Name: CSV to JSON Converter
Author: PureFormatter

Question 1

Does the first row need to be headers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the converter assumes the first row contains column names that become JSON object keys. This is the standard CSV convention used by Excel, Google Sheets, and database exports. If your CSV does not have a header row, you can add one manually before converting. The header values become the keys in each JSON object.

Question 2

Are data types inferred automatically?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The converter infers types from cell values. Numbers are parsed as JavaScript numbers, true and false become booleans, empty cells become null, and everything else remains a string. This produces cleaner JSON than if everything were kept as strings. If you need all values as strings for a specific use case, you can modify the output after conversion.

Question 3

How are quoted fields and commas inside values handled?

Accepted Answer

The converter correctly parses RFC 4180 CSV format where fields containing commas or newlines are enclosed in double quotes, and double quotes within fields are escaped by doubling them. This means Excel-exported CSV files with complex data are parsed accurately without data loss or corruption.

Question 4

What if my CSV uses semicolons instead of commas?

Accepted Answer

PureFormatter's CSV converter currently supports comma-delimited files only. If your CSV uses semicolons (common in European locales), you can do a find-and-replace to swap semicolons for commas before pasting, taking care to avoid replacing semicolons inside quoted string values. Full delimiter selection is planned for a future update.

CSV to JSON Converter

What is a CSV to JSON Converter?

How to Use PureFormatter

Frequently Asked Questions