About

This TSV to JSON Converter transforms raw Tab-Separated Values into structured JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). While TSV is excellent for simple spreadsheets and database exports (often simpler than CSV due to lack of comma escaping), JSON is the standard for web APIs and NoSQL databases.

The tool uses a deterministic parsing algorithm where Data is split by the newline character \n into rows, and each row is split by the tab character \t. If the Smart Parse option is enabled, values like 42 or true are converted from strings to their native types, reducing file size and post-processing needs.

Formulas

The conversion follows a mapping function where a TSV row R is transformed into a JSON Object O based on the Header row H.

O_i = {

H_j : R_i,jfor all columns j

Reference Data

Feature	TSV (Tab-Separated)	JSON (JavaScript Object)
Delimiter	Tab Character (\t)	Commas, Braces, Colons
Structure	Flat Table (2D Grid)	Hierarchical Tree
Data Types	String (mostly)	String, Number, Boolean, Null, Array, Object
Readability	High (looks like text)	Medium (syntax heavy)
Web Native	No	Yes (Native JS support)

Frequently Asked Questions

If a row has fewer tab-separated columns than the header row, the tool will either assign null or an empty string, depending on your configuration. It ensures the JSON structure remains valid.

By default, TSV treats everything as text. Smart Parsing analyzes the content. If a cell contains 10.5, it outputs a Number, not a String "10.5". This creates strictly typed JSON.

Array of Objects (Standard) repeats keys for every row: [{id:1}, {id:2}]. Array of Arrays (Compressed) lists keys once: [[id], [1], [2]]. The latter is significantly smaller in file size.

No. All conversion happens client-side in your browser using JavaScript. Your data never leaves your device.