CSV to JSON
Convert CSV data to a JSON array. First row is used as headers.
What is CSV?
CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a plain-text format for storing tabular data. Each line represents one row, and columns are separated by a delimiter — usually a comma, but sometimes a semicolon, tab, or pipe character. The first row typically contains column headers.
CSV is the most universal data exchange format. Every spreadsheet tool (Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice), database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite), and analytics platform (BigQuery, Redshift, Snowflake) can import and export CSV. JSON is the standard format for REST APIs, NoSQL databases, and modern JavaScript applications. Converting between the two is a daily task in data engineering and API development.
CSV to JSON Conversion Example
Input CSV:
name,city,age,active
Ravi,Surat,28,true
Priya,Ahmedabad,24,falseOutput JSON (array of objects):
[
{ "name": "Ravi", "city": "Surat", "age": 28, "active": true },
{ "name": "Priya", "city": "Ahmedabad", "age": 24, "active": false }
]Automatic Type Detection
The converter automatically infers value types instead of treating everything as strings:
| CSV value | JSON type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 123, 3.14 | number | "price": 3.14 |
| true, false | boolean | "active": true |
| null, NULL, (empty) | null | "note": null |
| "quoted string" | string (quotes removed) | "name": "John" |
| everything else | string | "city": "Surat" |
Delimiter Support
| Delimiter | When to use |
|---|---|
| Comma (,) | Default — standard CSV files from Excel and Google Sheets |
| Semicolon (;) | European locales where comma is the decimal separator |
| Tab (\t) | TSV files — data exported from databases or spreadsheets |
| Pipe (|) | Data that contains commas and semicolons in values |
Common Use Cases
- ▸Data migration — Convert exported database CSVs to JSON for import into MongoDB, Firestore or REST APIs.
- ▸Frontend mocking — Turn a spreadsheet of sample data into a JSON fixture for UI development.
- ▸API payload building — Upload a CSV, convert to JSON, then paste directly into Postman or curl.
- ▸ETL pipelines — First step in transforming flat CSV exports into structured JSON for further processing.