Convert CSV to JSON for spreadsheet data cleanup

Problem

CSV exports are easy to move between spreadsheets, but APIs and test fixtures usually expect JSON. Problems appear when headers are missing, delimiters differ, or empty cells need consistent handling.

When to use this

• A spreadsheet export needs to be pasted into an API request.
• A product or customer list needs to become a JSON fixture.
• A CSV file should be checked before importing it into an internal tool.

Steps

1. Step 1

   Check the header row

   Make sure the first row contains stable field names that can become JSON keys.

2. Step 2

   Convert CSV to JSON

   Paste the CSV and convert it into an array of objects so each row becomes a structured record.

3. Step 3

   Inspect empty and numeric-looking fields

   Decide whether empty cells should stay empty strings, null values, or be removed before importing.

4. Step 4

   Format the JSON result

   Pretty-print the JSON output before using it in tests, examples, or API debugging.

Example

id,email,plan
42,dev@example.com,pro
43,ops@example.com,starter

[
  {
    "id": "42",
    "email": "dev@example.com",
    "plan": "pro"
  },
  {
    "id": "43",
    "email": "ops@example.com",
    "plan": "starter"
  }
]

Common mistakes

FAQ