---

name: tableconvert description: Convert table data between different formats (MySQL, CSV, JSON, Markdown, HTML, SQL, Excel, XML, LaTeX, MediaWiki, TWiki, templates)

tableconvert

Convert table data between different formats using the tableconvert command line tool.

Quick Start

Multiple ways to use tableconvert:

1. Auto-detect formats from file extensions (simplest):

Copytableconvert input.csv output.json

2. Short flags:

Copytableconvert -i input.csv -o output.json

3. Space-separated format values:

Copytableconvert --from csv --to json --file input.csv

4. Traditional with equals signs:

Copytableconvert --from=markdown --to=csv --file=input.md --result=output.csv

5. stdin/stdout:

Copycat input.md | tableconvert --from=markdown --to=csv

6. With format-specific options:

Copytableconvert input.csv output.md --bold-header --align=l,c,r

7. With transformations:

Copytableconvert input.csv output.json --transpose --capitalize

Common file extensions:

• .md, .markdown = markdown
• .csv = csv
• .json = json
• .jsonl, .jsonlines = jsonl
• .sql = sql
• .html, .htm = html
• .xml = xml
• .xlsx, .xls = excel
• .tex, .latex = latex
• .tmpl, .template = template
• .wiki = mediawiki
• .twiki = twiki
• .txt = must specify format explicitly

Commands

tableconvert

Convert table data from one format to another.

Basic Options:

• --from={FORMAT} or -f={FORMAT}: Source format (auto-detected from file if omitted)
• --to={FORMAT} or -t={FORMAT}: Target format (auto-detected from file if omitted)
• --file={PATH} or --input={PATH} or -i={PATH}: Input file path (optional, uses stdin if omitted)
• --result={PATH} or --output={PATH} or -o={PATH}: Output file path (optional, uses stdout if omitted)
• --verbose or -v: Enable verbose output

Quick Options:

• -h, --help: Show help message
• --help-formats: Show all supported formats and their parameters
• --help-format={FORMAT}: Show parameters for a specific format
• --mcp: Run as MCP (Model Context Protocol) server

Global Transformations:

• --transpose: Swap rows and columns
• --delete-empty: Remove empty rows
• --deduplicate: Remove duplicate rows
• --uppercase: Convert all text to UPPERCASE
• --lowercase: Convert all text to lowercase
• --capitalize: Capitalize first letter of each cell

Examples:

Copy# Auto-detect (simplest)
tableconvert input.csv output.json

# Short flags
tableconvert -i input.csv -o output.json

# Space-separated
tableconvert --from csv --to json --file input.csv

# With options
tableconvert --from=csv --to=markdown --file=input.csv --align=l,c,r --bold-header

# With transformations
tableconvert input.csv output.json --transpose --capitalize

tableconvert --help-formats

Get information about supported formats and their parameters.

Example:

Copytableconvert --help-formats

Or for a specific format:

Copytableconvert --help-format=markdown

Supported Formats

Format-Specific Options

Format-specific options are passed as flags without values (true) or with values:

Markdown

• --align=l,c,r: Text alignment (l, c, r) - columns separated by comma
• --bold-header: Make header bold
• --bold-first-column: Bold first column
• --escape: Escape Markdown characters
• --pretty: Pretty-print with calculated column widths (default: true)

CSV

• --first-column-header: Use first column as headers
• --bom: Add Byte Order Mark
• --delimiter=TAB: Value delimiter (COMMA, TAB, SEMICOLON, PIPE, SLASH, HASH)

JSON

• --format=object: Output format (object, 2d, column, keyed)
• --minify: Minify JSON output
• --parsing-json: Parse input as JSON

SQL

• --one-insert: Multiple rows in one INSERT
• --replace: Use REPLACE instead of INSERT
• --dialect=mysql: SQL dialect (none, mysql, oracle, mssql, postgresql)
• --table=tablename: Table name

HTML

• --first-column-header: Use first column as headers
• --div: Use div instead of table
• --minify: Minify HTML
• --thead: Include thead/tbody tags

Excel

• --first-column-header: Use first column as headers
• --sheet-name=Sheet1: Excel sheet name
• --auto-width: Auto-adjust column widths
• --text-format: Force text format (default: true)

LaTeX

• --bold-first-column: Bold first column
• --bold-first-row: Bold first row
• --borders=1111,1111: Border style
• --caption="Table Caption": Table caption
• --escape: Escape LaTeX characters (default: true)
• --ht: Place here or top of page
• --label=table:label: Table label
• --location=above: Caption location (above, below)
• --mwe: Minimal working example
• --table-align=centering: Table alignment (centering, raggedleft, raggedright)
• --text-align=l: Text alignment (l, c, r)

MediaWiki

• --first-row-header: Use first row as headers
• --minify: Minify MediaWiki table
• --sort: Make table sortable

XML

• --minify: Minify XML
• --root-element=dataset: Root element tag
• --row-element=record: Row element tag
• --declaration: Include XML declaration (default: true)

Template

• --template=file.tmpl: Template file path

ASCII

• --style=box: Table style (box, plus, dot, bubble)

Global Transformations

Apply these to any format conversion:

• --transpose: Swap rows and columns
• --delete-empty: Remove empty rows
• --deduplicate: Remove duplicate rows
• --uppercase: Convert all text to UPPERCASE
• --lowercase: Convert all text to lowercase
• --capitalize: Capitalize first letter of each cell

Example with transformations:

Copytableconvert --from=csv --to=json --file=input.csv --uppercase --deduplicate

Usage Examples

MySQL to Markdown (auto-detect)

Copytableconvert mysql.txt output.md --bold-header

CSV to JSON with options

Copytableconvert input.csv output.json --minify --format=object

SQL to CSV with transformation

Copytableconvert input.sql output.csv --table=users --capitalize

Get format info

Copytableconvert --help-format=markdown

Using short flags

Copytableconvert -i data.csv -o data.json -v

Notes

• Format selection: Auto-detected from file extensions, or specify with --from/--to
• .txt files: Must specify format explicitly (not auto-detected)
• Input data must be properly formatted for the source format
• Special characters are automatically escaped where needed
• UTF-8 characters are handled correctly
• Use tableconvert --help-formats to see all available options for a format
• All options from docs/arguments.md are supported

Common Patterns

Converting database schema (auto-detect):

Copytableconvert schema.txt output.md --bold-header --escape

Creating SQL inserts from data:

Copytableconvert data.csv output.sql --table=users --one-insert --dialect=mysql

Generating HTML tables:

Copytableconvert data.json output.html --thead --minify=false

Excel to Markdown for docs:

Copytableconvert data.xlsx output.md --bold-header --align=l,c,r

Quick pipe conversion:

Copycat data.csv | tableconvert --from csv --to json --uppercase