Excel & CSV Extractor — xlsx, xls, csv to JSON

Excel & CSV Extractor converts .xlsx, .xlsm, and .csv files into clean, structured JSON — one record per sheet or one record per row in flat mode. Pass a URL or base64-encoded file, get back sheet names, headers, and row data. Works with multi-sheet workbooks up to 500,000 rows. No API key required. $0.01/file + $0.0001/row.

Spreadsheet data is locked in binary formats that no API can read directly. This actor is the extraction layer that unlocks it — turning Excel reports, exported CSVs, and supplier data files into JSON that any system can consume.

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Why use Excel & CSV Extractor?

1. AI data ingestion — Feed spreadsheet data directly into Claude, GPT, or RAG pipelines. JSON output from this actor is ready for vector embedding, tabular Q&A, or structured analysis without manual conversion.
2. ETL pipeline automation — Transform Excel reports and CSV exports into database-ready records. Trigger on new file uploads, extract the data, push to your API — fully automated with no manual steps.
3. Financial report processing — Extract P&L, balance sheet, or budget rows from multi-sheet workbooks. The sheetNames filter lets you target specific tabs without processing the entire file.
4. Supplier data import — Parse product catalogs, inventory sheets, and price lists from supplier Excel files and sync them to your e-commerce or ERP system in real time.
5. Multi-sheet workbook handling — Extract all tabs from complex workbooks in one run. Each sheet becomes a separate output record with its own sheet, row_count, columns, and rows fields.

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How to use

1. Open the actor on Apify Store and click Try for free.
2. Paste a direct URL to your .xlsx or .csv file in fileUrl (or provide fileBase64 for local files).
3. Set sheetNames to target specific tabs, or leave empty to extract all sheets.
4. Enable flatMode: true for one-record-per-row output (useful for large datasets feeding downstream systems).
5. Click Start. Returns one output record per sheet.

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Input options

Field	Type	Default	Description
fileUrl	string	—	Direct URL to .xlsx, .xlsm, or .csv file
fileBase64	string	—	Base64-encoded file content (alternative to URL)
fileName	string	auto	File name for format detection
includeHeaders	boolean	true	Treat first row as column headers
sheetNames	string[]	[] (all)	Specific sheet names to extract
maxRowsPerSheet	integer	10000	Row cap per sheet (up to 500,000)
flatMode	boolean	false	One output record per row instead of per sheet

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Output

Per-sheet output (default):

{
  "file_name": "sales-report.xlsx",
  "sheet": "Q1 Sales",
  "row_count": 842,
  "columns": ["Date", "Product", "Region", "Revenue", "Units"],
  "rows": [
    {"Date": "2026-01-03", "Product": "Widget A", "Region": "US", "Revenue": "12400", "Units": "124"},
    {"Date": "2026-01-04", "Product": "Widget B", "Region": "EU", "Revenue": "8900", "Units": "89"}
  ]
}

Flat mode (flatMode: true):

{
  "file_name": "sales-report.xlsx",
  "sheet": "Q1 Sales",
  "Date": "2026-01-03",
  "Product": "Widget A",
  "Region": "US",
  "Revenue": "12400",
  "Units": "124"
}

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Cost estimation

$0.01 per file + $0.0001 per row extracted.

Example	Rows	Cost
Small CSV (500 rows)	500	$0.06
Sales report (5,000 rows)	5,000	$0.51
Large dataset (50,000 rows)	50,000	$5.01

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Supported formats

Format	Extension	Notes
Excel (modern)	.xlsx, .xlsm	Multi-sheet, formulas evaluated
CSV / TSV	.csv, .tsv	Auto-detects encoding (UTF-8, Latin-1)

Legacy .xls: Open in Excel or LibreOffice and save as .xlsx before processing.

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FAQ

Can it handle password-protected files? No — password-protected files cannot be opened without the password, and the actor has no mechanism for it. Remove password protection before uploading.

What happens with formula cells? Formulas are evaluated to their current values. The raw formula string is not included in output — you get the calculated result.

Is there a file size limit? No hard limit, but very large files (100MB+) will require longer run times. Use maxRowsPerSheet to cap output if you only need a sample.

Can it process files from Google Drive or Dropbox? Yes — generate a direct download link (not the sharing link) and pass it as fileUrl. For Google Sheets, use File → Download → xlsx to get a downloadable URL.

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Related actors

• PDF Text Extractor — Extract text from PDF files (same document-to-JSON workflow)
• Web to Markdown — Convert web pages to clean text for AI pipelines
• RSS Feed Parser — Parse RSS/Atom feeds into JSON

Feedback

If this actor unlocks your spreadsheet data, a review helps others find it: Leave a review on Apify Store