Import data from TSV to PostgreSQL via command line on MacOS

Want to import data from TSV file to PostgreSQL via Command Line Interface (CLI) on MacOS?

Using pg-cmd, a Command Line Interface (CLI) client for PostgreSQL, you can import data from TSV file to PostgreSQL easily and fast. Direct Interaction or Scripting and Automation.

• No need to install PostgreSQL client library.
• Convenient to deploy to cloud. No need to run installation file, just uncompress and run, immediately.
• Commands are entered into a terminal or command prompt, accessed from local or remote (like SSH).
• Support Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

Download pg-cmd Macos version
pg-cmd.darwin-amd64.zip
pg-cmd.darwin-arm64.zip

Import data from TSV file to PostgreSQL via command line on MacOS

1. In interactive mode:

pg-cmd> load loadtype=replace
      > table=media_messages 
      > datafile=/data/media_messages.tsv 
      > delimiter=, 
      > quote=" 
      > header=y;

2. In batch mode:

pg-cmd dsn="pan:withdata@192.168.0.102/test" task=load loadtype=replace table=media_messages datafile=/data/media_messages.tsv delimiter=, quote=" header=y quit=y

“loadtype=replace” will delete all data in table before inserting.

See parameters detail.

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More about pg-cmd – Command Line Interface (CLI) tool for PostgreSQL

TSV → PostgreSQL reference

Type mapping

Value kind	in TSV	in PostgreSQL
Int	1234	integer
Bigint	9007199254740993	bigint
Decimal	1234.56	numeric(p,s)
Float	1.234e+10	double precision
Text	unquoted; a tab in the value splits the column	varchar(n)
Long text	unquoted; newlines break the row	text
Date	2026-09-18	date
Datetime	2026-09-18 14:30:00	timestamp
Binary	not representable	bytea
Boolean	TRUE / FALSE	boolean
JSON	the whole JSON value as-is (its own quotes stay)	jsonb

Dialect differences

TSV is a file format and PostgreSQL is a database server, so the target has to be told the types the file never carried - the rows below are where the two sides diverge.

Property	in TSV	in PostgreSQL
port	—	5432
identifiers	Rarely used, which is exactly why tabs in data break it	"double quotes"
row limit	—	LIMIT n
dates	Conventional text: 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-18 14:30:00	timestamp, timestamptz, date, time
long text	—	TEXT
binary	Not supported - must be encoded	BYTEA
separator	Tab	—
encoding	No declaration - UTF-8 works only with a BOM	—
typing	None - every field is text	—
shape	Flat table, optional header row	Tables of rows and columns
ceiling	No formal limit	—

Command line

Side	Command
PostgreSQL	pg_dump or COPY ... TO
PostgreSQL (load)	COPY ... FROM

Convert your data online, free

Free in-browser converters for CSV, Excel, JSON, XML and SQL: Withdata Online Data Conversion. Large files, batch conversion or scheduling? See the offline desktop apps, or browse all data conversion tools.

New to the format? Read what a TSV file is (and how it differs from CSV).