Convert TXT to CSV
in seconds.
Free TXT to CSV converter with auto delimiter detection. Upload any plain text file — tab delimited, pipe separated, semicolon or comma — and download a clean .csv instantly. Runs entirely in your browser. Your data never leaves your device.
Three steps. Works on any operating system, any browser.
Drag your .txt, .tsv, .log or .dat file into the converter. CSVShift reads the first five lines and automatically detects whether the file uses tabs, pipes, semicolons, commas or spaces as separators.
The detected delimiter is shown in the options panel. If the auto-detection is wrong — for example, your file uses a pipe character — simply select the correct one from the dropdown or enter a custom delimiter character.
Click Convert. Preview the first 10 rows in the output window to verify the result, then click Download. The .csv file opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets or any database import tool.
Understanding plain text formats before converting.
A TXT file is a plain text file with no fixed structure. It can use any character as a separator between data columns: a tab, a pipe, a semicolon, two spaces, or anything the original system chose. This flexibility is useful for exporting data from legacy software, log analyzers, and command-line tools — but it makes TXT files harder to open directly in Excel or import into databases.
A CSV file is a standardized plain text format where columns are separated by commas (or semicolons in some locales) and text fields containing the delimiter are enclosed in double quotes — following the RFC 4180 specification. Excel, Google Sheets, and virtually every database tool reads CSV natively.
Converting TXT to CSV means normalizing the delimiter to a comma and applying proper quoting rules so that the file becomes universally compatible. CSVShift does this automatically, handling edge cases like fields that contain the delimiter character itself.
Common real-world situations where TXT to CSV conversion solves the problem.
Excel can open .csv files natively but often misreads .txt files — especially tab-delimited ones. Converting TXT to CSV first ensures columns are recognized correctly without the Text Import Wizard.
Data pipelines and ETL tools (Airbyte, Fivetran, Talend) almost universally accept CSV as the standard flat file format. Converting your TXT export to CSV makes it compatible without configuration changes.
Server and application logs are often exported as space- or pipe-delimited TXT files. Converting them to CSV lets you open them in Excel or load them into pandas, Power BI, or any analytics tool.
When migrating data between systems, source exports are frequently tab-separated .txt files. Converting to CSV at the start of the migration process ensures downstream steps work without custom parser configuration.
What each setting does and which one to choose for your file.
| Option | Values | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Input delimiter | Tab · Comma · Pipe · Semicolon · Spaces · Custom | CSVShift auto-detects this from the first lines of your file. Override manually if the detection is wrong — for example, if your file uses a tilde (~) or double-pipe (||) as a separator. Select Custom and enter the character. |
| First row | Header · No header | Select Header if the first line of your TXT contains column names. Select No header if all rows are data and you want to add column names later in Excel. |
| CSV quoting | Auto · Quote all | Auto adds double quotes only around fields that contain a comma, a newline, or a double-quote character — following RFC 4180. Quote all wraps every field in quotes, which some import tools require. |
| Trim whitespace | Trim · Keep | Trim removes leading and trailing spaces from each field. Recommended for files exported from legacy systems, which often pad values with spaces to align columns visually. |
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Your text files stay on
your device. Always.
CSVShift processes every conversion entirely in your browser using the JavaScript File API. Your .txt file is read locally — nothing is transmitted to any server at any point. There is no backend, no upload endpoint, and no logging of file contents.
Want to verify? Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and watch it during a conversion. You will see zero outbound requests carrying your data.