What Is a .tsv File? .tsv Format, MIME & How to Open

Quick facts

Extension.tsv

File typeTSV Data File

MIME typetext/tab-separated-values

CategoryData & Text

Charset—

CompressibleYes

Format familycsv

What is .tsv

What is a .tsv file?

A .tsv file is a TSV Data File — Tab-separated values for tabular data interchange.

In the mime-db registry it maps to text/tab-separated-values, and it is marked as compressible. When serving .tsv over HTTP, set the Content-Type header as shown in Developer info below.

Related entities: it maps to text/tab-separated-values and is used by TSV among others — and is delivered over HTTP via the Content-Type header.

How to open .tsv files

Use Excel or VS Code to open and edit .tsv files.
Any text editor (Notepad, VS Code) can inspect the raw content as text.

Developer info

When served over HTTP, responses should set the following header:

Content-Type: text/tab-separated-values

Common software that reads/writes .tsv:

ExcelVS CodePython

Relation chain

.tsvextension of

format

csvserved as

mime type

text/tab-separated-valuessent via header

http header

Related extensions

Related MIME types

text/tab-separated-values

.tsv

Related programming languages

TSV

.tsv .vcf

Common uses

Configuration files
Data interchange between systems
API request and response payloads
Logs and data exports

How to edit .tsv files

Open the file with Excel, make your changes and save.
Most editors preserve the original formatting and encoding — avoid changing the charset.

How to create .tsv files

Create a new file and save it with the .tsv extension, or export this format from Excel.

Frequently asked questions

What programs can open .tsv files?

Common options include Excel, VS Code, Python. You can also open many of these files with built-in viewers or a browser.

How do I create a .tsv file?

Create a new file in any text editor or the app that owns the format and save it with the .tsv extension.

What is the relationship between .tsv and the text/tab-separated-values MIME type?

text/tab-separated-values is the media type identifier used for .tsv files during network transfer (for example in the HTTP Content-Type header).

Sources & standards

Updated 2026-09-13

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