TSV or CSV — which should I use?

TSV when your data contains commas, since it avoids CSV's quoting rules entirely. CSV when the receiving system expects it, which is more often the case.

Will it open in the browser?

Yes, as text. It can also be fetched directly by scripts and spreadsheet import functions.

Can I update the data without changing the link?

Yes — republish to the same address, and anything pulling from that URL picks up the new data on its next fetch.

Host a TSV file and share it as a link

Put tab-separated data online at its own address — it opens in the browser, and any tool that reads data can fetch it from the URL.

You can host:

Drop your TSV file here

Any other file works too — up to 25.0 MB, or 100.0 MB for a whole site

Free to use. Your TSV file is live at your-name.99helpers.site in about ten seconds.

What is a .tsv file?

TSV stores tabular data as plain text with tab characters between fields. It's CSV's less ambiguous sibling: because tabs almost never appear inside data, there's no need for the quoting rules that make CSV parsing fiddly — which is why bioinformatics and data engineering often prefer it.

What people use TSV files for

Data exports where fields contain commas
Scientific and bioinformatics datasets
Import files for systems that expect tabs
Data pipelines between tools

What opens a TSV file

Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc
pandas, R and every analysis language
Any browser, which displays it as text
Command-line tools like awk and cut

How to host a TSV file

1
Drop your TSV file in
Drag it onto the box at the top of this page, or click to choose it. Files up to 25 MB are supported, and nothing is uploaded until you publish.
2
Pick an address
Type a name and we'll tell you straight away whether it's free. That becomes the link: dataset.99helpers.site
3
Publish and share
Create a free account — that step exists so the file is yours to update, replace or delete — and the link is live within seconds.

The same three steps work for any file — see how file hosting works on 99helpers.com.

What happens when someone opens the link

The data appears as text in the browser, and can be fetched directly by a script or a spreadsheet's import-from-URL feature.

Why host a TSV file instead of emailing it?

A dataset at a stable URL is more useful than one in an attachment: a colleague can eyeball it in the browser, and a script can fetch it on a schedule. Republishing updates every consumer at once.

Worth knowing before you publish

Save as UTF-8 so non-Latin characters survive.
TSV avoids CSV's quoting headaches, but check your data contains no literal tab characters.
Very large files are slow to render in a browser, though they download and parse fine.

TSV hosting questions

TSV or CSV — which should I use?: TSV when your data contains commas, since it avoids CSV's quoting rules entirely. CSV when the receiving system expects it, which is more often the case.
Will it open in the browser?: Yes, as text. It can also be fetched directly by scripts and spreadsheet import functions.
Can I update the data without changing the link?: Yes — republish to the same address, and anything pulling from that URL picks up the new data on its next fetch.

Put your TSV file online now

It takes about ten seconds, and you only make an account once the file is ready to go live.

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Hosting guides for related formats

Host a CSV file Host an Excel spreadsheet (XLSX)Host a JSON file Host a text file

TSV is one of over 211 formats you can host — see free file hosting for any file type for the full list, or read the hosting guides for other file types.