Guide
CSV Delimiter Problems: Why Your Import Fails and How to Fix It
CSV imports failing? 9 times out of 10 it's a delimiter mismatch. Here's how to detect and fix separator issues in seconds.
You exported a CSV from your accounting software, imported it into Excel, and everything landed in one column. Sound familiar?
The delimiter problem
CSV stands for "Comma-Separated Values," but in practice, the separator can be:
- Comma (,): The standard, but breaks with European number formats
- Semicolon (;): Common in European locales (Excel uses this by default in some regions)
- Tab (\t): Often used for TSV files
- Pipe (|): Used when data contains commas and semicolons
When the import tool expects a comma but gets a semicolon (or vice versa), all your data ends up in the first column.
How to detect the delimiter
Our CSV Delimiter Detector analyzes the first line and tells you exactly which separator is being used. Paste a few lines and it'll show you the delimiter character and match count.
How to convert to the right format
Once you know the delimiter, use the CSV/TSV Batch Converter to transform your file. Select the right preset:
- Excel CSV: comma + CRLF + UTF-8 BOM (safest for Excel)
- TSV: tab + LF (good for backend pipelines)
- Custom: your own settings
For deeper debugging
If you're still stuck, the CSV Inspector combines delimiter detection, column counting, and broken-row checking in one view. It's the fastest way to understand what's wrong with a CSV file.
See the CSV Debug Kit for a complete step-by-step workflow.