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TSV to JSON Converter

Convert Tab-Separated Values (TSV) to JSON format

File Converters

Tip: Paste your TSV data with tab-separated values. The first row will be used as object keys in the JSON output.

Runs in your browser

Input TSV

Convert TSV to JSON in your browser

Paste tab-separated text, open a .tsv file or drop it on the input window, and the JSON appears as you type. Every line after the header becomes one object in a JSON array, keyed by the column names. Copy the result or download it as a .json file.

The fastest source of TSV is a spreadsheet: select cells in Excel or Google Sheets, copy, and paste them here, header row included. Commas inside a cell need no quotes, because only tabs separate the columns.

TSV to JSON example

Real output for a small product list. Quantities become numbers, the SKUs and the price 4.50 stay strings:

products.tsv 
sku	product	qty	price
00412	Desk lamp, brass	2	39.9
00977	USB-C cable	10	4.50
products.json 
[
  {
    "sku": "00412",
    "product": "Desk lamp, brass",
    "qty": 2,
    "price": 39.9
  },
  {
    "sku": "00977",
    "product": "USB-C cable",
    "qty": 10,
    "price": "4.50"
  }
]

Which TSV cells become JSON numbers

A cell becomes a number only when the number reads back exactly as the cell. Everything else stays a string:

  • TSV

    2, 10, 39.9

    JSON

    Become numbers. Writing them as JSON numbers loses nothing.

  • TSV

    00412, 4.50

    JSON

    Stay strings. As numbers they would turn into 412 and 4.5, and an SKU or a price label would change.

  • TSV

    12/03/2025, TRUE

    JSON

    Stay strings as well. Dates and spreadsheet booleans are not guessed, so your code decides what they mean.

  • TSV

    An empty cell

    JSON

    Becomes an empty string, and a line with fewer cells than the header gets empty strings for the rest, so all objects share the same keys.

Tabs, quotes and column names

Handled

  • A cell copied with a line break, which spreadsheets put in double quotes, stays one value with \n in the JSON
  • Header names are trimmed, an empty one becomes column_N and a repeated one gets its position added
  • Blank lines are skipped instead of becoming empty objects

Not done

  • Split on commas or spaces: use the CSV to JSON converter for comma-separated data
  • Nest objects from names like address.city
  • Keep cells beyond the last header column

Need the TSV back?

The JSON to TSV converter writes an array of objects back to tab-separated rows you can paste into a sheet.

TSV to JSON questions

Select the cells in Excel or Google Sheets with the header row, copy them and paste them into the input window. The clipboard holds TSV, so the JSON appears at once.

As a JSON number it would become 4.5, and the value would no longer match your sheet. Values that read back the same, such as 39.9 or 10, become numbers.

Yes. Click Open file and pick a .tsv, .tab or .txt file, or drop it on the input window; Download saves the JSON as a .json file.

The output is indented with two spaces. For a single line, paste it into the JSON minifier; to validate and re-indent JSON after you edit it, the JSON beautifier.

No. Converting runs in your browser, and an opened file is read there too.