European CSV exports, turned into JSON.
Free semicolon to JSON array converter. Paste a semicolon-separated list, common in European CSV exports, and get a clean JSON array back.
Semicolon to JSON array
Paste a semicolon-separated list and this tool splits it on every semicolon, trims each value, and returns a formatted JSON array. It is the same job as a comma-to-array converter, aimed at the delimiter that a large share of the world actually exports spreadsheet data with.
It runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded, there is no signup, and there is no limit on how many lists you convert.
Where the format comes from
In much of Europe and in many other locales worldwide, the comma is the decimal separator, so a value like three and a half is written '3,5' rather than '3.5'. A spreadsheet configured for one of these locales cannot use a plain comma as its CSV field separator without constantly colliding with the decimal commas already inside the numbers.
Excel and other spreadsheet software resolve this by switching the field separator itself to a semicolon whenever the system's regional settings use a comma as the decimal point. The file is still called a CSV and still opens the same way, but the character actually separating the columns is a semicolon, not a comma.
How it works
Nothing to configure, no locale setting to select first.
Why it matters
Open a semicolon-delimited European CSV export with a tool that assumes a comma separator and one of two things happens: either the whole row is read as a single column because there was no comma to split on, or, worse, a decimal comma inside a number gets mistaken for a column boundary and a single price or quantity is quietly split into two.
This is a common source of silently wrong data rather than an obvious error message, which is exactly why matching the delimiter to the actual export matters more here than it does for a plain comma list.
The underlying reason
Because the semicolon, not the comma, is doing the delimiting in this format, a value like '3,5' for a decimal number, or 'Doe, Jean' for a name, passes straight through unharmed. The comma inside the value is just a character in the text as far as this converter is concerned; only a literal semicolon is treated as a boundary.
That is the whole point of the format choice: it lets locales that use a comma as a decimal point keep using commas normally inside their data, while still having a reliable, unambiguous character to separate one field from the next.
Straight answer
No. Like the comma converter, this is a plain delimiter split, not an RFC 4180-style parser with quoting rules. A semicolon inside a quoted field, rare but not impossible, would still be treated as a boundary here.
For the overwhelming majority of semicolon-separated lists, plain values with no semicolon of their own, this distinction never matters. It is only relevant for genuinely quoted, semicolon-containing fields, which are uncommon.
Who uses it
Developers integrating with European accounting, ERP or government data exports use it to get a semicolon-delimited row into JSON without reconfiguring a whole CSV parser for one file. Anyone who has opened a '.csv' file from a French, German, Italian or Spanish source and found every value bunched into one column uses it once they realise the actual separator is a semicolon.
Localisation and data teams use it when normalising exports from multiple regions into a single JSON structure before feeding them to an API that expects a consistent array shape regardless of where the source file came from.
FAQ
Everything below is answered in full, nothing to click open.
Paste the list into the box above and press Convert. Each semicolon-separated value becomes one array item.
Yes. No signup, no paste limit, no usage limit, it runs entirely in your browser.
No. The split runs on your own device. Nothing is transmitted or stored.
Because the software that exported it uses a locale where the comma is the decimal separator, so it uses a semicolon as the field separator instead to avoid colliding with decimal numbers.
No. Only semicolons are treated as boundaries here, so a comma used as a decimal point inside a value passes through untouched.
They are trimmed automatically, so 'red ; blue; green' comes back as three clean items.
No. This is a plain delimiter split, not a full CSV parser, so a semicolon inside a quoted field would still be treated as a boundary.
The empty item between them is dropped, and a trailing semicolon at the end does not produce a blank final item.
Yes, there is no length cap and no run limit.
Yes, the layout stacks on narrow screens.
This splits on semicolons, which is what many European CSV exports actually use. The comma tool splits on commas, used elsewhere and for plain lists.
The file is very likely semicolon-delimited rather than comma-delimited, common for 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 is the decimal separator, which includes most of continental Europe and beyond.
Not yet. Paste, convert, copy is the fastest route for now.
Yes, it converts any semicolon-separated text the same way, whether or not the values happen to be numeric.
No, every semicolon-separated value becomes its own array item, including repeats.
The output is always syntactically valid JSON, built with JSON.stringify. It cannot tell you whether the split points matched your intent.
Yes, if you paste prose rather than delimited data, a semicolon joining two clauses will be treated as a boundary and split the sentence apart. This tool is meant 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 look at the raw characters between values. If commas separate the fields and there's a semicolon nowhere in sight, use the comma tool instead.
Paste, convert, copy. Nothing leaves your browser and there is no limit on how often you use it.
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