Data Wrangler
What it is: Visual data cleaning extension for VS Code and Azure ML. Interactive transformations with preview. Alternative to Trifacta integrated into Microsoft ecosystem.
What It Does Best
Visual transformation building. Point-and-click data cleaning. See transformations applied in real-time. Generates pandas or PySpark code automatically.
Integrated workflow. Lives in VS Code. Clean data, see code, adjust manually if needed. Exports to notebooks seamlessly. Bridges gap between GUI and code.
Familiar to Power Query users. Similar concepts to Excel's Power Query. Easier learning curve for Microsoft stack users. Azure ML integration for enterprise.
Pricing
Free. Open source VS Code extension.
Azure ML: Paid when using Azure cloud resources.
When to Use It
✅ Learning data cleaning (visual feedback helps)
✅ Prototyping transformations quickly
✅ Already using VS Code and Microsoft tools
✅ Team has non-coders who need to clean data
When NOT to Use It
❌ Complex custom transformations (code more flexible)
❌ Need production scheduling and monitoring
❌ Working outside VS Code/Azure ecosystem
Bottom line: Nice tool for learning and prototyping. Visual interface generates code you can modify. Not as powerful as Trifacta but free and integrated into VS Code. Good for teams transitioning from Excel to Python.