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value_shapes

What a column's values look like, with the specifics taken out: digits become 9, capital letters A, other letters a, punctuation stays (D-80331 is A-99999). The same shapes as the GUI's Value Shapes funnel switch and Quality Report section, and octa --shapes.

Read-only, so it stays available under --mcp-read-only.

Input schema

Name Type Meaning
path string The file. May be a cloud URL.
open_tab string Use an open GUI tab instead (name, or @active).
table string Sheet or table name for multi-table sources.
column string The column to shape.
limit number Maximum shapes to return. 0 for unlimited.

Response shape

{
  "column": "postcode",
  "empty": 2,
  "shape_count": 2,
  "shapes": [
    { "shape": "A-99999", "count": 118, "example": "D-10115" },
    { "shape": "A99999", "count": 3, "example": "D80331" }
  ]
}

A column where one shape dominates and a few values differ usually holds typos or a second format. Values longer than 24 characters shorten runs of four or more identical shape characters as a(12).

See also