Turn an Excel or CSV sheet into a Markdown table

A spreadsheet and a Markdown table serve different purposes. Excel can calculate and format data. A Markdown table puts a readable snapshot into a README, issue, note or report.

Convert the sample workbook

Download inventory.xlsx, or try the same data as CSV. The workbook has one sheet named Inventory, three columns and three data rows. The quantities are stored as numbers; the Notes column includes a comma to exercise CSV quoting.

1. Open Excel and CSV to Markdown.
2. Upload the workbook or CSV and start a standard conversion.
3. Wait for completion and inspect the full text. XLSX includes a sheet heading; CSV starts with the table.
4. Edit the table if needed, then copy or download the result.

The sample workbook produces:

## Inventory

| Item | Quantity | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notebook | 3 | Recycled paper |
| Pen | 12 | Black, fine tip |
| Total | 15 | NaN |

Paste this into GitHub's Markdown editor or a note that supports GitHub-style tables. If your editor displays pipes as plain text, check its table support before assuming the conversion failed.

Prepare formulas and merged cells

The exported table is a snapshot. It does not keep formulas interactive, and the converter does not run Excel to recalculate your workbook. For a formula-heavy report, open it in Excel or LibreOffice, recalculate and save first; if cached values are unavailable, export a values-only CSV for a predictable result.

Merged cells, conditional formatting and cell colors have no direct equivalent in a simple Markdown table. Make headers explicit and unmerge presentation-only cells in a copy of the source. Check dates, percentages, totals and leading zeroes such as product codes after conversion.

Keep CSV delimiters clear

Save CSV as UTF-8. Quote a value containing a comma, such as "Black, fine tip", rather than treating that comma as another column. If you see a shifted row, inspect the source delimiter and quoting. A CSV intended for a different delimiter may need to be exported again as comma-separated CSV.

Use Markdown for documentation and review; keep the spreadsheet as the source of calculations. For an illustrated report, export Markdown with its images instead of copying temporary image URLs into a permanent note.

In the current XLSX converter, an empty cell may appear as NaN, as the sample shows. Clear that cell in the Markdown editor if you want it blank. The CSV version keeps this empty field blank. Do not blindly remove literal “NaN” values if they are meaningful source data.