TSV to CSV Converter
Change tab-separated data into comma-separated data, or the other way round. Paste cells copied from a spreadsheet or open a file; values that contain commas, quotation marks or line breaks are quoted properly so that no column shifts.
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Free to use
How to use TSV to CSV
- Choose the direction: TSV to CSV or CSV to TSV.
- Paste the data or open a .tsv, .csv or .txt file.
- Pick the CSV separator and optional settings; the output updates as you type.
- Copy the result or download it as a file.
TSV to CSV features
Both directions
TSV to CSV and CSV to TSV in the same tool.
Correct quoting
Fields containing the separator, quotes or line breaks are enclosed in quotes with inner quotes doubled.
Clipboard friendly
Cells copied from Excel or Google Sheets are tab-separated and can be pasted directly.
Comma or semicolon
Write CSV with the separator your program expects.
Live conversion
The result appears while you type or paste.
Private
Nothing is uploaded; the conversion runs locally.
When to use TSV to CSV
- Turning a selection copied from a spreadsheet into CSV for an import form.
- Converting database or bioinformatics exports that use tabs.
- Producing TSV for a tool that cannot handle quoted CSV.
- Fixing a file whose separator does not match what a program expects.
TSV to CSV FAQ
What is the difference between TSV and CSV?
Both store a table as text with one row per line. TSV separates values with tab characters, CSV with commas. Because tabs hardly ever occur inside data, TSV rarely needs quoting, whereas CSV must quote any value that contains a comma.
Why does simply replacing tabs with commas not work?
If a value itself contains a comma, a plain replacement would split it into two columns. A correct conversion wraps such values in quotation marks and doubles any quotation marks inside them. This tool parses the table first and then writes it out according to the rules of the target format.
Can I paste data copied from Excel?
Yes. When you copy cells, the clipboard holds them as tab-separated text. Paste into the input pane with TSV to CSV selected and you have CSV. Cells that contain line breaks are quoted by Excel and are read correctly.
What happens to tabs or line breaks inside CSV values when converting to TSV?
Such values are enclosed in quotation marks, the same way spreadsheets write them to the clipboard. Programs that read strict, unquoted TSV may not accept this; remove tabs and line breaks from the data first if you target such a program.
Which separator should I choose for CSV?
Comma is the standard. Choose semicolon when the file is meant for Excel on a system that uses a comma as the decimal mark, as in much of Europe.
Does the download include a UTF-8 signature?
The downloaded file starts with a UTF-8 byte-order mark so that Excel recognises the encoding. The text shown in the output pane and copied to the clipboard does not contain it.
Two formats for the same table
Tab-separated and comma-separated files are close relatives. Each line is a record, each record a list of fields, and the only difference is the character between the fields. That small difference decides how often the format gets into trouble. Commas are common in ordinary text, in addresses, names written surname first, descriptions and numbers with thousands separators, so a CSV writer must constantly protect fields with quotation marks, and a CSV reader must understand them. Tabs are almost absent from real data, which lets TSV stay simple.
This is why many technical systems prefer TSV. Database dump utilities, scientific data sets and command-line tools often use it, and the clipboard format for spreadsheet cells is tab-separated as well. CSV, on the other hand, is what business software, import wizards and public data portals usually ask for. Moving between the two is a routine chore.
The reliable way to convert is to read the input into a table and write the table in the other format, which is what happens here. Reading takes quoted fields into account, including line breaks inside quotes that would otherwise look like new rows. Writing applies the quoting rules of the target format. A value such as Smith, John arrives in the CSV as "Smith, John" and remains one field.
The message under the output reports the size of the table and warns when rows have different numbers of columns, which usually points to a stray separator in the source data and is worth checking before you import the result anywhere.