Developer Reference

CSV Format Reference

Published September 8, 2026

The core rules of CSV formatting. For how CSV compares to other data formats, see CSV Explained.

Rule Detail
Fields separated by commas Each row is a line, each value in the row is separated by a comma
Quoted fields A field containing a comma, quote, or line break must be wrapped in double quotes
Escaping a literal quote A double quote inside a quoted field is written as two double quotes (“”)
Header row The first row commonly holds column names, though this isn’t strictly required

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does CSV have an official standard?

RFC 4180 defines a common standard, but many CSV files in the wild don’t follow it exactly, using different delimiters like semicolons or inconsistent quoting.

What happens if a field contains a comma?

It should be wrapped in double quotes, so it isn’t mistaken for a field separator when the file is parsed.

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