Free TSV test files and sample generator
Tabular plain-text data separated by tabs. A clean alternative to CSV when values contain commas, common for spreadsheet exports and data pipelines.
What is a .tsv file?
TSV: Tab-Separated Values. TSV separates fields with tabs instead of commas, which sidesteps the quoting problems CSV has with values containing commas. It is the usual choice for spreadsheet exports and bioinformatics or data-pipeline tooling.
Why generate a test TSV file?
- Confirm an importer treats tabs as delimiters rather than whitespace to be collapsed.
- Test pipelines that expect TSV specifically, where a CSV would silently parse as one column.
- Exercise size and row-count limits on a tab-delimited upload.
What you can put inside a .tsv file
You get 4 content options for TSV, so the file holds something meaningful rather than random padding: Text columns, Numeric columns, Mixed columns, Records with header. For TSV these are alternatives, so choose the one that matches what you need to test.
How a .tsv file is identified
A .tsv file has no signature at the start. A text format has no identifying leading bytes, so the extension and the reported media type are the only claims about it until a parser actually reads it, which is why validating uploads by extension alone is unsafe.
How the size lands on the exact byte
Rows and lines are generated to fill the target, and the last line is padded to land on the exact byte.
Negative testing with broken TSV files
- Invalid. Identifiable, but wrong inside, so it fails during parsing.
- Corrupted. The leading bytes are destroyed. Same length as the valid file.
- Incomplete. Truncated part-way, so it is genuinely shorter.
- Empty. Chosen under Content rather than File Condition: valid structure, no data.
Which failure to reach for, and what to assert for each, is covered in how to make a corrupted file for testing. For upload limits and type checks see testing file upload validation, and for this format's encodings, UTF-16 and BOM test files.
Sample TSV content
id name email 1 Test User test@example.com 2 Jane Doe jane@example.com
This shows the shape of the file. Your download is generated fresh at the size you choose, so the values will differ.
How to open and verify the file
Open in a spreadsheet app, or read with `pandas.read_csv(path, sep='\t')`.
Media type text/tab-separated-values · extension .tsv · category Data
Generate a .tsv file → · questions about sizes, privacy or cost are answered on the site FAQ.
Frequently asked questions about TSV files
What identifies a .tsv file?
Nothing at the start of the file does. A text format has no identifying leading bytes, so the extension and the reported media type are the only claims about it until a parser actually reads it, which is why validating uploads by extension alone is unsafe.
How can a .tsv file be an exact number of bytes?
Rows and lines are generated to fill the target, and the last line is padded to land on the exact byte.
What can go inside the TSV file?
There are 4 content options for .tsv: Text columns, Numeric columns, Mixed columns, Records with header. For TSV these are alternatives, so pick the one matching what you need to test.
Can I download several broken TSV files at once?
Yes, select more than one File Condition and you get one ZIP containing a .tsv per condition, each named after its condition.
Can the TSV file use UTF-16 or a byte-order mark?
Yes. .tsv is a text format, so it can be generated as UTF-8, UTF-8 with a byte-order mark, UTF-16 LE or UTF-16 BE. The body is shortened before re-encoding so the finished file still lands on the exact size you asked for. Note that a UTF-16 file always has an even byte count.
How do I open or verify the TSV file?
Open in a spreadsheet app, or read with pandas.read_csv(path, sep='\t').