TSV

Technology & Computing abbreviation · File Format

TSV
Stands forTab-separated values
CategoriesTechnology & Computing

TSV stands for Tab-separated values, a file format abbreviation.

Plain-text table format that separates columns with tab characters instead of commas, avoiding problems with commas inside data. It is common in bioinformatics, data exports and clipboard copying from spreadsheets.

Example: The genome annotation file is a TSV with one gene per line.

Usage notes

Because tabs rarely appear in normal text, TSV usually needs no quoting rules, which makes it simpler to parse than CSV. When cells are copied from Excel or Google Sheets, the clipboard holds them as tab-separated text, which is why pasting into a text editor shows tab gaps. Extensions include .tsv and .tab.

More file format abbreviations

  • SVG – Scalable Vector Graphics
  • SWF – Small Web Format
  • TAR – Tape archive
  • TIFF – Tagged Image File Format
  • TMP – Temporary file
  • TS – MPEG transport stream
  • TTF – TrueType Font
  • TXT – Plain text file
  • VCF – Virtual Contact File (vCard)
  • VOB – Video Object
  • VP9 – Video Processor 9
  • VTT – Web Video Text Tracks

See all 125 file format abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.