CSV to JSON — Complete Guide
CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is one of the oldest and most widely supported data formats — nearly every application can export to it. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the dominant format for web APIs and modern applications. Converting CSV to JSON bridges these two worlds.
Parsing CSV Correctly
A correct CSV parser must handle: quoted fields (fields containing commas wrapped in double-quotes), embedded newlines inside quoted fields, escaped double-quotes ("" inside a quoted field), and varying delimiters. Our parser follows RFC 4180 exactly.
Output Format Options
- Array of Objects — Most common. Each row becomes an object with header keys:
[{"name":"Alice","age":30}] - Array of Arrays — Raw 2D array including headers:
[["name","age"],["Alice","30"]] - Keyed Object — First column becomes the key:
{"Alice":{"age":30}}
Auto-parsing Numbers
CSV stores everything as text. With Auto-parse numbers enabled, values like "42" become JSON 42 and "3.14" becomes 3.14. Disable this if you need to preserve leading zeros (e.g. postal codes like "01234").