# Frictionless Software

Open source software for working with data.

The Frictionless Data project provides a rich set of open source software for working with data. There are tools, a visual application, and software for many programming platforms.

TIP

This document is an overview of the Frictionless Software - for more in-depth information, please click on one of the software items below. Please visit the software site (opens new window) if you’re interested in technical overview of the development process.

# Software Toolkit

Here is a list of our core software:

Frictionless Framework

A framework to describe, extract, validate, and transform tabular data in CLI, Python, JavaScript, R-Lang.

Frictionless Libraries

A set of libraries implementing Frictionless Specifications for 10 programming languages.

Frictionless Components

A set of React components for data and metadata that are quick to integrate into your application.

Frictionless Repository

A Github Action allowing you to validate tabular data on every commit to your repository.

Livemark

A static site generator that extends Markdown with interactive charts, tables, scripts, and more.

Datahub

A web platform built on Frictionless Data that allows discovering, publishing, and sharing data.

# Which software is right for me?

Choosing the right tool for the job can be challenging. Here are our recommendations:

# Visual Interfaces

If you prefer to use a visual interface:

Frictionless Application (coming soon): We’re working on our brand-new Frictionless Application that will be released in 2021. Until then, you can use Data Package Creator (opens new window) to create and edit data packages and Goodtables On-Demand (opens new window) for data validation.
Frictionless Repository: For ensuring the quality of your data on Github, Frictionless provides Frictionless Repository (opens new window). This creates visual quality reports and validation statuses on Github everytime you commit your data.
Datahub: For discovering, publishing, and sharing data we have Datahub (opens new window) which is built on Frictionless software. Using this software as a service, you can sign-in and find, share, and publish quality data.

# Command-line Interfaces

If you like to write commands in the command-line interface:

Frictionless Framework: For describing, extracting, validating, and transforming data, Frictionless provides the Frictionless Framework’s (opens new window) command-line interface. Using the “frictionless” command you can achieve many goals without needing to write Python code.
Livemark: For data journalists and technical writers we have a project called Livemark (opens new window). Using the “livemark” command in the CLI you can publish a website that incorporates Frictionless functions and is powered by markdown articles.
Datahub: Frictionless provides a command-line tool called Data (opens new window) which is an important part of the Datahub project. The “data” command is available for a JavaScript environment and it helps you to interact with data stored on Datahub.

# Programming Languages

If you want to use or write your own Frictionless code:

Frictionless Framework: For general data programming in Python, the Frictionless Framework (opens new window) is the way to go. You can describe, extract, validate, and transform your data. It’s also possible to extend the framework by adding new validation checks, transformation steps, etc. In addition, there is a lightweight version of the framework written in JavaScript (opens new window).
Frictionless Libraries: For Frictionless functions in other languages like R or Java, we have Frictionless Libraries (opens new window). Each library provides metadata validation and editing along with other low-level data operations like reading or writing tabular files.
Frictionless Components: For adding Frictionless React components into your application, we created Frictionless Components (opens new window). This project lets you integrate visual elements like validation reports, workflows, or schema editors into your application.