CSV columns: keep, drop, reorder

Updated 28 September 2026

To remove or reorder CSV columns, type the names of the columns to keep, separated by commas, in the order they should appear. The new file contains exactly those columns and nothing else.

A typical case: an order export with dozens of fields, and an accounting or newsletter import that accepts only a few of them, in a fixed order. Instead of deleting columns by hand in a spreadsheet, you describe the result once.

Writing the column list

Write each name exactly as the header row spells it. sku,title,price gives you exactly three columns, in exactly that sequence, wherever they sat before. Capitals and spaces inside a name must match, but spaces around your commas are ignored, so sku, title, price works too.

A name that does not exist in the file is skipped. If none of the names match, the tool replies with the columns it did find, and you can copy the correct spelling from there. To reorder without dropping anything, list every column in its new position.

What stays untouched

No rows are removed, and the values in the columns you keep are copied character for character. No value is converted, trimmed or reformatted. Headers keep their original names too, since the tool has no rename option. If an import expects other names, open the result in a text editor and change the first line, which takes a moment because it is a single line.

The input can be a CSV or TSV file, as long as its first line is a header. We detect the separator from the start of the file (comma, semicolon, tab or pipe) and write the result with the same one. UTF-8 text is handled properly, with or without a byte order mark at the start.

Processing and personal data

This tool runs on our servers in Germany, not in your browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, and we delete it automatically within two hours. Cutting columns is also a simple privacy step: remove phone numbers, street addresses and other fields a recipient does not need before a customer list leaves your hands.

Repeat jobs and batches

Without an account you can drop up to 5 files at once, each up to 50 MB, within 20 server jobs a day. A free account allows 10 files per batch and 50 jobs a day, and Pro takes batches of up to 500 files of up to 500 MB with no daily allowance. Results download one by one or together as a ZIP.

A weekly export that always needs the same columns is a good fit for a preset: store the column list once in the pipeline builder and apply it to every new delivery. A free account keeps one preset, and Pro keeps as many as you like. A pipeline can also chain this step with a row filter, and pipelines are free to try on up to 3 files.

How to pick and order CSV columns

1. Drop one or more .csv or .tsv files onto the page.
2. Type the columns to keep, separated by commas, in the order you want.
3. Click Apply.
4. Download the slimmer CSV, or a ZIP of all results.