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what is openrefine fr?

olivere/openrefine — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-19 · repo last pushed 2013-07-31

JavaAudience · dataComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

tl;dr

OpenRefine is a free, desktop application for cleaning up messy data like spreadsheets with inconsistent formatting or duplicates. It runs locally so your data stays private.

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what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Clean up an exported customer database before importing it into a new system.

VIBE 2

Merge multiple years of donor lists tracked with different naming conventions.

VIBE 3

Standardize inconsistent text entries across a large spreadsheet.

VIBE 4

Reconcile your records against an authoritative master database.

what's the stack?

Java

how it stacks up fr

olivere/openrefineabhishek-kumar09/orekitabhishek-kumar09/pmd
LanguageJavaJavaJava
Last pushed2013-07-312020-11-152020-11-15
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity2/54/53/5
Audiencedatadeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · moderate time til it works · 30min

Runs as a local Java desktop application so you need Java installed and configured on your machine.

in plain english

OpenRefine is a free tool that helps you clean up messy data. If you've ever inherited a spreadsheet with inconsistent formatting, duplicate entries, or naming variations scattered throughout, this project is designed to fix those problems. It runs locally on your own computer, which means your data stays private rather than being uploaded to a cloud service. The software lets you load a dataset, explore its contents, and systematically clean it up. You can use it to standardize inconsistent text, reconcile your records against an authoritative master database, and augment your existing data by pulling in supplementary information from the web. The interface is built to handle these tasks efficiently so that you can transform disorganized information into a reliable, structured format. This project is primarily used by data analysts, researchers, journalists, and product managers who regularly work with imperfect real-world data. A concrete example would be a nonprofit trying to merge several years of donor lists that were tracked by different people using different naming conventions, or a startup founder trying to clean up an exported customer database before importing it into a new system. Rather than manually correcting thousands of rows by hand, you can apply consistent rules across the entire dataset. The project has an interesting origin story. It was originally created by Metaweb Technologies, which was later acquired by Google in 2010. The tool was briefly known as Google Refine before transitioning to a community-supported open source project in 2012. It is built in Java and operates as a desktop application. The README itself is quite sparse and does not go into detail about specific technical features, but the broader project website offers further documentation and user guides.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
I have a messy spreadsheet with inconsistent capitalization and duplicate rows. How can I use OpenRefine to standardize the text and remove duplicates?
prompt 2
I need to merge several CSV files that use different naming conventions for the same columns. Walk me through using OpenRefine to reconcile and combine them.
prompt 3
I want to enrich my dataset by pulling in supplementary information from a web service. How do I set that up in OpenRefine?
prompt 4
I am a nonprofit trying to clean up years of donor records tracked by different people. What is the best OpenRefine workflow for standardizing and merging these lists?

Frequently asked questions

what is openrefine fr?

OpenRefine is a free, desktop application for cleaning up messy data like spreadsheets with inconsistent formatting or duplicates. It runs locally so your data stays private.

What language is openrefine written in?

Mainly Java. The stack also includes Java.

Is openrefine actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2013-07-31).

How hard is openrefine to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is openrefine for?

Mainly data.

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