining sheets or switching back to a previous sheet, you'll need to either keep the sheet names, or use stack-relative commands like jump-prev (Ctrl+^, jump to previous sheet) or jump-first (gCtrl+^, jump to first sheet) to navigate between sheets without relying on their names.

Cmdlog formats

VisiData supports several cmdlog formats:

• .vd (TSV) — original format with tab-separated columns
• .vdj (JSONL) — JSON objects, one per line; fields include sheet, col, row, longname, input, keystrokes, comment
• .vdx (simplified) — human-readable, one command per line; only emits sheet/col/row lines when they change