# Data Ingestion with tidylearn

## Overview

Every machine learning workflow starts with data. tidylearn’s `tl_read()` family provides a single consistent interface for loading data from files, databases, cloud storage, and APIs into tidy tibbles — ready for `tl_prepare_data()` and `tl_model()`.

All readers return a `tidylearn_data` object, a tibble subclass that carries metadata about the source, format, and read timestamp.

    library(tidylearn)
    library(dplyr)

## The `tl_read()` Dispatcher

`tl_read()` auto-detects the data format and dispatches to the appropriate backend — just like `tl_model()` routes to the right algorithm:

    # Format is auto-detected from the file extension
    data <- tl_read("sales.csv")
    data <- tl_read("results.xlsx", sheet = "Q1")
    data <- tl_read("experiment.parquet")
    data <- tl_read("config.json")
    data <- tl_read("model_data.rds")

    # Override format detection when the extension is ambiguous
    data <- tl_read("export.txt", format = "tsv")

The result always prints with a metadata header:

    tmp <- tempfile(fileext = ".csv")
    write.csv(mtcars, tmp, row.names = FALSE)

    data <- tl_read(tmp, .quiet = TRUE)
    data
    #> -- tidylearn data ---------
    #> Source: C:\Users\CESAIR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\RtmpIvoRGJ\file7638775f539c.csv
    #> Format: csv
    #> Read at: 2026-08-03 19:25:58
    #>
    #> # A tibble: 32 × 11
    #>      mpg   cyl  disp    hp  drat    wt  qsec    vs    am  gear  carb
    #>  * <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl>
    #>  1  21       6  160    110  3.9   2.62  16.5     0     1     4     4
    #>  2  21       6  160    110  3.9   2.88  17.0     0     1     4     4
    #>  3  22.8     4  108     93  3.85  2.32  18.6     1     1     4     1
    #>  4  21.4     6  258    110  3.08  3.22  19.4     1     0     3     1
    #>  5  18.7     8  360    175  3.15  3.44  17.0     0     0     3     2
    #>  6  18.1     6  225    105  2.76  3.46  20.2     1     0     3     1
    #>  7  14.3     8  360    245  3.21  3.57  15.8     0     0     3     4
    #>  8  24.4     4  147.    62  3.69  3.19  20       1     0     4     2
    #>  9  22.8     4  141.    95  3.92  3.15  22.9     1     0     4     2
    #> 10  19.2     6  168.   123  3.92  3.44  18.3     1     0     4     4
    #> # ℹ 22 more rows

## File Formats

### CSV and TSV

Uses readr when available for fast, column-type-aware parsing. Falls back to base R automatically if readr is not installed.

    # Create example files
    tmp_csv <- tempfile(fileext = ".csv")
    tmp_tsv <- tempfile(fileext = ".tsv")
    write.csv(iris, tmp_csv, row.names = FALSE)
    write.table(iris, tmp_tsv, sep = "\t", row.names = FALSE)

    csv_data <- tl_read_csv(tmp_csv)
    tsv_data <- tl_read_tsv(tmp_tsv)
    nrow(csv_data)
    #> [1] 150

### Excel

Reads `.xls`, `.xlsx`, and `.xlsm` files via readxl. Select sheets by name or position:

    library(readxl)

    path <- readxl_example("datasets.xlsx")
    excel_data <- tl_read_excel(path, sheet = "mtcars")
    head(excel_data, 3)
    #> -- tidylearn data ---------
    #> Source: C:/Dev-Infra/Packages/R/readxl/extdata/datasets.xlsx
    #> Format: excel
    #> Read at: 2026-08-03 19:25:58
    #>
    #> # A tibble: 3 × 11
    #>     mpg   cyl  disp    hp  drat    wt  qsec    vs    am  gear  carb
    #>   <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl>
    #> 1  21       6   160   110  3.9   2.62  16.5     0     1     4     4
    #> 2  21       6   160   110  3.9   2.88  17.0     0     1     4     4
    #> 3  22.8     4   108    93  3.85  2.32  18.6     1     1     4     1

### Parquet

Lightweight, columnar storage for large datasets. Uses nanoparquet — a fast, dependency-free reader:

    library(nanoparquet)

    tmp_pq <- tempfile(fileext = ".parquet")
    write_parquet(iris, tmp_pq)

    pq_data <- tl_read_parquet(tmp_pq)
    nrow(pq_data)
    #> [1] 150

### JSON

Reads tabular JSON (array of objects) via jsonlite. Nested structures are automatically flattened:

    library(jsonlite)

    tmp_json <- tempfile(fileext = ".json")
    write_json(mtcars[1:5, ], tmp_json)

    json_data <- tl_read_json(tmp_json)
    json_data
    #> -- tidylearn data ---------
    #> Source: C:\Users\CESAIR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\RtmpIvoRGJ\file76386f354dec.json
    #> Format: json
    #> Read at: 2026-08-03 19:25:58
    #>
    #> # A tibble: 5 × 11
    #>     mpg   cyl  disp    hp  drat    wt  qsec    vs    am  gear  carb
    #> * <dbl> <int> <int> <int> <dbl> <dbl> <dbl> <int> <int> <int> <int>
    #> 1  21       6   160   110  3.9   2.62  16.5     0     1     4     4
    #> 2  21       6   160   110  3.9   2.88  17.0     0     1     4     4
    #> 3  22.8     4   108    93  3.85  2.32  18.6     1     1     4     1
    #> 4  21.4     6   258   110  3.08  3.22  19.4     1     0     3     1
    #> 5  18.7     8   360   175  3.15  3.44  17.0     0     0     3     2

### RDS and RData

Native R serialisation formats — no extra packages needed:

    tmp_rds <- tempfile(fileext = ".rds")
    saveRDS(iris, tmp_rds)

    rds_data <- tl_read_rds(tmp_rds)
    nrow(rds_data)
    #> [1] 150

    tmp_rdata <- tempfile(fileext = ".rdata")
    my_data <- mtcars
    save(my_data, file = tmp_rdata)

    # Name is auto-detected when there is a single data frame
    rdata_data <- tl_read_rdata(tmp_rdata)
    nrow(rdata_data)
    #> [1] 32

## Databases

All database readers use DBI as the interface layer. Each reader manages its own connection lifecycle — connect, query, disconnect — so you only need to provide the path or credentials and a SQL query.

### SQLite

The simplest database backend — no server required:

    library(DBI)
    library(RSQLite)

    # Create an example database
    tmp_db <- tempfile(fileext = ".sqlite")
    conn <- dbConnect(SQLite(), tmp_db)
    dbWriteTable(conn, "iris_tbl", iris)
    dbDisconnect(conn)

    # Read with tl_read_sqlite
    db_data <- tl_read_sqlite(
      tmp_db,
      "SELECT * FROM iris_tbl WHERE Species = 'setosa'"
    )
    nrow(db_data)
    #> [1] 50

### Using a Live Connection

If you already have a DBI connection, use `tl_read_db()` directly — it will not close your connection:

    conn <- dbConnect(SQLite(), ":memory:")
    dbWriteTable(conn, "mtcars_tbl", mtcars)

    sql <- "SELECT mpg, wt, hp FROM mtcars_tbl WHERE mpg > 20"
    db_result <- tl_read_db(conn, sql)
    db_result
    #> -- tidylearn data ---------
    #> Source: SQLiteConnection: SELECT mpg, wt, hp FROM mtcars_tbl WHERE mpg > 20
    #> Format: database
    #> Read at: 2026-08-03 19:25:58
    #>
    #> # A tibble: 14 × 3
    #>      mpg    wt    hp
    #>  * <dbl> <dbl> <dbl>
    #>  1  21    2.62   110
    #>  2  21    2.88   110
    #>  3  22.8  2.32    93
    #>  4  21.4  3.22   110
    #>  5  24.4  3.19    62
    #>  6  22.8  3.15    95
    #>  7  32.4  2.2     66
    #>  8  30.4  1.62    52
    #>  9  33.9  1.84    65
    #> 10  21.5  2.46    97
    #> 11  27.3  1.94    66
    #> 12  26    2.14    91
    #> 13  30.4  1.51   113
    #> 14  21.4  2.78   109

    dbDisconnect(conn)

### PostgreSQL, MySQL, and BigQuery

These require a running database server or cloud service. The API is the same — provide connection details and a SQL query:

    # PostgreSQL
    pg_data <- tl_read_postgres(
      dsn = "localhost",
      query = "SELECT * FROM sales WHERE year = 2025",
      dbname = "analytics",
      user = "myuser",
      password = "mypass"
    )

    # MySQL / MariaDB # nolint: commented_code_linter.
    mysql_data <- tl_read_mysql(
      dsn = "mysql://user:pass@host:3306/mydb",
      query = "SELECT * FROM customers LIMIT 1000"
    )

    # BigQuery
    bq_data <- tl_read_bigquery(
      project = "my-gcp-project",
      query = "SELECT * FROM `dataset.table` LIMIT 1000"
    )

## Cloud and API Sources

### Amazon S3

Downloads a file from S3 and auto-detects the format from the key’s extension. Requires valid AWS credentials:

    data <- tl_read_s3("s3://my-bucket/data/sales_2025.csv")
    data <- tl_read_s3("s3://my-bucket/data/results.parquet", region = "eu-west-1")

### GitHub

Downloads raw files directly from a repository. Accepts full URLs or `owner/repo` shorthand:

    # Read a CSV from a public GitHub repository
    data <- tl_read_github("tidyverse/dplyr",
      path = "data-raw/starwars.csv", ref = "main"
    )

### Kaggle

Downloads datasets via the Kaggle CLI. Install with `pip install kaggle` and configure your API credentials:

    data <- tl_read_kaggle("zillow/zecon", file = "Zip_time_series.csv")
    data <- tl_read_kaggle("titanic", file = "train.csv", type = "competition")

## Multi-File Reading

Real-world data is often split across multiple files. tidylearn handles three common patterns.

### Multiple Paths

Pass a character vector to `tl_read()` — each file is read and row-bound, with a `source_file` column tracking origin:

    dir <- tempdir()
    write.csv(iris[1:50, ], file.path(dir, "batch1.csv"), row.names = FALSE)
    write.csv(iris[51:100, ], file.path(dir, "batch2.csv"), row.names = FALSE)

    paths <- file.path(dir, c("batch1.csv", "batch2.csv"))
    combined <- tl_read(paths, .quiet = TRUE)
    table(combined$source_file)
    #>
    #> batch1.csv batch2.csv
    #>         50         50

### Directory Scanning

Point `tl_read_dir()` at a directory. Filter by format, regex pattern, or scan recursively:

    dir <- tempfile(pattern = "tl_vignette_")
    dir.create(dir)
    write.csv(iris[1:50, ], file.path(dir, "jan.csv"), row.names = FALSE)
    write.csv(iris[51:100, ], file.path(dir, "feb.csv"), row.names = FALSE)
    write.csv(iris[101:150, ], file.path(dir, "mar.csv"), row.names = FALSE)

    # Read all CSVs from the directory
    all_data <- tl_read_dir(dir, format = "csv", .quiet = TRUE)
    nrow(all_data)
    #> [1] 150
    table(all_data$source_file)
    #>
    #> feb.csv jan.csv mar.csv
    #>      50      50      50

    # Filter with a regex pattern
    subset <- tl_read_dir(dir, pattern = "^(jan|feb)", .quiet = TRUE)
    nrow(subset)
    #> [1] 100

Passing a directory path directly to `tl_read()` works too:

    data <- tl_read("data/monthly_exports/")

### Zip Archives

`tl_read_zip()` extracts the archive, auto-detects the file format, and reads the contents. Select a specific file or let it discover data files automatically:

    # Create an example zip
    dir <- tempfile(pattern = "tl_zip_src_")
    dir.create(dir)
    write.csv(iris, file.path(dir, "iris.csv"), row.names = FALSE)
    zip_path <- tempfile(fileext = ".zip")
    # -j stores the file without its directory path, so no setwd() is needed
    utils::zip(zip_path, file.path(dir, "iris.csv"), flags = "-j9X")

    zip_data <- tl_read_zip(zip_path, .quiet = TRUE)
    nrow(zip_data)
    #> [1] 150
    attr(zip_data, "tl_format")
    #> [1] "zip+csv"

Zip files are also auto-detected by `tl_read()`:

    data <- tl_read("download.zip")
    data <- tl_read("download.zip", file = "train.csv")

## The `tidylearn_data` Class

Every reader returns a `tidylearn_data` object — a tibble subclass with three metadata attributes:

Attribute | Description
--- | ---
`tl_source` | File path, URL, or description of the data source
`tl_format` | Detected or specified format (e.g., `"csv"`, `"zip+csv"`)
`tl_timestamp` | POSIXct timestamp of when the data was read

Because `tidylearn_data` inherits from `tbl_df`, all dplyr verbs, ggplot2, and tidylearn functions work transparently:

    tmp <- tempfile(fileext = ".csv")
    write.csv(mtcars, tmp, row.names = FALSE)
    data <- tl_read(tmp, .quiet = TRUE)

    # Check metadata
    attr(data, "tl_format")
    #> [1] "csv"

    # Works with dplyr
    data %>%
      filter(mpg > 20) %>%
      select(mpg, wt, hp) %>%
      head(3)
    #> -- tidylearn data ---------
    #> Source: C:\Users\CESAIR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\RtmpIvoRGJ\file76386ab94fcf.csv
    #> Format: csv
    #> Read at: 2026-08-03 19:25:59
    #>
    #> # A tibble: 3 × 3
    #>     mpg    wt    hp
    #>   <dbl> <dbl> <dbl>
    #> 1  21    2.62   110
    #> 2  21    2.88   110
    #> 3  22.8  2.32    93

## Full Pipeline

Combining `tl_read()` with the rest of tidylearn gives you a complete workflow from raw data to published results:

    # 1. Ingest
    tmp <- tempfile(fileext = ".csv")
    write.csv(iris, tmp, row.names = FALSE)
    data <- tl_read(tmp, .quiet = TRUE)

    # CSV files lose factor information, so convert character columns as needed
    data <- data %>% mutate(Species = as.factor(Species))

    # 2. Split
    split <- tl_split(data, prop = 0.7, stratify = "Species", seed = 42)

    # 3. Model
    model <- tl_model(split$train, Species ~ ., method = "forest")

    # 4. Evaluate
    eval_result <- tl_evaluate(model, new_data = split$test)
    eval_result
    #> # A tibble: 1 × 2
    #>   metric   value
    #>   <chr>    <dbl>
    #> 1 accuracy 0.933

## Supported Formats Reference

Format | Function | Backend | Dependency
--- | --- | --- | ---
CSV | `tl_read_csv()` | readr / base R | Suggests (readr)
TSV | `tl_read_tsv()` | readr / base R | Suggests (readr)
Excel | `tl_read_excel()` | readxl | Suggests
Parquet | `tl_read_parquet()` | nanoparquet | Suggests
JSON | `tl_read_json()` | jsonlite | Suggests
RDS | `tl_read_rds()` | base R | None
RData | `tl_read_rdata()` | base R | None
SQLite | `tl_read_sqlite()` | DBI + RSQLite | Suggests
PostgreSQL | `tl_read_postgres()` | DBI + RPostgres | Suggests
MySQL | `tl_read_mysql()` | DBI + RMariaDB | Suggests
BigQuery | `tl_read_bigquery()` | bigrquery | Suggests
S3 | `tl_read_s3()` | paws.storage | Suggests
GitHub | `tl_read_github()` | base R | None
Kaggle | `tl_read_kaggle()` | Kaggle CLI | None (system)
Directory | `tl_read_dir()` | (dispatches) | —
Zip | `tl_read_zip()` | base R + (dispatches) | —
Multi-path | `tl_read(c(...))` | (dispatches) | —