This tutorial will show you how to use OpenClaw to automate data analysis, process CSV files, analyze Excel spreadsheets, and generate comprehensive reports. You'll learn to leverage OpenClaw's file system access and AI capabilities for intelligent data processing. Estimated time: 25-35 minutes.

What You'll Build

By the end of this tutorial, you'll have:

  • Automated CSV file analysis and processing
  • Excel spreadsheet data extraction and analysis
  • Automated report generation with insights
  • Scheduled data analysis workflows
  • Data visualization recommendations

Prerequisites

Before starting:

Step 1: Prepare Your Data Files

Place your data files in a location accessible to OpenClaw. For this tutorial, we'll use the workspace directory:

Create Data Directory
mkdir -p ~/clawd/data
# Copy your CSV/Excel files here
cp ~/Downloads/sales_data.csv ~/clawd/data/

Example Data Structure:

  • CSV files: sales_data.csv, customer_data.csv
  • Excel files: financial_report.xlsx, inventory.xlsx

Step 2: Analyze CSV Files

OpenClaw can read and analyze CSV files directly. Start by asking it to analyze your data:

Basic CSV Analysis

Example Request
You: "Analyze the CSV file at ~/clawd/data/sales_data.csv and give me a summary"

OpenClaw: [Reads CSV, analyzes data, provides summary]
"Analyzed sales_data.csv:
- Total records: 1,234
- Date range: Jan 2024 - Dec 2024
- Total revenue: $456,789
- Top product: Widget A ($123,456)
- Average order value: $370.23"

Advanced Analysis

Request specific insights:

Advanced Analysis
You: "Find trends in the sales data. What are the best performing months?"

You: "Calculate the correlation between product price and sales volume"

You: "Identify any anomalies or outliers in the data"

You: "Group sales by category and calculate totals"

Step 3: Process Excel Files

OpenClaw can work with Excel files using Python scripts or by converting them to CSV:

Excel Analysis Request

Excel Analysis
You: "Analyze the Excel file at ~/clawd/data/financial_report.xlsx. 
      Summarize the key financial metrics from all sheets."

OpenClaw: [Reads Excel, processes all sheets, provides comprehensive summary]

Multi-Sheet Analysis

For complex Excel files with multiple sheets:

Multi-Sheet Analysis
You: "Compare data across all sheets in the Excel file. 
      Identify any inconsistencies or discrepancies."

You: "Create a summary report combining data from Sheet1 and Sheet2"

Step 4: Generate Reports

Ask OpenClaw to generate comprehensive reports from your data:

Text Reports

Generate Report
You: "Generate a detailed report analyzing the sales data. 
      Include trends, top performers, and recommendations."

OpenClaw: [Analyzes data, generates comprehensive report, saves to file]

Markdown Reports

Generate formatted Markdown reports:

Markdown Report
You: "Create a Markdown report with the analysis results. 
      Save it to ~/clawd/data/analysis_report.md"

OpenClaw: [Creates formatted Markdown report with tables, charts descriptions]

Report Structure

Your reports can include:

  • Executive summary
  • Key metrics and statistics
  • Trends and patterns
  • Visualization recommendations
  • Actionable insights
  • Recommendations

Step 5: Automate Data Processing

Set up automated workflows for regular data analysis:

Create an Automation Skill

Create a skill that automates your data analysis workflow:

Create Analysis Skill
You: "Create a skill that automatically analyzes all CSV files 
      in ~/clawd/data/ every Monday and generates a weekly report"

OpenClaw: [Creates skill with automation logic]

Scheduled Analysis

Use cron jobs or webhooks to trigger regular analysis:

Scheduled Analysis
# Add to crontab for weekly analysis
0 9 * * 1 /path/to/openclaw analyze-weekly-data

# Or use OpenClaw's automation features
You: "Set up a weekly task to analyze new data files and email me the report"

Step 6: Data Visualization

While OpenClaw can't create visual charts directly, it can:

Generate Visualization Code

Visualization Code
You: "Generate Python code to create a bar chart of sales by month 
      from the CSV data. Save it as visualize_sales.py"

OpenClaw: [Creates Python script with matplotlib/plotly code]

Data Visualization Recommendations

Ask OpenClaw for visualization suggestions:

Visualization Recommendations
You: "What type of chart would best visualize the sales trends?"

You: "Recommend visualizations for comparing product performance"

You: "Suggest the best way to show customer distribution by region"

Step 7: Advanced Data Operations

Leverage OpenClaw for complex data operations:

Data Cleaning

Data Cleaning
You: "Clean the CSV file: remove duplicates, fix date formats, 
      and handle missing values. Save the cleaned version."

You: "Standardize column names and data types across multiple CSV files"

Data Merging

Merge Data
You: "Merge sales_data.csv and customer_data.csv on the customer_id column. 
      Save the merged result."

You: "Combine data from multiple Excel sheets into a single CSV file"

Data Transformation

Transform Data
You: "Transform the data: calculate profit margins, add percentage columns, 
      and create summary rows"

You: "Pivot the data to show sales by product and month"

Real-World Examples

Sales Analysis

Sales Analysis Example
You: "Analyze this month's sales data:
      1. Calculate total revenue
      2. Identify top 10 products
      3. Compare to last month
      4. Generate insights and recommendations
      5. Save report to sales_analysis.md"

Financial Reporting

Financial Report Example
You: "Process the quarterly financial report:
      - Extract key metrics from all sheets
      - Calculate growth rates
      - Identify areas of concern
      - Create executive summary
      - Format as presentation-ready report"

Customer Analytics

Customer Analytics Example
You: "Analyze customer data:
      - Segment customers by purchase behavior
      - Calculate customer lifetime value
      - Identify churn risk factors
      - Recommend retention strategies"

Best Practices

  • Organize Data: Keep data files in a structured directory
  • Backup Data: Always backup original files before processing
  • Validate Results: Review OpenClaw's analysis for accuracy
  • Document Workflows: Save analysis scripts and procedures
  • Regular Updates: Schedule regular analysis for time-series data
  • Data Privacy: Be mindful of sensitive data in analysis

Troubleshooting

File Not Found

  • Verify file path is correct
  • Check file permissions
  • Ensure file is in OpenClaw's accessible directory

Large Files

  • For very large files, ask OpenClaw to process in chunks
  • Consider splitting large files into smaller ones
  • Use sampling for initial analysis

Format Issues

  • Verify CSV encoding (UTF-8 recommended)
  • Check Excel file format compatibility
  • Ask OpenClaw to detect and handle format issues

Next Steps

Now that you can analyze data with OpenClaw: