# Fix CSV Encoding & Split Large Files - Excel-Friendly Output (`tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter`) Actor

Fix broken CSV characters (encoding) and optionally split large files. $0.01 per file fixed. Failed files free. Works from Apify MCP and the API.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter.md
- **Developed by:** [Tidy Byte Tools](https://apify.com/tidybytetools) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 file fixeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## CSV Encoding Fixer & Splitter - Fix Broken Characters

Fix broken characters in CSV files (é instead of é, ’ instead of '). Save as clean UTF-8 that opens right in Excel. Split big files into parts that keep the header. $0.01 per file.

### Website and local versions

- **[Website](https://tidybytetools.github.io/)** — Tidy Byte Tools product page

### What it does

- Finds and fixes garbled letters like é, ’ and ü.
- Reads UTF-8, UTF-16 and old Windows files.
- Saves clean UTF-8 that opens right in Excel.
- Can split big files into parts. Every part keeps the header.
- Shows examples of what it fixed.

### Price

You pay **$0.01** per file fixed (One CSV file fixed and saved. Split parts are free. Failed files are free.) There is no start fee from us. Apify adds its normal small platform cost.
Set a max cost for the run and we stop there. We never charge for work we did not save.

### How to use

1. Add links or paste your data.
2. Click **Start**.
3. Get results in the **Output** tab, or download them as CSV, Excel or JSON.

### Input

- **CSV file links**: Links to CSV files.
- **Or paste CSV**: Paste CSV text.
- **Split every N rows**: 0 = do not split. Each part keeps the header row.
- **Excel friendly (add UTF-8 marker)**: Helps Excel show accents right.

### Example input

This is also the default sample, so a first run works if you just click Start.

```json
{
  "csvText": "name,city\nJosé,München\nAnn,Paris",
  "splitRows": 0,
  "excelFriendly": true
}
```

### FAQ

**Why does é look like é?**
That usually happens when a UTF-8 file was opened as Windows Latin-1 (or the other way around). The letters are still there, just read with the wrong encoding. This Actor tries to put them back.

**Does it fix every encoding problem?**
No. It is best at common "mojibake" like `é` for `é` and `’` for `'`. Odd or mixed encodings may still need a look by hand. The output shows examples of what it changed.

**Excel still shows the wrong letters.**
Turn on "Excel friendly (add UTF-8 marker)". That helps Excel treat the file as UTF-8.

**What does split do?**
If you set "Split every N rows" to a number greater than 0, you get more than one file. Every part keeps the header row. Split parts are free.

**Do I pay for a file that fails?**
No. Failed files are free. You pay $0.01 once per CSV file that we fix and save.

**Is there a free version of this Actor?**
Not for this exact fixer. You can still try it by pasting the sample rows in the input form (`José`, `München`).

### Good to know

- Files up to 50 MB each.
- Your data is only used for your run.
- Made by Tidy Byte Tools. Questions? Open an issue on this Actor's page.

### More tools from Tidy Byte Tools

These Actors work well together:

- [PDF Table Extractor](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/pdf-table-pull) — PDF tables to CSV, Excel and JSON. $0.003 per page with a table.
- [PDF, Word and Web Page to Markdown](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/doc-to-markdown) — Clean Markdown and RAG chunks. $0.003 per file.
- [HTML Table Extractor](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/html-table-extractor) — Web tables to CSV and JSON. $0.0005 per data row.
- [Broken Link Checker](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/broken-link-checker) — Check site and sitemap links. $0.001 per link.
- [Markdown Chunker for RAG](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/markdown-rag-chunker) — Split Markdown by headings. $0.0001 per chunk.
- [CSV and Excel Data Cleaner](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/csv-excel-data-cleaner) — Dedupe and fix dates, emails and phones. $0.0005 per clean row.
- [JSON to CSV Converter](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/json-to-csv-flattener) — Flatten nested JSON for spreadsheets. $0.0001 per row.
- [CSV Encoding Fixer and Splitter](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter) — Fix garbled letters like é and split big files. $0.01 per file.
- [Phone Number Validator](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/phone-number-validator-formatter) — Check and format numbers offline. $0.001 per number.
- [LLM Token Counter](https://apify.com/tidybytetools/llm-token-counter) — Offline token and cost estimates for GPT, Claude and Gemini. $0.0005 per unique text.

Free local tools (no Apify account needed): [pdf-table-pull-lite](https://github.com/tidybytetools/pdf-table-pull-lite), [doc2md-lite](https://github.com/tidybytetools/doc2md-lite), [link-check-lite](https://github.com/tidybytetools/link-check-lite), [md-chunk-lite](https://github.com/tidybytetools/md-chunk-lite), [json-shaper-lite](https://github.com/tidybytetools/json-shaper-lite).

Website: <https://tidybytetools.github.io>. All Actors: [apify.com/tidybytetools](https://apify.com/tidybytetools).

### Agent tip

Fix broken CSV characters (encoding) and optionally split large files. $0.01 per file fixed. Failed files free. Works from Apify MCP and the API.

# Actor input Schema

## `fileUrls` (type: `array`):

Provide CSV file links for this run. Used as input for: Fix CSV Encoding & Split Large Files.

## `csvText` (type: `string`):

Provide Or paste CSV for this run. Used as input for: Fix CSV Encoding & Split Large Files.

## `splitRows` (type: `integer`):

0 = do not split. Each part keeps the header row.

## `excelFriendly` (type: `boolean`):

Helps Excel show accents right.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "csvText": "name,city\nJosé,München\nAnn,Paris",
  "splitRows": 0,
  "excelFriendly": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `files` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "csvText": `name,city
José,München
Ann,Paris`
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "csvText": """name,city
José,München
Ann,Paris""" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "csvText": "name,city\\nJosé,München\\nAnn,Paris"
}' |
apify call tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,tidybytetools/csv-encoding-fixer-splitter"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/kaAzfR3qOHXDJgjjJ/builds/PebiwokWui65EZBOD/openapi.json