List to CSV Converter

Turn a plain list into a downloadable, spreadsheet-ready CSV file — or turn a CSV back into a plain list.

🔒 Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded or stored on a server.

The List to CSV Converter turns a plain list into a proper CSV file — the kind Excel, Google Sheets, CRMs and import wizards expect. Paste your items (one per line, or separated by commas, semicolons or tabs), optionally type a header row, and a spreadsheet-ready CSV appears instantly, ready to copy or download as a .csv file.

Also on Txtset: join items into one delimited line.

Unlike a simple comma separator, which joins everything into one delimited line, this converter builds a real table. Each item becomes a row — or you can lay the list out across 2 to 5 columns — with a header row on top and standard RFC 4180 quoting: values containing commas, quotes or line breaks are wrapped in double quotes and literal quotes are doubled, so the file opens correctly in every spreadsheet and survives every importer.

Choose comma, semicolon or tab as the delimiter (semicolon-delimited files are the norm for Excel in much of Europe), quote every value if your target system demands it, and let the trim and empty-item options tidy the input as you go. Everything runs locally in your browser — nothing you paste is uploaded — so it's safe for contact lists and internal data.

It also goes the other way. Switch the direction to CSV → List and paste a CSV instead: the tool reads it properly — quoted fields containing commas, line breaks inside a value, doubled quotes and all — and gives you back a plain list, one item per line. Tick “Skip the header row” to leave the column names behind, or type a number into “Column to take” to pull a single column out, which is the fastest way to get just the email addresses out of an exported spreadsheet. Leave it blank and every cell becomes a line.

The delimiter is detected from the first line of your CSV — and when it is detected, the Delimiter select on screen moves to show you which one was chosen, so the tool is never quietly using a different separator from the one you can see. Override it whenever the guess is wrong. In this direction the result downloads as a plain .txt file rather than a .csv, because a list of lines is not a spreadsheet.

How to use

  1. Leave the direction on “List → CSV”, or click “CSV → List” to go the other way.
  2. Paste your list — one item per line, or comma/semicolon/tab separated items are split automatically.
  3. Optionally type a header row, comma separated (e.g. “name, email”).
  4. Pick the number of columns to lay the list out across, and the delimiter: comma, semicolon or tab.
  5. Choose quoting: “Only when needed” follows the CSV standard; “Quote every value” wraps everything.
  6. Click “Copy CSV” or “Download .csv” and open the file in Excel or Google Sheets.
  7. Going the other way, paste your CSV, optionally skip the header row and type a column number to take just that column, then copy the list or download it as .txt.

Examples

Convert a name list to CSV format
Paste “Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Alan Turing”, type “name” as the header, and download a one-column names.csv that any import wizard accepts.
Contact list import
A pasted column of names with the header “name” downloads as a one-column .csv your CRM's import wizard accepts without complaints.
Commas inside values
The item “Acme, Inc.” becomes "Acme, Inc." in the file — quoted per the CSV standard, so it stays one cell instead of splitting into two.
Two-column layout
Eight items with 2 columns selected become a 4-row × 2-column table — handy for turning a flat list into a compact grid.
European spreadsheet
Choose the semicolon delimiter and the file opens correctly in Excel installations that expect ; instead of , as the separator.
CSV to list
Switch to “CSV → List”, paste an exported CSV, tick “Skip the header row” and every cell comes back as a plain line you can paste anywhere.
Extract one column
With “Column to take” set to 2, a two-column export of names and emails gives you just the email addresses, one per line, ready for a mail-merge field.

Frequently asked questions

Can it convert CSV back to a list?
Yes — click “CSV → List” at the top. It parses real CSV, including quoted fields that contain commas or line breaks, and returns one item per line. You can skip the header row and take a single column by number, and the result downloads as a .txt file.
How do I extract just one column from a CSV?
Switch to “CSV → List”, paste the CSV, and type the column's position into “Column to take” — 1 for the first column, 2 for the second, and so on. Leave it blank to get every cell as its own line.
How does it know which delimiter my CSV uses?
It counts the commas, semicolons and tabs on the first line and picks the most likely one — then moves the Delimiter select to that value so you can see the choice and change it if the guess is wrong.
What's the difference between this and the Comma Separator?
The Comma Separator joins items into one delimited line of text — for SQL IN clauses, code arrays or an email To-field. The List to CSV Converter builds a multi-row .csv file with a header row, columns and standard quoting, made to be opened in a spreadsheet or fed to an import wizard.
How are commas or quotes inside an item handled?
By the CSV standard (RFC 4180): any value containing the delimiter, a double quote or a line break is wrapped in double quotes, and literal quotes are doubled — “5" pipe” becomes "5"" pipe". Excel and Google Sheets read that back exactly as you typed it.
Can I add column names?
Yes — type them comma separated into the Header row field (e.g. “name, email, city”) and they become the first line of the CSV. Leave the field blank for a headerless file.
What does the Columns option do?
It lays your list out across the page: with 3 columns, items 1–3 form the first row, items 4–6 the second, and so on. The last row is padded with empty cells so every row has the same width.
Which delimiter should I choose?
Comma is the default and what most tools expect. Choose semicolon if the file is for Excel set to a European locale (where , is the decimal separator), or tab for TSV files and quick pasting into a spreadsheet.
Is my list uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion and the .csv download happen entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to a server, so contact lists and internal data stay on your machine.