CSV to TSV

Convert comma-separated values to tab-separated values.

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CSV to TSV Converter Online

The CSV to TSV converter rewrites comma-separated values as tab-separated values. TSV is the format spreadsheets place on the clipboard, the default for many bioinformatics and ad-platform uploads, and a much simpler format to process with command-line tools like cut and awk, because it never needs quoting.

How it works

Converting by replacing every comma with a tab looks easy but corrupts real data: "Smith, John" would be split across two columns. This tool parses the CSV with an RFC 4180 parser first, so quoted commas, doubled quotes, and multi-line cells are understood. It then writes each row with tab characters between the values and no quotes at all. A table preview shows the parsed rows so you can confirm nothing moved.

Options

  • CSV delimiter – auto-detects comma, semicolon, or pipe; choose one explicitly if detection guesses wrong on an unusual file.
  • First row is a header – header rows are carried over unchanged. Turn this off for data-only files so the first line is treated like any other row.
  • Quote every field – only in the reverse direction (TSV → CSV), for importers that expect every value in quotes.

Two-way conversion

Switch to TSV to CSV with the mode toggle, or press the swap button to move the output back into the input and reverse the direction. CSV output follows the usual rules: values containing commas, quotes, line breaks, or leading/trailing spaces are quoted, and inner quotes are doubled.

Things to keep in mind

Tabs and line breaks inside CSV values are replaced with spaces because TSV cannot represent them. Leading and trailing spaces around values are trimmed while reading, and short rows are padded to the full column count so every line has the same number of tabs.

For the dedicated reverse tool with a choice of output separator, see TSV to CSV. To turn TSV into structured data, use TSV to JSON; to escape single values, try CSV Escape. Coming from JSON? JSON to TSV does it in one step.

Frequently Asked Questions

They are removed. CSV needs quotes to protect commas and line breaks inside values, but TSV does not, so "Smith, John" becomes Smith, John and doubled quotes ("") become a single quote character.

TSV has no escaping, so a tab or newline inside a value would break the row. The converter replaces such characters with a space to keep every record on one line with the right number of columns.

Yes. The CSV delimiter is auto-detected — comma, semicolon, or pipe — or you can pick it manually. Semicolon files exported by Excel in German, French, or Turkish locales convert without any preparation.

Yes. Use the TSV to CSV toggle or the swap button. Fields containing commas, quotes, or line breaks are quoted automatically, or you can switch on “Quote every field” for strict importers.