Export SQL Data as Tab-Delimited TSV

Convert SQL INSERT data to tab-separated values (TSV) format. Tab delimiters avoid quoting issues when data contains commas.

Export Options

Detailed Explanation

Tab-Separated Values (TSV) Export

While CSV uses commas as delimiters, Tab-Separated Values (TSV) uses tab characters. TSV is often preferred when the data itself contains many commas, as it reduces the need for quoting and makes the output cleaner.

Example SQL

INSERT INTO addresses (id, name, street, city, state, zip) VALUES
  (1, 'Smith, John', '123 Main St, Apt 4B', 'New York', 'NY', '10001'),
  (2, 'Johnson, Jane', '456 Oak Ave, Suite 200', 'Los Angeles', 'CA', '90210'),
  (3, 'Williams, Bob', '789 Pine Rd', 'Chicago', 'IL', '60601');

CSV Output (comma-delimited)

id,name,street,city,state,zip
1,"Smith, John","123 Main St, Apt 4B",New York,NY,10001
2,"Johnson, Jane","456 Oak Ave, Suite 200",Los Angeles,CA,90210
3,"Williams, Bob","789 Pine Rd",Chicago,IL,60601

TSV Output (tab-delimited)

id	name	street	city	state	zip
1	Smith, John	123 Main St, Apt 4B	New York	NY	10001
2	Johnson, Jane	456 Oak Ave, Suite 200	Los Angeles	CA	90210
3	Williams, Bob	789 Pine Rd	Chicago	IL	60601

Why Use TSV?

  • Fewer quotes: Commas in data don't trigger quoting in TSV
  • Cleaner paste: Tab-delimited data pastes cleanly into spreadsheets
  • Log analysis: Many log processing tools expect TSV
  • Database import: Some LOAD DATA INFILE commands default to tab delimiters

When you select the Tab delimiter, the Download button automatically changes the file extension to .tsv and the MIME type to text/tab-separated-values.

Use Case

Preparing address data, catalog entries, or any data with frequent commas for import into systems that handle TSV more cleanly, such as MySQL LOAD DATA INFILE or awk scripts.

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