Codebookery

Write the codebook your reader actually needs

Codebookery is a local-first studio for researchers, analysts and data stewards who hand a dataset to someone else. Import the structure of a file, then write what each field means, which codes are valid, and what a blank actually stands for. Freeze an edition and hand over a packet that opens without this app.

Open the studioRead the complete workflow

The working dictionary is held in this browser; there is no account and no server copy of your file.

Neighbourhood tree inventoryedition 0.9 · page 1

access_notefree text

Free-text note about conditions that affected the observation, excluding personal information.

needs review

conditiondimension, text

The field observer's bounded visual condition category at the time of the survey. It is not an arborist safety assessment.

  1. good No issue recorded during the bounded visual observation.
  2. watch Follow-up observation requested.
  3. unknown Condition was not rated.

verified 20 April 2026

observed_ondate and time

Calendar date when the field team recorded the tree observation.

verified 20 April 2026

species_codedimension, text

Short code for the field team's documented species classification at observation time.

  1. UNK Species not determined. The observer could not settle on a code, which is not the same as an empty cell.

needs review

Four entries from the fictional sample dictionary that ships with the studio, set the way the handoff packet prints them.
  1. 1Read structure
  2. 2Author meaning
  3. 3Test a reader
  4. 4Freeze the edition

Not another auto-generator

Meaning cannot be inferred from a column name

Profilers can observe shape. They cannot know whether status is a lifecycle state, a payment state, or an old field nobody should use. This studio treats automatic evidence as a starting note and gives the human review its own durable workflow.

01

Field folios

Label, definition, unit, universe, derivation, owner, safe example, aliases, and review status live together.

02

Missingness has meaning

Keep refused, unknown, legitimate skip, and not applicable separate from valid controlled values.

03

Reader evidence

Generate comprehension prompts, record what was unclear, then amend the documentation.

HANDOFF · 0.9
18 passive filesHTML · Markdown · CSV · JSONReader worksheet · findings · editionsManifest · SHA-256 checksums

A deliverable, not a locked workspace

Hand the dictionary to someone who never opened the app

The packet is script-free and portable. A reader starts with a polished HTML codebook; analysts also get CSV, Markdown, descriptive JSON, a review worksheet, and an integrity manifest.

What the packet proves, and what it does not

Honest by construction

This supports documentation; it never certifies meaning

The studio can

  • Observe bounded structural evidence
  • Lint incomplete or conflicting documentation
  • Preserve authored review history
  • Format passive handoff files

The studio cannot

  • Know a field's business meaning
  • Classify sensitive or regulated data
  • Certify quality, governance, or fitness
  • Replace repository or domain review

Start with the included fictional inventory

Build the dictionary your next reader wishes existed

Open Codebookery

It opens on the fictional Northbank inventory, so there is nothing to import first.