About SmartQueryTools

What it is

SmartQueryTools is a set of 200+ free tools for working with data files. You can convert between formats, run SQL queries, profile, join, deduplicate, pivot and chart your data. It supports CSV, Parquet, JSON, Excel and more, and you can query any of them with SQL in the SQL workspace.

Who builds it

SmartQueryTools is built and run by Daniel O'Donohue. Daniel also runs MapScaping, a podcast and website about geospatial technology, and builds other browser-based tools such as QuickMapTools. The same idea runs through all of them: useful tools that open in a browser tab and do the work on your own machine.

Why it exists

Working with data means handling a steady stream of files: exports from databases, from SaaS tools, from GIS software. Doing anything with them usually meant one of two things. Install a desktop program, or upload the file to someone else's server. The first is slow when you only want to look inside a file. The second is a problem when the data is private.

Browsers can now run a real analytical database. SmartQueryTools uses DuckDB compiled to WebAssembly, so a full SQL engine runs inside the page. That removes both steps. There is nothing to install and nothing to upload.

Private by architecture

Because the engine runs in your browser, your files are processed on your own device. Optional geocoding sends the addresses you select to OpenStreetMap. The site collects usage analytics, but they do not include file contents. The privacy policy has the details.

Formerly QuickDataTools

SmartQueryTools used to be called QuickDataTools. The tools and the local-first approach are the same. Only the name changed. If you have an idea for a new tool or a dataset for the catalog, send it through the contact page.