Reorder Columns

Transform

Set the column order by listing the columns you want first. Listed columns appear in the order you specify; any column not in the list is appended at the end in its original input order. Use it to put key columns at the front of an export, mirror a downstream schema, or restore a sensible ordering after upstream transforms left things scrambled.

Local processing

This transform runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to external servers.

How it works

Reorder Columns is a streaming transform: each row is rebuilt with keys in the configured order, and columns absent from the list are appended after, preserving their input order. No columns are added or removed — the same set of keys is always emitted; only the order changes.

Listed columns that don’t exist on a row are skipped silently (they don’t create empty cells). Listed columns that do exist are emitted first in the configured order. Unlisted columns are then appended in input order.

If the column list is empty, rows pass through in their original order.

Input: One tabular data connection. Output: The same rows with keys reordered.

Options

Columns

An ordered list of column names. The first name in the list becomes the first column on the output; subsequent names follow.

Option	Type	Description	Default
columns	string[]	Column names in the desired order. Unlisted columns are kept and appended.	[]

This transform never drops columns. To drop columns, follow with Select Columns.

Examples

Move key columns to the front

The export has identifying columns scattered throughout; you want customer_id and email at the front.

Before:

signup_date	tier	full_name	customer_id	balance	email
2024-03-12	pro	Alice Anderson	1042	320.50	[email protected]
2024-04-01	standard	Bob Brown	1043	45.00	[email protected]

Configuration: columns: ["customer_id", "email"].

After:

customer_id	email	signup_date	tier	full_name	balance
1042	[email protected]	2024-03-12	pro	Alice Anderson	320.50
1043	[email protected]	2024-04-01	standard	Bob Brown	45.00

Fully specify the column order

You want every column placed explicitly, in a specific order.

Before:

product	sku	price	stock
Widget	W-001	12.50	200
Gadget	G-014	25.00	80
Doohickey	D-2026	4.75	540

Configuration: columns: ["sku", "product", "stock", "price"].

After:

sku	product	stock	price
W-001	Widget	200	12.50
G-014	Gadget	80	25.00
D-2026	Doohickey	540	4.75

Tips and Edge Cases

• Unlisted columns are appended, never dropped. Reorder Columns is purely a reshuffle — if you list two of five columns, the other three still come through, appended after the listed two in their input order. To drop columns, follow with Select Columns. See apps/web/src/transforms/reorder-columns/logic.ts:46-56.
• Listed columns that don’t exist on a row are silently skipped. Listing phone when no row has a phone column produces no output column for it — there is no empty cell or null-fill. This is the same forgiving behavior as Select Columns, and means typos go unflagged.

Related Transforms

• Select Columns — drop columns instead of (or after) reordering.
• Rename Columns — change column names without changing order.
• Sort Rows — reorder rows; Reorder Columns reorders columns.