text2csv.com

TXT to CSV Converter — Convert .txt Files Online

Drop a .txt file, get a .csv. Handles tab, space, pipe, and semicolon-delimited text. RFC 4180 output, no upload, works in your browser.

100% privateNo signupRFC 4180

Your data is processed locally in your browser and never sent to any server.

Settings

Your CSV preview will appear here

Add some text and click Convert

How it works

4 steps. Everything runs in your browser.

1

Drop the .txt file

Drag and drop your .txt file onto the input area. Or paste from clipboard, or type structured text directly.

2

Pick the delimiter

Tab, Space, Comma, Semicolon, Pipe, or a custom single character. Your file probably uses tabs if it came from Excel.

3

Convert in the browser

No upload, no server. The RFC 4180-compliant CSV is generated locally with a row-by-row preview.

4

Copy or download .csv

Copy to clipboard or download a .csv file ready for Excel, Sheets, Notion, or any database import.

What is TXT to CSV conversion?

A .txt file is a plain-text file with no required structure — it can hold anything. A .csv file follows the RFC 4180 standard: values are separated by commas, fields with commas or quotes are escaped with double quotes, and each line is one row. TXT-to-CSV conversion takes the data inside your .txt file (separated by tabs, spaces, pipes, or other characters) and re-emits it as proper CSV that opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets, or a database import tool.

Most .txt files that need to become CSV come from one of three places: a spreadsheet export that defaulted to tab-separated, a database dump that used pipes, or a log file or report from a legacy system. All three are handled by picking the matching delimiter in the converter.

Common .txt formats this tool handles

Tab-separated .txt (TSV)

Most common — this is what you get when Excel or Google Sheets saves "Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt)". Also the clipboard format when you copy cells. Pick the "Tab" delimiter to convert.

Space-separated .txt

Common in scientific data, terminal output, and fixed-width log files. The converter collapses runs of multiple spaces into a single delimiter.

Pipe-delimited .txt

Used in EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), HL7 healthcare data, and some legacy mainframe exports. The pipe character (|) separates fields.

Semicolon-delimited .txt

Standard in European locales where commas are decimal separators. Common in SAP, French and German tools, and many CRM exports.

Custom-delimiter .txt

Pick "Custom" and enter any single character — colon (:), tilde (~), caret (^), or anything else your source file uses.

Example: tab-separated .txt to CSV

A typical .txt file exported from Excel as "Text (Tab delimited)" looks like this:

text
Name	Email	Department
Alice Johnson	alice@example.com	Engineering
Bob Smith	bob@example.com	Design
Carol White	carol@example.com	Marketing

With Tab selected as the input delimiter, the CSV output is:

csv
Name,Email,Department
Alice Johnson,alice@example.com,Engineering
Bob Smith,bob@example.com,Design
Carol White,carol@example.com,Marketing

Fields containing commas, quotes, or newlines are automatically wrapped in double quotes per RFC 4180, so the output is always valid CSV no matter what was inside your .txt file.

Example: pipe-delimited .txt to CSV

Legacy database exports often use pipes:

text
ID|Country|Population
1|United States|331002651
2|Canada|37742154
3|Mexico|128932753

With Custom delimiter | selected, the CSV output is:

csv
ID,Country,Population
1,United States,331002651
2,Canada,37742154
3,Mexico,128932753

TXT vs CSV: key differences

Feature.txt file.csv file
DelimiterAny (tab, space, pipe, custom)Comma (standardized)
StandardNo formal standardRFC 4180
QuotingUsually noneDouble-quote escaping for special chars
Excel supportRequires Text Import WizardOpens directly as a table
Google SheetsManual import + delimiter pickFile → Import works in one step
Database importNeeds delimiter configurationUniversal native support
Line endingsCRLF or LF (no standard)CRLF recommended (most tools accept both)

Why convert a .txt file to .csv?

Open directly in Excel
CSV files open as a structured table — no Text Import Wizard, no manual column-type clicking.
Import into Google Sheets
File → Import → Upload reads CSV in one step. With .txt, you need to pick the delimiter manually each time.
Database import
COPY (Postgres), LOAD DATA (MySQL), and ETL tools accept CSV natively. .txt requires configuration per source.
Git diff friendly
CSV diffs cleanly line-by-line in pull requests. .txt with inconsistent whitespace is harder to review.
Bulk data services
Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, and most SaaS importers expect CSV.
Pandas, R, DuckDB, etc.
Data science tools have native CSV readers; .txt support requires extra delimiter configuration.

Why use our TXT to CSV converter?

Opens directly in Excel & Sheets

CSV opens as a structured table without the Text Import Wizard. No manual column type fiddling.

100% private — no upload

Your .txt file is read locally. Nothing ever leaves your browser. Works offline once loaded.

RFC 4180 output

Quoted fields, escaped quotes, correct line endings. The output is valid CSV for every modern tool.

Related tools

More free converters from text2csv.com

CSV to JSON →

Take the generated CSV and convert it to JSON for APIs.

JSON to CSV →

Have JSON instead of TXT? Flatten and convert directly.

CSV to XLSX →

Turn the CSV into a proper Excel workbook with typed cells.

Text to CSV →

General-purpose converter — any tabular text into CSV.

Frequently asked questions