tools-only /csv-to-page
Convert CSV files into Concept 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
/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:
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:
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):
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --title "<title>"
Split mode (recommended for long content):
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --split --split-folder "<folder>" --title "<title>" --id-column 2
Truncated mode (optional):
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<csv-path>" --truncate 150 --title "<title>"
Script Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--title <title> |
Custom title for the Concept 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 BA 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:
## CSV Import Complete
**Created**: `Concept - <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:
## CSV Import Complete (Split Mode)
**Summary**: `Concept - <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).
node scripts/csv-to-markdown.js "<file>.csv" --split --split-folder "Project Beta-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).
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:
# 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
User: /csv-to-page Inbox/20260105 Project Beta SI RFI Scoring sheet_BA.csv