Data tables
Export tables as CSV / JSON
Export any table to plain text — data never locked in.
Why this matters
A core Kition promise: your data stays yours. Local storage is layer one (vault on your disk); export is layer two (you can leave with it). This is not marketing copy, it is a product principle.
Every table exports to CSV or JSON at any time, on Free or Pro. No export caps, no watermarks, no upsell gate.
CSV export
Top-right ... → "Export view as CSV". The export reflects the current view: filters, sort, hidden columns, and grouping all persist — you get exactly what you see.
Want the whole table regardless of view? Switch to the unfiltered "All" view first, or use the command palette → "Export entire table as CSV".
JSON export
JSON carries metadata that CSV cannot: field types, relation targets, formula expressions, select-option colors. The shape:
{
"table": "projects",
"exported_at": "2026-06-07T10:24:00Z",
"schema": [
{ "name": "title", "type": "text" },
{ "name": "status", "type": "select", "options": ["Todo", "Doing", "Done"] },
{ "name": "owner", "type": "relation", "to": "people" },
{ "name": "score", "type": "formula", "expr": "if({rating} > 8, 'A', 'B')" }
],
"rows": [
{ "id": "r_001", "title": "Launch v2", "status": "Doing", "owner": "p_alice", "rating": 9, "score": "A" },
{ "id": "r_002", "title": "Migrate DB", "status": "Todo", "owner": "p_bob", "rating": 6, "score": "B" }
]
}What people do with exports
- Scheduled backups — cron a script that exports every table to CSV and ships to NAS / S3
- For finance or legal — they want Excel; CSV is the universal bridge
- External analysis — pandas / DuckDB read CSV directly; BI tools wire up to it
- Round-trip anywhere — JSON carries enough schema to reconstruct the table back in Kition or any other tool
- AI-field audit trail — export after each batch run so future prompt changes do not erase history
CLI export for scripts
For automation, use kition table export — one command per table, output CSV / JSON / Parquet. Here is a bash snippet that dumps every table nightly:
#!/bin/bash
VAULT="$HOME/vault"
OUT="$HOME/backups/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
mkdir -p "$OUT"
kition --vault "$VAULT" table list --names-only | while read -r name; do
kition --vault "$VAULT" table export "$name" \
--format csv > "$OUT/$name.csv"
done