What Is a TSV File? (Tab-Separated Values Explained)

A TSV file (Tab-Separated Values) is a plain-text file that stores a table. Each line is a row, and each column is separated by a tab character. It is the tab-delimited cousin of CSV.

What a TSV file looks like

Inside a TSV file the separators are invisible - they are real tab characters, not spaces. Here is a three-row example (each [TAB] is one tab):

name[TAB]age[TAB]city
John[TAB]42[TAB]Paris
Marie[TAB]31[TAB]New York

Open the same file in Notepad, VS Code or any text editor and you will see the tabs; open it in a spreadsheet and you will see three columns.

TSV vs CSV

	CSV	TSV
Column separator	comma (,)	tab (\t)
Escaping	Frequent - commas inside values force quoting	Rare - tabs almost never appear inside values
When it shines	Spreadsheets, wide compatibility	Data with commas in it, exports, bioinformatics, logs
File extension	.csv	.tsv, sometimes .tab or .txt

Both are plain text. The only real difference is which character marks a new column - and that is exactly why TSV files rarely need the quoting rules that make CSV messy.

How to open a TSV file

• Read it raw: any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, Notepad++).
• Spreadsheet: Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc. In Excel do Data → From Text/CSV and pick Tab as the delimiter - double-clicking a TSV often puts everything in a single column.
• Database: most engines can import delimited files; tell them the field separator is a tab.

How to convert a TSV file

The most common conversions are TSV to Excel, TSV to CSV, TSV to JSON and TSV to SQL. You can do them with Withdata:

• Small files, in the browser (free, nothing uploaded): Withdata Online Data Conversion handles CSV, Excel, JSON, XML and SQL.
• Large files, batch or scheduled jobs: the TSV to Excel and other data conversion tools use the DataFileConverter desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) - GUI and command line.
• Split or merge first: split a large TSV or merge TSV files before converting.

Frequently asked questions

Is TSV the same as CSV?

No, but they are very close. CSV separates columns with a comma; TSV separates them with a tab. TSV needs far less escaping, so it is popular when the data itself contains commas.

Is a TSV file just a text file?

Yes - it is plain text with a specific layout. You can open, diff and version it like any text file.

Why does my TSV open in one column in Excel?

Excel splits columns on a comma by default. Use Data → From Text/CSV and set the delimiter to Tab, or convert the file to CSV first.

Can I convert TSV to Excel without Excel installed?

Yes. The TSV to Excel converter writes real XLS/XLSX files without needing Excel on the machine, and can convert in batch from the command line.

Convert your TSV files now

Try the free online converters for small files, or the desktop apps for large and batch jobs. See also CSV vs JSON vs XML: file size and speed compared.