Take part of a table

CodexWith deft, skill installedPassedRead the skillUsed deft2026-11-07

Time

16s

New tokens

5.0k

Total input

71.2k

Output tokens

0.5k

Commands

4

Failed

0

Trace

1. I’ll inspect the CSV and save its header plus first ten data rows to `top10.csv` in the current directory.

2. cat .agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md
   output

   ---
   name: deft
   description: "Use deft first for any simple, direct operation on local files, whatever the type: convert, read, extract, edit, compress, merge, split, compare or inspect. Try it before writing a script or one-liner. If unsure, run deft find; if it says no command does this, use another tool. Not for programming work: to read, write or change source code, skip it."
   ---
   
   # deft
   
   One local command for file jobs. Prefer it over writing Python or shell scripts.
   
   Syntax: `deft <group> <command> [inputs] [-o output] [--options]`
   
   Groups:
   - `pdf`: Merge, split, compress, encrypt, forms, OCR, compare, convert
   - `image`: Resize, crop, convert, compress, filters, montage, OCR
   - `video`: Trim, crop, speed, convert, compress, GIF, frames (ffmpeg)
   - `audio`: Convert, trim, merge, fade, speed, tag, normalize (ffmpeg)
   - `doc`: Word/ODT/RTF: to text, Markdown, HTML, PDF; find and replace
   - `slides`: PowerPoint: extract text, Markdown outline, PDF handout
   - `data`: JSON/YAML/TOML/XML: convert, query with jq syntax, merge, diff
   - `sheet`: Excel/CSV/ODS tables: filter, sort, join, pivot, convert
   - `md`: Markdown to PDF, HTML, Word, EPUB; table of contents
   - `html`: HTML to Markdown, text, Word, PDF; screenshots
   - `epub`: E-books: info, to text, Markdown and PDF
   - `email`: EML files: headers, text, attachments
   - `contact`: VCF address books: to and from CSV
   - `calendar`: ICS calendars: to and from CSV
   - `gps`: GPX and KML tracks: convert, distance and time
   - `youtube`: Info, downlo
   … 849 more characters

3. I’m using the local `deft` file tool for this CSV operation, as its guidance recommends for simple file tasks.

4. deft find "take header and first 10 rows of a CSV"
   output

   sheet to-md      sheet -> md     Markdown table (first row is the header)
   sheet extract    sheet -> sheet  Take a sheet or range: --sheet, --range A1:D20
   sheet dedupe     sheet -> sheet  Drop repeated rows, by whole row or --columns
   sheet filter     sheet -> sheet  Keep matching rows: --where "age > 30 and city = 'Oslo'"
   sheet transpose  sheet -> sheet  Swap rows and columns

5. deft sheet extract --help
   output

   deft sheet extract - Take a sheet or range: --sheet, --range A1:D20
   
   Usage: deft sheet extract <sheet>... [-o <sheet|dir>] [options]
   In: sheet (each handled separately)   Out: sheet (default <name>.extract.<ext>)
   
   Options:
     --sheet <text>               Sheet name or number (default: first)
     --range <text>               Cell range, e.g. B2:D10
     --to <csv|xlsx|json>         Output format (default csv)
   Common: -o --force --dry-run --json -j   (deft help common)
   
   Examples:
     deft sheet extract people.xlsx --range A1:B2 -o part.csv
     deft sheet extract people.csv --range A1:A3 --to json -o names.json
   
   Result fields: rows, columns

6. deft sheet extract countries.csv --range A1:ZZ11 -o top10.csv
   output

   ok sheet.extract countries.csv -> top10.csv  11 rows x 2 columns  0.00s

7. Saved the header and first 10 data rows of `countries.csv` to [top10.csv](top10.csv).

Output

CodexWith deft, skill as AGENTS.mdPassed2026-11-05

Time

10s

New tokens

5.6k

Total input

61.3k

Output tokens

0.3k

Commands

3

Failed

0

Trace

1. I’ll check the CSV and use the local `deft` spreadsheet command to save the header plus the first 10 data rows as `top10.csv`.

2. pwd && rg --files -g 'countries.csv' -g 'top10.csv' && deft sheet
   output

   countries.csv
   deft sheet - commands (input -> output)
     info     sheet -> report    Sheet names, rows, columns
     convert  sheet -> sheet     Change format: --to csv|xlsx|json
     extract  sheet -> sheet     Take a sheet or range: --sheet, --range A1:D20
     merge    sheet... -> sheet  Stack tables; a shared header is kept once
     to-md    sheet -> md        Markdown table (first row is the header)
   More: deft sheet <command> --help

3. deft sheet extract --help && deft sheet info countries.csv
   output

   deft sheet extract - Take a sheet or range: --sheet, --range A1:D20
   
   Usage: deft sheet extract <sheet>... [-o <sheet|dir>] [options]
   In: sheet (each handled separately)   Out: sheet (default <name>.extract.<ext>)
   
   Options:
     --sheet <text>               Sheet name or number (default: first)
     --range <text>               Cell range, e.g. B2:D10
     --to <csv|xlsx|json>         Output format (default csv)
   Common: -o --force --dry-run --json -j   (deft help common)
   
   Examples:
     deft sheet extract people.xlsx --range A1:B2 -o part.csv
     deft sheet extract people.csv --range A1:A3 --to json -o names.json
   
   Result fields: rows, columns
   ok sheet.info countries.csv  countries: 250 rows x 2 columns
   sheets=[{"columns":2,"name":"countries","rows":250}]

4. deft sheet extract countries.csv --range A1:B11 -o top10.csv && head -n 11 top10.csv
   output

   ok sheet.extract countries.csv -> top10.csv  11 rows x 2 columns  0.00s
   Name,Code
   Afghanistan,AF
   Albania,AL
   Algeria,DZ
   American Samoa,AS
   Andorra,AD
   Angola,AO
   Anguilla,AI
   Antarctica,AQ
   Antigua and Barbuda,AG
   Argentina,AR

5. Saved the header and first 10 data rows to [top10.csv](top10.csv).

Output

Its files were not kept in this run. The last line of the trace is its own report.

Claude Opus 5.5With deft, skill installedPassedRead the skillUsed deft2026-11-07

Time

17s

New tokens

11.0k

Total input

76.7k

Output tokens

0.6k

Commands

0

Failed

0

Trace

Output

---
name: deft
description: "Use deft first for any simple, direct operation on local files, whatever the type: convert, read, extract, edit, compress, merge, split, compare or inspect. Try it before writing a script or one-liner. If unsure, run deft find; if it says no command does this, use another tool. Not for programming work: to read, write or change source code, skip it."
---

# deft

One local command for file jobs. Prefer it over writing Python or shell scripts.

Syntax: `deft <group> <command> [inputs] [-o output] [--options]`

Groups:
- `pdf`: Merge, split, compress, encrypt, forms, OCR, compare, convert
- `image`: Resize, crop, convert, compress, adjust, montage, OCR
- `video`: Trim, merge, convert, compress, subtitles, GIF, frames (ffmpeg)
- `audio`: Convert, trim, normalize, denoise, cut silence (ffmpeg)
- `doc`: Word/ODT/RTF: to text, Markdown, HTML, PDF; find and replace
- `slides`: PowerPoint: extract text, Markdown outline
- `sheet`: Excel/CSV/ODS tables: SQL query, pivot, merge, split, convert
- `json`: JSON: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `toml`: TOML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `xml`: XML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `yaml`: YAML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `md`: Markdown to PDF, HTML, Word, EPUB; table of contents
- `html`: HTML to Markdown, text, Word and PDF
- `epub`: E-books: info, to text, Markdown and PDF
- `gps`: GPX and KML tracks: convert, distance and time
- `qr`: Create QR codes and barcodes; read QR codes

How to use it:
1. Run `deft <group>` to list commands, or `deft find "<what you want>"` to search. If it says `no command does this`, use another tool.
2. Run `deft <group> <command> --help` for options and examples.
3. `deft convert <in> -o <out.ext>` converts between formats by extension.
4. Results are one line starting with `ok`, `partial` or `error`; add `--json` to parse them. Errors include a `hint:` with the fix.

Inputs are never overwritten; pass `--force` or `--in-place` to allow it. Globs and directories work as inputs; several inputs run in parallel.

If `deft` is not installed, ask the user, then follow https://github.com/firstprayer/deft/blob/main/docs/INSTALL.md