.csv — Comma-Separated Values
Data text/csv
What a .csv file is
Plain text where each line is a row and commas separate the fields. No types, no formulas, no formatting — which is exactly why it is universal.
How to open it
Any spreadsheet or text editor. For a clean import, use Excel's import wizard rather than double-clicking the file.
Worth knowing
Excel mangles leading zeros and long numbers on open, and some locales expect semicolons instead of commas. Convert CSV to JSON if you are feeding a program rather than a person.
Other data formats
- .json — JavaScript Object Notation
- .yaml — YAML Ain't Markup Language
- .sql — SQL Script
- .parquet — Apache Parquet