Convert CSV to TXT
Instantly.
Free CSV to TXT converter — tab delimited, comma separated or any custom delimiter. Upload your .csv file and download a clean .txt in seconds. All processing runs in your browser. Your data never leaves your device.
Three steps. No software, no signup, no waiting.
Drag and drop your .csv file into the converter above, or click to browse. CSVShift auto-detects the delimiter — comma, tab or semicolon — so you don't need to configure anything.
Select the output delimiter for your TXT file: tab (the standard for .txt data files), comma, pipe or semicolon. Choose whether to include or exclude the header row and how to handle quoted fields.
Click Convert, preview the first 10 lines in the output window, then click Download. Your .txt file is saved instantly. The entire process takes seconds, even for large files.
Understanding the difference between CSV and TXT — and when each format is the right choice.
A CSV file (Comma-Separated Values) is a plain text file that stores tabular data using commas as column separators. A TXT file is also plain text, but without a fixed format — it can use any delimiter: tabs, pipes, semicolons, or spaces.
In practice, converting CSV to TXT means changing the delimiter and extension so that the receiving system (a database, a legacy application, or a specific import tool) can read the data correctly. The content stays identical — only the formatting changes.
The most common case is converting CSV to a tab-delimited TXT file, which is the default import format for many ERP and accounting systems. CSVShift handles this in one click.
Real-world scenarios where CSV to plain text conversion solves an actual problem.
Many ERP systems (SAP, Sage, QuickBooks) require tab-delimited TXT files for data import. Converting a CSV export from your source system to TXT takes seconds with CSVShift.
When processing data with bash scripts or Python, tab-delimited TXT files are often easier to parse than CSV, especially when field values contain commas. Convert CSV to TXT with tab delimiter for cleaner pipelines.
MySQL's LOAD DATA INFILE, PostgreSQL's COPY, and SQLite's .import command all accept tab-delimited TXT files. Preparing your CSV as TXT first makes the import command simpler.
Older software that predates CSV as a standard often reads fixed-delimiter TXT files. Converting CSV to TXT with the exact delimiter the legacy system expects resolves compatibility errors immediately.
Choose the right settings for your use case.
| Option | Values | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Output delimiter | Tab · Comma · Pipe · Semicolon | Tab is the safest choice for TXT files — it avoids conflicts with field values that contain commas. Use comma if the destination system expects CSV-style output in a .txt extension. Pipe and semicolon are common in European and enterprise systems. |
| Header row | Include · Exclude | Include the header row if the destination system needs column names to map fields automatically. Exclude it if you are appending data to an existing table that already has headers. |
| Quoting | Strip quotes · Keep quotes | Strip quotes produces a clean plain-text file with no surrounding quotation marks — ideal for most TXT imports. Keep quotes re-applies RFC 4180 quoting rules when a field contains the delimiter or a newline character. |
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Your CSV data stays on
your device. Always.
CSVShift processes every conversion entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your file is never sent to any server, never stored, and never seen by anyone but you. The moment you close the tab, the file is gone.
This is not a marketing claim — it is how the tool is technically built. There is no backend, no upload endpoint, and no database. Open the browser's developer tools and check the network tab: you will see zero data transmitted during the conversion.