convert-file
Convert any data file to another format: CSV, Parquet, JSON, Excel, GeoJSON, and more. Use when the user says "convert to parquet", "save as xlsx", "export as JSON", "make this a CSV", "turn into parquet", or any variation of format-to-format conversion for data files. Also triggers when the user wants to write Parquet, Excel, or other binary formats that Claude cannot produce natively.
- Installs
- 787
- Last 24h
- +8
- Trending rank
- #9650
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill convert-file- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads convert-file automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
You are helping the user convert a data file from one format to another using DuckDB.
Input file: $0
Output file: ${1:-}
Step 1 — Resolve input and output
Input: $0. If it's a bare filename (no /), resolve to a full path with find "$PWD" -name "$0" -not -path '*/.git/*' 2>/dev/null | head -1.
Output: If $1 is provided, use it as the output path. If not, default to the same stem as the input with a .parquet extension (e.g., data.csv → data.parquet).
Infer the output format from the output file extension:
| Extension | Format clause |
|---|---|
.parquet, .pq | (default, no clause needed) |
.csv | (FORMAT csv, HEADER) |
.tsv | (FORMAT csv, HEADER, DELIMITER '\t') |
.json | (FORMAT json, ARRAY true) |
.jsonl, .ndjson | (FORMAT json, ARRAY false) |
.xlsx | (FORMAT xlsx) — requires INSTALL excel; LOAD excel; |
.geojson | (FORMAT GDAL, DRIVER 'GeoJSON') — requires LOAD spatial; |
.gpkg | (FORMAT GDAL, DRIVER 'GPKG') — requires LOAD spatial; |
.shp | (FORMAT GDAL, DRIVER 'ESRI Shapefile') — requires LOAD spatial; |
Step 2 — Convert
Run a single DuckDB command. Prepend extension loads as needed based on both the input and output formats.
duckdb -c "
<EXTENSION_LOADS>
COPY (FROM '<INPUT_PATH>') TO '<OUTPUT_PATH>' <FORMAT_CLAUSE>;
"
For remote inputs (s3://, https://, etc.), prepend the same protocol setup as read-file:
| Protocol | Prepend |
|---|---|
s3:// | LOAD httpfs; CREATE SECRET (TYPE S3, PROVIDER credential_chain); |
gs:// / gcs:// | LOAD httpfs; CREATE SECRET (TYPE GCS, PROVIDER credential_chain); |
https:// / http:// | LOAD httpfs; |
If the user mentions partitioning (e.g., "partition by year"), add PARTITION_BY (col) to the format clause. This only works with Parquet and CSV output.
If the user mentions compression (e.g., "use zstd"), add CODEC 'zstd' for Parquet output.
Step 3 — Report
On success, report:
- Input file and detected format
- Output file, format, and size (
ls -lh) - Row count if quick to compute
On failure:
duckdb: command not found→ delegate to/duckdb-skills:install-duckdb- Missing extension → install it and retry
- Input parse error → suggest the user check the input format or try
/duckdb-skills:read-filefirst to inspect it
FAQ
What does the convert-file skill do?
Convert any data file to another format: CSV, Parquet, JSON, Excel, GeoJSON, and more. Use when the user says "convert to parquet", "save as xlsx", "export as JSON", "make this a CSV", "turn into parquet", or any variation of format-to-format conversion for data files. Also triggers when the user wants to write Parquet, Excel, or other binary formats that Claude cannot produce natively.
How do I install convert-file?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill convert-file in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/convert-file/ (personal) or .claude/skills/convert-file/ (project).
Which AI agents can use convert-file?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is convert-file safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains convert-file?
It is published by duckdb in duckdb/duckdb-skills. It has 787 recorded installs.
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