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Excel XLSX to CSV converter

XLSX to CSV runs through our table engine, with the first sheet exported by default unless you choose another sheet.

  • Converted with Table engine · nothing stored
  • Free: 5 conversions a day · 5 MB each
  • Higher limits →

From real runs

What you get — and what changes

  • Sheet selection Changed

    Only one sheet is exported per CSV; choose the sheet option or accept the first sheet default.

  • Formula cells Changed

    CSV receives cached formula values from the workbook, not the formula expressions themselves.

  • Dates Changed

    Date cells are written as ISO strings unless the cell was stored as text in Excel.

  • Merged cells Changed

    A merged range contributes the value in the top-left cell only; the other cells export as empty.

  • Hidden rows Kept

    Hidden rows are included because the conversion reads workbook data, not the current visual filter state.

  • Text leading zeros Kept

    ZIP codes and SKU cells stored as text keep leading zeros in CSV output.

  • Workbook styling Lost

    Cell colors, borders, fonts, freeze panes, filters, comments, charts, and widths are not representable in CSV.

Sample conversions

Merged header cells

Input
Workbook: row 1 has merged cells A1:C1 = "Q3 Orders"; row 2 has Order ID, ZIP, Total; data row 1001, text 02134, formula total cached as 1234.5.
Output
CSV includes Q3 Orders in A1 only, blanks for B1 and C1, then Order ID,ZIP,Total and 1001,02134,1234.5.

Date cells

Input
Excel Sheet1: invoice,due_date\nINV-42,date cell formatted 9/10/2026
Output
CSV: invoice,due_date\nINV-42,2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z unless the due_date cell was stored as literal text.

Hidden reconciliation rows

Input
Workbook has visible rows 1-10 and hidden row 11 with adjustment -19.95.
Output
CSV includes row 11, so totals match the underlying workbook rather than the filtered view.

A real Excel XLSX → CSV run

We converted our Excel XLSX sample (17 KB) with Table engine on 2026-09-11. It took 5 ms and produced a 225 B CSV file, 99% smaller than the input. The engine raised 2 warnings, listed below.

Input · sample.xlsx · 17 KB

Workbook with 2 sheets (Pipeline, Notes); first sheet 5 rows, 25 cells, 0 formulas

Sheets
2
Sheet names
Pipeline, Notes
Rows
5
Cells
25
Formulas
0
frozenHeader
no

Output · sample.csv · 225 B

4 data rows × 5 columns; header: company,stage,arr,owner,close_date

Rows
4
Columns
5
Header
company,stage,arr,owner,close_date
  • Workbook contains multiple sheets; each sheet was exposed as its own IR table.
  • Only the first table was written to this single-table format.

First lines of the output

csv
company,stage,arr,owner,close_date
Northwind Traders,Proposal,48000,R. Ayers,2026-10-14
Contoso Ltd,Negotiation,120000,P. Ng,2026-09-30
Fabrikam,Qualified,22500,R. Ayers,2026-11-02
Tailspin Toys,Won,64000,M. Okafor,2026-09-03

Options and when to change them

sheet
Pick a named sheet when the workbook contains instructions, pivots, or lookup tabs before the data sheet.
dateHandling
Use ISO dates for machine imports; choose text-preserving behavior when spreadsheet display text is legally or operationally important.
delimiter
Keep comma for standard CSV or choose semicolon/tab when your target system expects a regional or TSV-style export.

Do it yourself

pandas

bash
python - <<'PY'
import pandas as pd
pd.read_excel("in.xlsx", sheet_name=0).to_csv("out.csv", index=False)
PY

pandas may coerce text-looking numbers unless dtype is specified for sensitive columns.

csvkit in2csv

bash
in2csv --sheet 'Sheet1' in.xlsx > out.csv

Install csvkit locally; sheet names must match exactly.

xlsx2csv

bash
xlsx2csv -s 1 in.xlsx out.csv

Sheet numbering is positional, so check the workbook order before automating.

Excel XLSX to CSV by API or MCP

The HTTP API and the MCP server run the exact engine this page uses (Table engine); the response carries the same warnings the web converter shows. Check support first with GET /api/v1/pairs?from=xlsx&to=csv.

curl
curl -X POST https://filetypeconverters.com/api/v1/convert \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FTC_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@input.xlsx" -F "from=xlsx" -F "to=csv" \
  -F 'options={"sheet":""}' \
  --output output.csv

Options this engine accepts for Excel XLSX → CSV

KeyApplies toTypeDefault
sheetReading Excel XLSXstring
headerRowIndexReading Excel XLSXnumber0
dateHandlingReading Excel XLSXdate · stringdate
delimiterWriting CSVstring,
newlineWriting CSV ·
API reference

When this is the wrong conversion

  • Do not choose CSV if the recipient needs formulas, multiple sheets, charts, comments, or cell formatting.
  • If merged headers carry meaning, clean them into repeated labels before conversion or use XLSX/JSON instead.
  • For large analytical datasets, Parquet may be smaller and type-safe compared with CSV.

Excel XLSX to CSV questions

Which sheet is exported from XLSX to CSV?

The first sheet is exported by default. Use the sheet option to choose another tab before downloading the CSV.

Are Excel formulas preserved in CSV?

No. CSV receives cached formula values only. The formula text cannot be represented in a plain CSV file.

Are hidden rows included?

Yes. Hidden rows are included because the browser converter reads workbook cells, not the current visible Excel view.

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