CSV to TSV Converter
Free online CSV to TSV converter. Paste comma-separated, semicolon-separated, or pipe-delimited data — or drop a .csv file — and get clean tab-separated TSV with a live table preview. Real RFC 4180 parsing (quoted commas, doubled quotes, embedded newlines), an honest embedded-tab policy, and 100% client-side processing — nothing is uploaded.
Drop a .csv / .txt file here or click to browse
Input delimiter
Embedded tabs/newlines policy
Preview
First 25 rows shown.
How to convert CSV to TSV
- Paste or upload. Paste CSV text above, or drag and drop a .csv or .txt file. Use the sample button to try the converter with RFC 4180 edge cases (quoted commas, quoted line breaks) first.
- Pick options. The input delimiter (comma, semicolon, pipe) is auto-detected, or pin it manually. Choose how embedded tabs and newlines are handled: escape them as \t and \n (reversible, recommended), keep them literal, or reject affected rows.
- Copy or download. Conversion is live — check the preview table to verify columns stayed aligned, then copy the TSV or download it as a .tsv file ready for Excel, Google Sheets, pandas, or any tool that requires tab-separated input.
Tip: unlike a naive comma-to-tab find-and-replace, this converter parses quoted fields first, so \"Acme, Inc.\" stays in one column and embedded line breaks do not create phantom rows.
Need to go the other way? This tool converts CSV to TSV only (one direction). Try the TSV to CSV converter for the reverse.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a CSV file to TSV online for free?
Paste your CSV text into the input box, or drag and drop a .csv or .txt file onto the upload zone. The converter runs live in your browser and shows a table preview with the parsed rows and columns. Then copy the result or download it as a .tsv file. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
What is the difference between CSV and TSV?
CSV (comma-separated values) separates each field with a comma, while TSV (tab-separated values) separates fields with a tab character. TSV is the safer choice when your data itself contains commas — for example "Acme, Inc." — because a spreadsheet opening TSV will not split that field in two. Excel, Google Sheets, and pandas all read TSV natively.
Does it handle quoted commas and line breaks inside CSV fields?
Yes. The input is parsed with a real RFC 4180 parser, not a naive find-and-replace: quoted fields like "Acme, Inc.", doubled quotes (""), and line breaks inside quoted fields are all parsed correctly. A naive comma-to-tab swap would silently shift your columns; this converter never does.
What happens to tabs inside my data? TSV has no standard quoting.
Honestly: unlike CSV, TSV has no quoting standard for fields that contain a tab (the IANA text/tab-separated-values spec says fields must not contain tabs). This tool is explicit about its policy instead of corrupting data silently: the default escapes tabs as \t, newlines as \n, and backslashes as \\ — fully reversible by any parser that reads these escapes. Alternatively, keep raw tabs (with a visible warning, since naive readers will split on them) or reject and report any row containing a tab.
Can I convert semicolon-separated or pipe-separated CSV too?
Yes. The input delimiter is auto-detected from comma, semicolon, or pipe on every conversion, so European semicolon-separated exports work without configuration. You can also pin the delimiter manually if your data is ambiguous.
Can I open the converted TSV in Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. Download the .tsv file, then in Excel use Data, From Text/CSV and set the delimiter to Tab, or in Google Sheets use File, Import and choose tab-separated. In Python, pandas.read_csv('file.tsv', sep='\t') reads it directly. Because the output uses real tabs with no stray quoting, it imports cleanly everywhere.
Is my data uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. This is a 100 percent client-side CSV to TSV converter: parsing, the tab-escaping policy, the preview table, and the file download all run in your browser with JavaScript. Your data never leaves your device, and closing the tab clears it.
Can I convert TSV back to CSV?
This tool converts one way only, from CSV to TSV. To go the other direction, use the sibling TSV to CSV converter, which also handles RFC 4180 quoting on the way back.
Part of the nrtechstudio developer tools collection. See also the CSV to JSON converter and the TSV to CSV converter.
Free tool by NRTechStudio