Change CSV Delimiter
Convert a CSV between comma, semicolon, tab and pipe separators in your browser. Re-quotes values properly so nothing breaks.
Related tools
All Data tools →This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to our servers, so there is nothing for us to store or see.
About the Change CSV Delimiter
Convert a delimited file from one separator to another — comma, semicolon, tab or pipe. Everything runs inside this page on your own device, so nothing you paste is uploaded.
This is not a find-and-replace, and that is the whole point. Replacing every comma with a semicolon destroys any value that legitimately contained a comma, because the separator inside a quoted field is data rather than structure. The file is parsed properly first, then written out again with the new separator and fresh quoting — so a value like "Paris, France" ends up as Paris, France with no quotes needed once the separator is a semicolon, and a value containing a semicolon gains the quotes it now requires.
The commonest reason to need this is Excel. On a European locale Excel expects semicolons and will drop an entire comma-separated row into a single column, which looks like a corrupt file rather than a settings mismatch. Converting the separator fixes it without touching the data, and adding a byte-order mark helps Excel get the character encoding right at the same time.
Line endings can be switched too. CRLF is what RFC 4180 specifies and what Windows tools expect; LF is what everything else prefers and what keeps a file tidy in version control.
How to use the Change CSV Delimiter
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Paste your file
Paste into the left pane, or drop a .csv or .tsv file onto it — dropping reads the file locally and never uploads it.
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Confirm the current separator
Detection counts separators outside quoted fields, so it is rarely wrong. Set it by hand if your data is unusual enough to fool it.
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Choose the new separator
Comma, semicolon, tab or pipe. Pick line endings and whether to quote every field while you are here.
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Copy or download
The converted file appears on the right as you type, with both separators named underneath. Copy it, or download it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside your browser and nothing is sent to a server. You can disconnect from the internet once the page has loaded and it will keep working exactly as before.
Why not just find and replace the separator?
Because it destroys any value that legitimately contains the character you are replacing. A field reading "Paris, France" is one value, and swapping its comma splits it into two — silently, in a file that still looks valid. Parsing first and re-writing afterwards is the only way that cannot lose data.
Excel puts my whole CSV in one column. Will this fix it?
Almost certainly. Excel on a European locale expects semicolons rather than commas, and a comma-separated file arrives as one long column per row. Convert to semicolons and it will open correctly. Adding a byte-order mark at the same time also stops accented characters arriving as mojibake.
What happens to quoting?
It is recalculated from scratch. Values are quoted only where the new separator makes it necessary, so quotes that are no longer needed disappear and values that now contain the separator gain them. You can also force every field to be quoted, which some strict importers prefer.
Which line ending should I choose?
CRLF is what RFC 4180 specifies and what Windows tools and Excel expect. LF is what Unix tools, most programming languages and version control prefer. If you are unsure and the file is going to a person, CRLF is the safer answer; if it is going into a repository, LF is.