A precise semicolon to JSON array converter for European CSV exports, where the comma is already the decimal separator, computed locally.
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The tool
This tool takes a semicolon-separated list and splits it on every semicolon, trims each value, and returns a formatted JSON array. It solves the same problem as the comma converter, aimed at the delimiter a significant share of the world's spreadsheet exports actually use.
The conversion runs entirely in JavaScript in your browser. There is no request sent to a server, and no run limit, since nothing here costs anything to serve.
Where the format comes from
In much of Europe, and in many other locales, the comma functions as the decimal separator, so a value of three and a half is written '3,5' rather than '3.5'. A spreadsheet configured for one of these locales cannot reliably use a plain comma as its field separator without it repeatedly colliding with decimal commas already present in the numbers.
Excel and comparable software resolve this by switching the field separator to a semicolon whenever the system's regional settings put a comma at the decimal point. The exported file is still named and opened as a CSV, but the character actually separating the columns is a semicolon.
How it works
No configuration, no locale to select in advance.
Why it matters
Open a semicolon-delimited European export with a tool that assumes a comma separator, and one of two outcomes follows: either the entire row reads as a single column because there is no comma to split on, or a decimal comma inside a number is mistaken for a column boundary and a single price or quantity is silently split in two.
That second failure mode is the more dangerous one, since it produces data that looks plausible rather than an obvious parsing error, which is exactly why matching the delimiter to the actual export matters more here than for a plain comma list.
Why the design holds
Because the semicolon, not the comma, performs the delimiting in this format, a value like '3,5' for a decimal figure, or 'Doe, Jean' for a name, passes through intact. The comma inside the value is simply a character in the text as far as this converter is concerned; only a literal semicolon marks a boundary.
That is the entire rationale behind the format: it allows locales that use a comma as a decimal point to keep using commas normally within their data, while retaining an unambiguous character to separate one field from the next.
Straight answer
No. Like the comma converter, this is a plain delimiter split rather than an RFC 4180-style parser with quoting rules. A semicolon inside a quoted field, uncommon but not impossible, would still be treated as a boundary here.
For the large majority of semicolon-separated lists, plain values containing no semicolon of their own, this distinction never surfaces. It matters only for genuinely quoted, semicolon-containing fields, which are rare.
Who it's for
Developers integrating with European accounting, ERP or government data exports use it to get a semicolon-delimited row into JSON without configuring a full CSV parser for a single file. Anyone who has opened a '.csv' file from a French, German, Italian or Spanish source and found every value crammed into one column reaches for this once they identify the real separator as a semicolon.
Localisation and data engineering teams use it to normalise exports drawn from multiple regions into one consistent JSON structure before passing them to an API that expects a uniform array shape.
All answered in full, nothing to click open.
Paste the list into the input field and press Convert. Each semicolon-separated value becomes one array item.
Yes. No signup, no length cap, no run limit, since the conversion runs on your own device.
No, the split runs entirely client side. Nothing is transmitted, stored or logged.
Because the software that exported it uses a locale where the comma is the decimal separator, so it substitutes a semicolon as the field separator.
No. Only semicolons are treated as boundaries here, so a comma functioning as a decimal point passes through untouched.
It's trimmed automatically, so 'red ; blue; green' returns as three clean items.
No, this is a plain delimiter split, not a full CSV parser, so a semicolon inside a quoted field is still treated as a boundary.
The empty item between them is dropped, and a trailing semicolon at the end does not produce a blank final entry.
No. There's no cap and no run limit, only your device's own memory.
Yes, the layout adapts to narrow screens.
This splits on semicolons, which many European CSV exports actually use. The comma converter splits on commas, used elsewhere and for plain lists.
The file is very likely semicolon-delimited, typical of spreadsheets set to a European locale, so a comma-based reader finds nothing to split on.
Yes, semicolon delimiting is common across most locales where the comma serves as the decimal separator.
Not currently. This is a single-paste, browser-based converter.
Yes, it converts any semicolon-separated text identically, regardless of whether the values are numeric.
No, every semicolon-separated value becomes its own array entry, duplicates included.
Yes, it's built with JSON.stringify. It cannot confirm the split points matched your intent, only that the result parses.
Yes, pasted prose with a semicolon joining two clauses will be treated as a boundary and split the sentence apart. This converter is built for delimited data, not running text.
Yes, nothing is transmitted anywhere. Processing happens locally in your browser.
Open it in a plain text editor and inspect the raw characters between values. Absent any semicolon, use the comma converter instead.
Computed locally, no upload, no run limit.
Open the converter