TSV to CSV converter
Swap tab separators for commas, quoting any value that needs it.
Processed in your browser. This file is converted on your device and is never uploaded.
Converter
.tsv, .tab up to 25 MB. You can also drag a file here.
No file selected.
About this tool
Data copied out of a spreadsheet or exported from a database is often tab-separated, while the tool that has to read it next wants CSV. This tool re-separates the rows with commas and adds quoting wherever a value needs it.
Any value containing a comma, a quote, or a line break is quoted and escaped, so the result opens correctly instead of shifting columns.
Supported formats and limits
- Input
- .tsv, .tab
- Output
- .csv (text/csv)
- Output name
- The original name with the new extension, for example data.tsv becomes data.csv.
- File size limit
- 25 MB
- Processing
- In your browser. The file is not uploaded.
TSV against CSV
| Feature | TSV | CSV |
|---|---|---|
| Stored as | Plain text, readable in any editor | Plain text, readable in any editor |
| What it can hold | Rows and columns | Rows and columns |
| Numbers stay numbers | No | No |
| Comments | No | No |
| Several in one file | No | No |
| Published | 1993 | 1972 |
How to use it
- Choose a .tsv or .tab file, or switch to Paste text and paste the rows directly.
- Select Convert, then download the .csv file.
Limitations
- Values stay as text; no type conversion happens.
- Empty trailing columns cannot be distinguished from missing ones.
- The file is read as UTF-8.
Common problems
The file was refused before anything started.
TSV to CSV converter checks the extension before it reads a byte, and it accepts .tsv, .tab. Browsers report file types inconsistently enough that the extension is what decides.
Rename the file if the extension is simply wrong, or convert it to one of those first. A file whose extension does not match its contents is refused for the same reason, and that one needs converting rather than renaming.
It said the file was too large.
The limit here is 25 MB. It is not a policy but a measurement: everything runs on your own device, and past that size a phone runs out of memory rather than finishing slowly.
Split the file, reduce it before converting, or use a desktop program for that one. A machine with more memory will manage more, but the limit does not know which machine it is on.
I selected several files and only one converted.
This tool takes one file at a time. Doing several at once would multiply the memory in use, which is the thing most likely to fail on a phone.
Convert them one after another. Nothing is kept between them, so there is no state to reset.
The tab reloaded itself part-way through.
The browser ran out of memory and restarted the page. At sizes approaching 25 MB this is the failure a phone hits first, and it looks like a crash rather than an error.
Try a smaller file, close other tabs, or run it on a computer. Nothing was uploaded or lost — the original file is untouched on your device.
The result opened in the wrong program.
The output is a .csv file, and your system opens that extension with whatever it was told to. Nothing about the conversion decides it.
Open it from inside the program you want, or change the default for .csv in your system settings. The file itself is correct.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser. The file never leaves your device and no request carrying its contents is made.
- Why are some of my values now wrapped in quotes?
- Because they contain a comma, a double quote, or a line break. Without quoting, a spreadsheet would read them as extra columns or extra rows.
- Can I paste straight from a spreadsheet?
- Yes. Copying a range from most spreadsheet applications puts tab-separated text on the clipboard, so Paste text works directly.
- Which separator will a spreadsheet expect when it opens the CSV?
- A comma, which is what this writes, and that is the right answer almost everywhere. The exception is a spreadsheet configured for a locale that uses the comma as a decimal separator: those often expect semicolons instead and will show every row in one column. If that happens, the file is fine and the import dialogue is where to fix it.
- Do I need to install anything or create an account to use TSV to CSV converter?
- No, to all of it. TSV to CSV converter runs inside the browser you already have, with no sign-up, no download, no watermark on the result, and no cap on how many files you convert. There is nothing to uninstall afterwards either, because nothing was installed.
- Does TSV to CSV converter work offline?
- Once the page has loaded, yes. The conversion runs on your device, so it needs no connection to do the work. The first visit fetches the page and the code that does the converting; after that a lost connection stops nothing, and a converted file appears exactly as it would online.
- How large a file can TSV to CSV converter handle?
- The limit is 25 MB. It is a deliberate one rather than a technical ceiling: the real constraint is memory, and a file that decodes to more than the device can hold fails in a way that is hard to explain. Phones run out well before laptops do, which is why the limit is set where it is.
- Can I convert several files at once with TSV to CSV converter?
- Not here: this tool takes one file at a time, because what it does depends on choices you make about that particular file. Convert them one after another, or look at the batch converters in the same category, which are built for a folder at a time.