csv-parse
Full-featured CSV parser for Node.js. Part of the node-csv project (csv-parse, csv-generate, csv-stringify, stream-transform). Handles CSV, TSV, and custom-delimiter formats with configurable options: headers, type casting, column mapping, comment lines, BOM handling, relaxed parsing, encoding support. Supports callback API, sync API, and Node.js streams for processing large files. The standard CSV parser for Node.js data pipelines.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
Local file parsing — no network surface. CSV injection attack vector exists if parsed data is used in spreadsheet formulas; sanitize values starting with =, +, @, -.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You need to parse CSV or TSV files in Node.js with streaming support for large files, custom delimiters, headers mapping, and type casting.
Avoid When
You're in a browser environment (use PapaParse), need Excel format support (use exceljs), or need a simpler one-liner for small CSVs.
Use Cases
- • Parse CSV data files into JavaScript objects for ETL pipelines and data import scripts
- • Stream large CSV files record-by-record through Node.js Readable streams to avoid memory issues
- • Parse CSVs with type casting — convert numeric strings to numbers, date strings to Date objects
- • Process TSV (tab-separated) exports from databases and spreadsheet applications
- • Implement data validation during CSV parsing using transform and record callbacks
Not For
- • Browser-side CSV parsing — use PapaParse for browser-compatible CSV parsing with web worker support
- • Excel (.xlsx) files — use exceljs or SheetJS for Excel parsing; csv-parse handles text CSV only
- • CSV writing — use csv-stringify (companion package) for serializing data to CSV format
Interface
Authentication
No authentication — file parsing library.
Pricing
Fully free, MIT licensed.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Encoding must match the file — if parsing UTF-16 or Latin-1 CSVs, must set encoding option explicitly; default is UTF-8
- ⚠ Header row handling: columns: true parses first row as headers; without it, records are arrays not objects — choosing wrong option causes wrong data structure
- ⚠ Relaxed mode: by default, strict CSV parsing requires consistent column counts — use relax_column_count: true for CSVs with variable column counts
- ⚠ Streaming API requires consuming the full stream before processing — if using async iteration (for await ... of parser), ensure error handling is in place or parse errors will be uncaught
- ⚠ BOM character in UTF-8 CSV files: use bom: true option to strip the BOM; otherwise headers will have a BOM prefix character causing column name mismatches
- ⚠ Type casting is opt-in: strings remain strings by default — use cast: true for automatic type detection, or cast: function for custom casting logic
Alternatives
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-06.