Does this preserve fields that contain commas or quotes?

Yes. The input is parsed with a full RFC 4180-aware parser, so quoted fields containing commas, tabs, or embedded newlines are read correctly rather than split apart.

What happens if a CSV field already contains a literal tab character?

That field is automatically wrapped in double quotes in the TSV output, exactly like RFC 4180 quoting works for commas in CSV, so the tab inside it is never mistaken for the new delimiter.

Will the number of rows and columns change?

No. This only changes the delimiter character; every row and column from the input CSV maps 1:1 to the TSV output.

Can I paste the TSV output straight into Excel or Google Sheets?

Yes. Both Excel and Google Sheets split pasted tab-delimited text into columns automatically, which is one of the main reasons to convert to TSV.

My source data uses semicolons, not commas, as the delimiter, will this work?

No, this tool specifically expects comma-delimited input. Use the CSV Delimiter Changer tool first to normalize semicolon- or pipe-delimited data to commas, then convert to TSV.

Does the conversion happen on a server?

No, parsing and re-serializing both happen entirely in your browser; the CSV text is never uploaded anywhere.

CSV to TSV Converter - Convert Online

Overview

Introduction

Some tools and pipelines expect tab-delimited data instead of comma-delimited CSV, particularly ones that treat commas as ordinary punctuation likely to appear inside a field. This tool converts CSV into TSV without needing a spreadsheet program.

It uses a proper RFC 4180 parser rather than a naive comma split, so quoted fields containing commas or embedded newlines survive the conversion intact.

What Is CSV to TSV Converter?

A delimiter-conversion tool that re-parses comma-separated values and re-serializes the same rows and columns using tab characters as the field separator instead.

The row and column structure is preserved exactly; only the delimiter character between fields changes.

How CSV to TSV Converter Works

The input is parsed character by character, tracking whether the parser is inside a quoted field, so commas and newlines inside quotes are not treated as row or column boundaries.

Once the raw grid of cells is extracted, each row is re-joined with tab characters, and any cell that itself contains a tab, quote, or newline is wrapped in double quotes so the output stays unambiguous.

When To Use CSV to TSV Converter

Use it when a downstream tool, database import, or command-line pipeline (like `cut -f` or `awk -F'\t'`) expects tab-delimited fields rather than commas.

It's also handy when your data contains many commas as literal punctuation (addresses, prose fields) and you'd rather not think about CSV quoting rules downstream.

Often used alongside TSV to CSV Converter, CSV Delimiter Changer and CSV to SSV Converter.

Features

Advantages

Correctly handles RFC 4180 quoting, including commas and newlines inside quoted fields, before re-emitting as TSV.
Preserves row and column structure exactly, with no data loss or reordering.
Runs entirely client-side, so the data never leaves your browser.

Limitations

Assumes the input is comma-delimited; semicolon- or pipe-delimited input needs the CSV Delimiter Changer tool first.
If a field already contains a tab character, it will be quoted in the TSV output rather than having the tab stripped or escaped differently.

Examples

Converting a small CSV to TSV

Input

id,name,active
1,Ada Lovelace,true
2,Alan Turing,false

Output

id	name	active
1	Ada Lovelace	true
2	Alan Turing	false

Each comma between fields becomes a tab character; the row and column layout is otherwise unchanged.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Check the output in a monospace view or by pasting into a spreadsheet, since tabs are visually harder to spot than commas in a plain text editor.
If a field legitimately contains a tab, expect it to come back quoted; that's correct TSV, not a bug.
Pair with TSV to CSV to verify a round trip preserves your data exactly.

Developer Notes

The conversion is a two-step pipeline over the shared CSV grid parser: parse with `,` as the delimiter into an array of string arrays, then re-stringify the same grid with `\t` as the delimiter. Because both steps reuse the same RFC 4180-aware escaping logic, quoting rules stay consistent in both directions.

CSV to TSV Converter Use Cases

Preparing a CSV export for a command-line tool or script that expects tab-delimited input
Converting data for pasting directly into spreadsheet columns without commas splitting unexpectedly
Feeding a legacy import pipeline that only accepts TSV

Common Mistakes

Assuming this tool also changes the encoding or line endings; it only changes the field delimiter.
Running semicolon- or pipe-delimited data through this tool expecting it to be auto-detected as CSV; it always parses with a comma delimiter.

Tips

If the TSV output looks like one long unbroken line in your editor, that's usually just how tabs render, try pasting into a spreadsheet to see the columns.
Use TSV to CSV afterward to double-check the conversion is reversible for your data.

CSV to TSV Converter