Getting Started with RowLeap: A 5-Minute Guide

RowLeap is a desktop SQL tool for querying CSV, SQLite, and Parquet files. This guide walks through everything you need to go from download to running your first queries.

Step 1: Download and Install

Download RowLeap from rowleap.app/download. It’s available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

macOS: Open the .dmg, drag RowLeap to your Applications folder, launch it.
Windows: Run the .exe installer, follow the prompts.
Linux: The .AppImage is portable — make it executable (chmod +x RowLeap.AppImage) and run it.

System requirements: 512 MB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended for large files), 150 MB disk space. Runs on macOS 12+, Windows 10 64-bit, Ubuntu 20.04+.

Your 30-day trial starts on first launch. No account required, no credit card.

Step 2: Load a File

RowLeap supports three file formats:

Format	Extensions	Notes
CSV	`.csv`, `.tsv`	Auto-detects delimiter and header
SQLite	`.sqlite`, `.db`, `.sqlite3`	All tables available as SQL sources
Parquet	`.parquet`	Columnar format, fast on large files

To open a file: Drag it directly into the RowLeap window. Or use File → Open from the menu and select your file.

Your file loads instantly. RowLeap uses DuckDB under the hood — even large files (millions of rows) load in seconds.

Once loaded, you’ll see:

Schema panel (left): Table name, column names, and inferred types
Query editor (center): Monaco editor with SQL syntax highlighting and autocomplete
Results panel (bottom): Table view of query results

Step 3: Run Your First Query

Click in the query editor and type a SQL query. Press Cmd+Enter (macOS) or Ctrl+Enter (Windows/Linux) to run it.

Start with something simple:

SELECT * FROM my_file LIMIT 10;

The table name is your file name (without the extension). If you loaded sales_2026.csv, the table is sales_2026.

RowLeap uses DuckDB’s SQL dialect, which is close to PostgreSQL — so if you write PostgreSQL, you’ll feel at home. DuckDB also supports a few convenient shorthands:

-- DuckDB shorthand: query a CSV directly by filename
SELECT * FROM 'sales_2026.csv' LIMIT 10;

Useful Queries to Try

Count rows:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM my_file;

See distinct values in a column:

SELECT DISTINCT status FROM orders;

Filter rows:

SELECT * FROM customers WHERE country = 'US' AND revenue > 1000;

Aggregate with GROUP BY:

SELECT category, COUNT(*) AS count, SUM(amount) AS total
FROM transactions
GROUP BY category
ORDER BY total DESC;

Join two files (load both files first):

SELECT o.order_id, c.name, o.total
FROM orders o
JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id
WHERE o.total > 500;

The query editor has autocomplete — start typing a column name and press Tab to complete it.

Download RowLeap — start your free trial →

Step 4: Try Natural Language Mode

If you’re not sure what SQL to write, use natural language mode. Toggle it with Cmd+Shift+N (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows/Linux), or click the NL button in the toolbar.

Type your question in plain English:

“Show me the top 5 customers by total spend, only include orders from this year”

RowLeap sends your schema (column names and types — not your data) to the AI, and generates SQL based on your question. The generated SQL appears in the editor. Review it, edit it if needed, and run it.

NL mode requires an internet connection. SQL mode works fully offline.

Step 5: Visualize Results as a Chart

After running a query, click the Chart icon in the results panel to switch to chart view.

Choose a chart type: bar, line, or pie
Map columns to axes (x-axis, y-axis, optional series for color grouping)
The chart renders immediately

Example: run a query that returns month and revenue, then chart it as a line chart with month on the x-axis and revenue on the y-axis. You now have a revenue trend chart.

Charts can be exported as PNG for use in presentations or reports.

Step 6: Export Results

After running a query, click Export in the results panel toolbar.

Export formats:

CSV — open in Excel, Numbers, or any spreadsheet tool
JSON — array of objects, one per row
Parquet — columnar format for downstream data pipelines
Markdown — formatted table, useful for documentation and GitHub

You can also Copy to Clipboard to paste results directly into a document or email.

Saving Queries

RowLeap saves your query history automatically. Every query you run is stored and searchable.

To save a query with a name:

Run a query you want to keep
Click the bookmark icon in the toolbar
Give it a name

Saved queries appear in the Saved tab in the left sidebar. You can organize them into folders.

Working with Multiple Files

You can load multiple files in the same session and query them together.

To add a second file: drag it into the left sidebar (file list), or use File → Add to Session.

Once multiple files are loaded, you can join them:

-- Join a CSV and a SQLite table in the same query
SELECT u.name, COUNT(e.event_id) AS events
FROM users.csv u
JOIN app.db.events e ON u.id = e.user_id
GROUP BY u.name;

RowLeap (via DuckDB) handles cross-format joins. You can mix CSV, SQLite tables, and Parquet files in the same query.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	macOS	Windows/Linux
Run query	`Cmd+Enter`	`Ctrl+Enter`
Toggle NL mode	`Cmd+Shift+N`	`Ctrl+Shift+N`
New query tab	`Cmd+T`	`Ctrl+T`
Open file	`Cmd+O`	`Ctrl+O`
Save query	`Cmd+S`	`Ctrl+S`
Format SQL	`Cmd+Shift+F`	`Ctrl+Shift+F`

Pricing

RowLeap is free for 30 days after install. No account, no credit card. After 30 days, a license costs $30/year.

The trial is the full product — no features gated behind a paywall, no “upgrade to unlock.” After 30 days, purchase a license to keep using it. Your saved queries and history carry over.

What’s Next

How to Query CSV Files with SQL (No Database Required) — SQL patterns for common CSV analysis tasks
Natural Language SQL: Ask Questions About Your Data in Plain English — deeper look at NL mode
The Best Tools for Viewing and Querying Parquet Files in 2026 — how RowLeap compares to other Parquet tools
From CSV to Charts: Data Visualization Without Code — charting patterns with SQL

Download RowLeap →