formatjson.pro
Validate, pretty-print or minify JSON in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Convert TSV to JSON

TSV is what you get when you copy cells out of Excel, Google Sheets, or a psql result. Paste it below to convert the header row into keys and every data row into a JSON object.

Why TSV instead of CSV

Tab-separated values sidestep the biggest CSV headache: commas inside fields. A person's name like Smith, John breaks a naive CSV split, but a tab delimiter leaves it untouched. That is why spreadsheet copy-paste and many database exports default to tabs.

How the mapping works

The first line is the header — each tab-separated label becomes a JSON key. Every following line becomes one object in the array. A file with a header and three data rows yields a three-element array.

Types

TSV, like CSV, is untyped text. This converter promotes 36 to a number, true/false to booleans, and leaves everything else as strings. Watch out for zip codes and IDs with leading zeros — keep them as strings so 007 does not become 7.

FAQ

My data has real tabs inside a field. Will it break?

A field containing a literal tab must be wrapped in double quotes, just like CSV. Unquoted tabs are always treated as column separators.

What about the .tsv files from Excel?

Excel's 'Save as tab-delimited' output works directly. So does copying a block of cells and pasting — the clipboard uses tabs between columns and newlines between rows.

Can I convert back?

Yes — use the JSON to CSV tool for comma output, or a spreadsheet import for tabs.