Generate sample data for a demo or test fixture

The job

Real user data should never leave the source system, but demos and tests still need rows that look real. Fictional-but-plausible values — names, example.* emails, 555 phone numbers — fill a spreadsheet or seed file without touching anyone's information.

How to do it

Check the columns you need, set a row count and pick CSV or JSON. Each run reshuffles, so generate again until the spread looks right for the screenshot or fixture.

• CSV drops straight into a spreadsheet or an import; JSON suits API fixtures and typed test data.
• Keep the file small enough to review — 10–50 rows reads as a demo, hundreds suit load tests.

Worked example

Generating 25 rows of name/email/date as CSV and importing it into a staging table gives a screenshot-ready user list where every address resolves to a reserved example domain — nobody's real inbox is touched.

Limits

The data is deliberately fake: emails resolve nowhere real, phone numbers sit in the fictional 555-01xx block, and the name/city pools are small, so duplicates appear in big row counts. For production-realistic distributions or locale-specific names, a seeded library is the better tool.