/csv-to-page
Convert CSV files into Page notes with properly formatted markdown tables.
Key Feature: No content truncation by default - full cell content is preserved regardless of length (PapaParse has no cell size limits; V8 engine supports strings up to 512MB).
Features:
- •RFC 4180 compliant parsing via PapaParse
- •No truncation - full cell content preserved (up to 512MB per cell)
- •Auto-detects delimiter (comma, semicolon, tab)
- •Handles quoted fields, multi-line content, embedded commas
- •Escapes markdown special characters (pipes, backslashes)
- •Auto-detects numeric columns for right-alignment
- •Split mode - create individual notes for rows with long content
Usage
code
/csv-to-page <csv-path> /csv-to-page Inbox/data.csv /csv-to-page Inbox/rfi.csv --split --split-folder "RFI-Responses" /csv-to-page Inbox/data.csv --truncate 150 # Optional truncation
Instructions
Phase 1: CSV Analysis
- •Verify the CSV file exists at the specified path
- •Run analysis to understand structure:
bash
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --output-json
- •Review the output to identify:
- •Total rows and columns
- •Empty rows (common in Excel exports)
- •Maximum cell length (determines if split mode recommended)
- •Whether there are metadata/instruction rows before actual data
Phase 2: Choose Conversion Mode
Based on the analysis, recommend a mode to the user:
Use AskUserQuestion:
code
Question: "How should the CSV be processed?"
Header: "CSV Mode"
Options:
1. "Full table (Recommended for simple data)"
Description: "Single markdown table with all content preserved"
2. "Split mode (Recommended for long content)"
Description: "Individual note per row - best for RFIs, surveys, responses"
3. "Truncated summary"
Description: "Compact table with truncated cells for overview"
Recommendations:
- •Full table: For CSVs with cells under 500 characters
- •Split mode: For RFI responses, surveys, or any CSV with cells over 1000 characters
- •Truncated: Only when user specifically needs a compact summary view
Phase 3: Run Conversion
Full table mode (default, no truncation):
bash
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --title "<title>"
Split mode (recommended for long content):
bash
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --split --split-folder "<folder>" --title "<title>" --id-column 2
Truncated mode (optional):
bash
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --truncate 150 --title "<title>"
Script Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--title <title> | Custom title for the Page note |
--split | Create individual notes for each row |
--split-folder <path> | Folder for split notes (e.g., "RFI-Responses") |
--id-column <n> | Column index for note IDs (0-indexed, default: 0) |
--truncate <n> | Truncate cells to N characters (disabled by default) |
--start-row <n> | Start from row N (0-indexed, for skipping metadata) |
--end-row <n> | End at row N (for partial conversion) |
--delimiter <char> | Force delimiter if auto-detect fails |
--dry-run | Preview without creating files |
--verbose | Show detailed processing info |
Phase 4: Post-Processing
After conversion:
- •Add entity links - Link to existing Projects, People, Systems
- •Add appropriate tags - Based on content (activity/, project/, domain/)
- •For split mode - Review and enhance individual notes with relationships
Phase 5: Summary Report
Provide user with:
For full table mode:
markdown
## CSV Import Complete **Created**: `Page - <title>.md` **Statistics**: - Rows: <count> - Columns: <count> - Max cell length: <chars> - Truncation: None (full content preserved) **Note**: Obsidian may have display issues with very wide tables. Consider using Reading View for better rendering.
For split mode:
markdown
## CSV Import Complete (Split Mode) **Summary**: `Page - <title>.md` **Individual Notes**: <count> notes in `<folder>/` Each row has been converted to a separate note with: - Full content preserved (no truncation) - Proper markdown formatting - Metadata linking back to source **Next Steps**: 1. Review individual notes 2. Add project/person links 3. Add relevant tags
Handling Common CSV Patterns
RFI/Scoring Spreadsheets (Recommended: Split Mode)
Pattern: Questions with very long vendor responses (1000-10000+ chars).
bash
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<file>.csv" --split --split-folder "RFI-Responses" --id-column 2 --start-row 5
Benefits:
- •Each question/response becomes a searchable note
- •Full content preserved with proper formatting
- •Can add scores, comments, tags to individual responses
- •Supports Dataview queries for aggregation
Data Exports (Recommended: Full Table)
Pattern: Clean data with short cells (<500 chars).
bash
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<file>.csv" --title "Data Export - Jan 2026"
Multi-Section CSVs
Pattern: Multiple tables in one file separated by empty rows.
Approach: Use --start-row and --end-row to extract each section:
bash
# Section 1 node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js data.csv --start-row 0 --end-row 20 --title "Section 1" # Section 2 node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js data.csv --start-row 25 --end-row 50 --title "Section 2"
Technical Notes
No Content Limits
- •PapaParse: No documented cell size limit
- •V8 Engine: Strings up to 512MB supported
- •Practical: Tested with 10,000+ character cells without issues
Markdown Table Considerations
For very long content in tables:
- •Newlines converted to
<br>tags - •Pipe characters escaped as
\| - •Backslashes escaped as
\\ - •May cause horizontal scrolling in Obsidian
Recommendation: Use --split mode for cells >1000 characters.
Supported Delimiters
- •Comma (
,) - Default - •Semicolon (
;) - Common in European exports - •Tab (
\t) - TSV files
Character Encoding
- •UTF-8 (default)
- •Handles Windows-1252 and Latin-1 from Excel exports
- •Special characters preserved
Example Workflows
RFI Scoring Sheet
code
User: /csv-to-page Inbox/vendor-rfi-responses.csv