How is this different from the XML to CSV Converter?

Only the delimiter between fields differs, tabs here instead of commas. Both share the same XML-to-JSON flattening step, so a document that converts cleanly to CSV converts identically to TSV, just with different field separators.

Why would I want TSV instead of CSV?

TSV avoids any ambiguity around commas inside values, since tabs rarely appear in real data, and it pastes cleanly into spreadsheet apps and many command-line tools (like cut and awk) without needing quote-escaping rules the way CSV does.

What happens to XML attributes in the TSV output?

Attributes are represented as @-prefixed keys during the intermediate JSON step, so they become their own column (e.g. an id attribute becomes an "@id" column) rather than being dropped.

What XML shape converts cleanly to TSV?

TSV, like CSV, is inherently tabular, so this works best on XML representing a flat or shallow list of records. Deeply nested or highly irregular XML still converts, but the resulting columns reflect that nesting in their names.

What happens if my XML isn't well-formed?

Conversion requires valid XML as its starting point, so a syntax error is reported with its exact line and column before any TSV is produced.

XML to TSV Converter - Convert XML to TSV Online

Overview

Introduction

Tab-separated values sidestep the comma-escaping questions CSV raises, since tabs almost never appear inside real field values, which makes TSV a common choice for command-line pipelines and quick pastes into a spreadsheet. This converter produces TSV straight from XML.

It's built for the same everyday case as the XML to CSV Converter: an XML feed or export lands in your hands and what you actually need is a table, just with tabs instead of commas.

What Is XML to TSV Converter?

An XML-to-TSV converter that flattens an XML document's element and attribute structure into rows of tab-separated values, with a header row naming each column, the tab-delimited mirror of the XML to CSV Converter.

Under the hood it's the same two-step pipeline as the CSV version: XML is first converted to an equivalent JSON structure, then that JSON is flattened, this time with tabs, reusing the same conversion logic across both tools.

How XML to TSV Converter Works

Your XML is parsed and mapped onto plain JSON the same way the XML to JSON Converter does: elements become keys, attributes become @-prefixed keys, and repeated sibling tags become arrays.

That JSON value is then flattened into TSV rows, nested paths become dotted or bracketed column names, and the result is serialized with a header row followed by one tab-separated row per record.

When To Use XML to TSV Converter

Use it when you've received an XML export, feed, or API response and need it as TSV for a spreadsheet paste, a command-line pipeline, or a tool that expects tab delimiting specifically.

It's also a safer default than CSV when field values might contain commas, since tabs are far less likely to appear inside real data.

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

Features

Advantages

Runs entirely client-side, so XML with real customer or business data never leaves your browser.
Handles nested elements and attributes by flattening them into clearly named columns.
Avoids comma-escaping ambiguity entirely, since the delimiter is a tab character.
Reuses the same battle-tested XML-to-JSON flattening logic as the XML to CSV Converter, so behavior is predictable and consistent.

Limitations

Works best on shallow, list-like XML; deeply nested or highly irregular documents produce correspondingly complex column names.
Mixed content (text interleaved with child elements) doesn't have a clean tabular representation and may be simplified.
Doesn't infer or enforce column types; every TSV cell is text.

Examples

A simple record list

Input

<users><user><id>1</id><name>Ada</name></user><user><id>2</id><name>Alan</name></user></users>

Output

id	name
1	Ada
2	Alan

Each <user> element becomes a row, and its child elements become tab-separated columns.

An attribute becomes its own column

Input

<items><item id="1"><label>Widget</label></item></items>

Output

@id	label
1	Widget

The id attribute survives the XML-to-JSON step as "@id" and becomes a dedicated column.

An unclosed tag is caught before conversion

Invalid input

<items><item>value</items>

Parser error

Unclosed tag <item> at line 1, column 28

Well-formedness is checked first, exactly as the XML Validator would report it.

Corrected version

<items><item>value</item></items>

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Use this on record-shaped XML (a repeated element under one wrapper) for the cleanest TSV output.
Prefer TSV over CSV when your data might contain commas, to avoid any quoting ambiguity.
Run the XML Validator first if you're unsure whether the source document is well-formed.

Developer Notes

`xmlToTsv` (in this category's `lib/xml-to-tsv-converter.ts`) mirrors `xmlToCsv` exactly: it calls `xmlToJson` from the JSON category, then pipes that output into `jsonToTsv`, also from the JSON category, instead of `jsonToCsv`. No new parsing or flattening logic lives in the XML category for either tool.

XML to TSV Converter Use Cases

Turning an XML export from a legacy system into a tab-separated table for a spreadsheet
Feeding XML data into a command-line pipeline (cut, awk) that expects tab delimiting
Reviewing an RSS or API feed's records as a table instead of scrolling raw markup
Producing a TSV fixture from a sample XML document for tests

Common Mistakes

Feeding deeply nested XML and expecting simple, human-friendly column names, flattening reflects the actual nesting depth.
Assuming column order is preserved from the source XML when downstream tooling reorders or re-sorts columns.
Forgetting that every TSV cell is plain text, so numeric- or boolean-looking values may need re-parsing downstream.

Tips

Pair with the TSV to XML Converter to check what a round trip does to your specific document.
Use the XML to JSON converter first if you want to inspect the intermediate structure before it's flattened.
Upload a .xml file directly instead of copy-pasting if the document is large.

XML to TSV Converter