---
title: "SQL to CSV"
description: "Paste INSERT statements or drop a .sql dump and get a CSV per table. Reads mysqldump, pg_dump and SQLite exports as text in your browser. No database to restore, no upload."
url: https://findutils.com/convert/sql-to-csv/
category: convert
---

# SQL to CSV

Paste INSERT statements or drop a .sql dump and get a CSV per table. Reads mysqldump, pg_dump and SQLite exports as text in your browser. No database to restore, no upload.

**Use this tool:** [SQL to CSV](https://findutils.com/convert/sql-to-csv/)

## Programmatic access

- REST id `sql-to-csv`: POST https://api.findutils.com/api/tools/sql-to-csv/execute (reference: https://findutils.com/api/sql-to-csv/)
- MCP tool `sql_to_csv` on https://mcp.findutils.com (reference: https://findutils.com/mcp/sql-to-csv/)

## Why Use Our SQL to CSV Converter?

Somebody emails you a .sql dump when all you needed was the rows in a spreadsheet. The usual answer is to install a database client, create a database, import the dump, run a SELECT and export the result — a job measured in tens of minutes, for data you wanted to read once. This page skips every step of that. It reads the INSERT statements as text, in your browser, and hands you a CSV per table. Nothing is uploaded and no SQL is executed, so a dump you are not allowed to send to a third party is still one you can read here.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does my SQL dump get uploaded anywhere?

No. The dump is parsed in your browser and the CSV is built there. Nothing is sent to a server, which is the point — a database export is usually the most sensitive file you will be asked to open.

### Do I need a database installed?

No. Nothing is executed. The rows in an INSERT statement are already literal values in the text, so reading them needs a parser rather than a database engine.

### Which dumps does it understand?

Any dump whose rows are written as INSERT statements with literal VALUES — that covers a plain mysqldump, a pg_dump in its default plain-text format, and a SQLite .dump. Custom-format pg_dump archives, COPY BINARY sections and binary blobs are not text and are out of scope.

### Where do the column names come from?

From the INSERT column list when it has one. Failing that, from a CREATE TABLE for the same table earlier in the file. Failing both, the columns are named column_1, column_2 and so on by position.

### What happens to NULL?

It becomes an empty cell. Writing the word null would turn a missing value into the four-character text "null", which a spreadsheet and every later import would treat as data.

### What about a comma or an apostrophe inside a value?

Both survive. The parser reads the SQL string literal first, decoding a doubled quote and MySQL's backslash escapes, and the CSV writer then quotes the field if it contains a comma, a quote or a newline.

### My dump has several tables. What do I get?

A row of table names appears above the panels with the row count for each. Pick one to preview and download it on its own, or use Download all as .zip to get one CSV per table in a single file.

### Why was one of my statements skipped?

Because it had no literal rows to read. An INSERT ... SELECT builds its rows from a query at run time, so the values are simply not in the file. Those statements are listed by line number under the output rather than being dropped silently.

### Is there a row limit?

There is no server-side limit because there is no server. The parser stops at 50,000 rows per table by default and tells you it did, so a very large dump cannot lock up the tab. Split the file if you need more.

### Can I use this from a script or an AI client?

Yes. The same parser is available over HTTP and to MCP clients, so an agent can convert a dump without opening this page. The reference pages for both surfaces are linked from the tool.

## Related Tools

- [CSV to SQL](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-to-sql/)
- [JSON to SQL](https://findutils.com/convert/json-to-sql/)
- [SQLite Browser](https://findutils.com/developers/sqlite-browser/)
- [SQL Formatter](https://findutils.com/developers/sql-formatter/)
- [CSV Viewer](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-viewer/)
- [CSV to Excel](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-to-excel/)
- [JSON to CSV](https://findutils.com/convert/json-to-csv/)
- [CSV Merger](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-merger/)
- [CSV to NDJSON](https://findutils.com/convert/csv-to-ndjson/)
- [TSV to CSV](https://findutils.com/convert/tsv-to-csv/)