Staaarter Tools

TSV to XML Converter

Parses tab-separated values and wraps each row as a <row> element under a single <rows> root, the tab-delimited mirror of this category's CSV to XML Converter, producing well-formed XML from a TSV export. A free online tool from Staaarter, right in your browser.

Runs locallyUpdated 2026-07-23
conversionstructured-data

Overview

Introduction

TSV exports show up wherever commas would be ambiguous, a database dump, a command-line pipeline's output, a spreadsheet's tab-delimited save option, but the next step in a pipeline sometimes still expects XML. This converter closes that gap without a server round trip.

It's the tool to reach for when you've got tab-separated data in hand and need well-formed XML out the other side, wrapped and ready for a downstream system.

What Is TSV to XML Converter?

A TSV-to-XML converter that parses tab-delimited rows and maps each one onto a <row> element, using the header row's values as the child element tag names within every row, the tab-delimited mirror of the CSV to XML Converter.

Because TSV has no single root the way XML requires, every <row> is nested under one wrapping <rows> element, giving the document exactly the one root XML mandates.

How TSV to XML Converter Works

Your TSV is parsed the same way the TSV to JSON converter parses it: rows are split on tabs and mapped to objects keyed by the header row's values.

That array is then passed through the JSON to XML converter with the root name forced to rows and each item tagged as row, so the intermediate JSON representation and the XML output stay consistent with the rest of this category's conversion tools.

When To Use TSV to XML Converter

Use it when a downstream system, config loader, or legacy API requires XML but your data currently lives in a TSV export.

It's also useful for quickly previewing what tab-separated rows would look like as XML before writing a permanent import mapping.

Often used alongside XML to TSV Converter, CSV to XML Converter and JSON to XML Converter.

Features

Advantages

  • Runs entirely client-side, so TSV data with real business or customer information never leaves your browser.
  • Avoids CSV's comma-escaping questions entirely, since fields are already unambiguously tab-delimited.
  • Produces well-formed, single-root XML automatically, no manual wrapping required.
  • Reuses the same TSV-parsing and JSON-to-XML logic as this category's other conversion tools, so behavior is predictable.

Limitations

  • Column header names that aren't valid XML tag names fall back to a generic item tag.
  • Every value becomes an XML text node; there's no type inference (numbers and booleans stay as plain text content).
  • The <rows>/<row> wrapping is fixed, use the JSON to XML Converter separately if you need a different root or item tag name.

Examples

A simple TSV table

Input

id	name
1	Ada
2	Alan

Output

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rows>
  <row>
    <id>1</id>
    <name>Ada</name>
  </row>
  <row>
    <id>2</id>
    <name>Alan</name>
  </row>
</rows>

Each data row becomes a <row> element, with header values as child tag names.

A missing column in a row

Invalid input

id	name	email
1	Ada

Parser error

Row has fewer fields than the header at line 2

Every data row is expected to have the same number of tab-separated fields as the header.

Corrected version

id	name	email
1	Ada	ada@example.com

A well-formed two-column table

Input

sku	price
A100	19.99

Output

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rows>
  <row>
    <sku>A100</sku>
    <price>19.99</price>
  </row>
</rows>

Each header value becomes a matching child element inside the row.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

  • Include a header row, its values become the XML child element names for every row.
  • Keep header names as valid XML identifiers if you need them preserved as tag names exactly.
  • Make sure every row has the same number of tab-separated fields as the header.

Developer Notes

`tsvToXml` (in this category's `lib/tsv-to-xml-converter.ts`) mirrors `csvToXml` exactly: it calls `tsvToJson` from the JSON category, then pipes that array into `jsonToXml` with `rootName: "rows"` and each item wrapped under a `row` key. No TSV-parsing or XML-serialization logic is duplicated here.

TSV to XML Converter Use Cases

  • Feeding a TSV export into a legacy system or API that only accepts XML
  • Converting a database or spreadsheet's tab-delimited export into an XML test fixture
  • Previewing an XML shape for TSV data before writing a permanent import mapping
  • Migrating tabular data into an XML-based configuration format

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the header row, since column names are taken directly from the first TSV row.
  • Expecting a custom root or item tag name, the wrapping is fixed as <rows><row>.
  • Assuming numeric or boolean-looking TSV values become typed XML content; everything is text.

Tips

  • Pair with the XML to TSV Converter to check what a round trip does to your specific data.
  • Use the XML Prettifier afterward if you want different indentation than the default.
  • Make sure your source data is actually tab-delimited, not comma-delimited, before pasting.

References

Frequently Asked Questions