Convert JSON to CSV on Mac, Windows, and Linux — Browser Method

The JSON to CSV converter runs in any modern browser — Safari on Mac, Edge or Chrome on Windows, Firefox or Chromium on Linux. No installation, no command line, no dependencies. Paste your JSON, download your CSV, done.

This guide also covers the command-line alternatives on each platform for developers who prefer the terminal.

Mac: Browser Tool and Terminal Alternatives

Browser method (fastest): Open the converter in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on macOS. Paste your JSON array, set the delimiter, click Convert, download the CSV to your Downloads folder. Works on any Mac including Apple Silicon (M1–M4) — no Rosetta, no compatibility issues.

Terminal alternatives on Mac:

jq (Homebrew):

brew install jq
cat data.json | jq -r '(.[0]|keys_unsorted) as $keys | $keys, map([.[$keys[]]] | @csv)[] | @csv'

Python (pre-installed on Mac):

python3 -c "import json,csv,sys; d=json.load(open('data.json')); w=csv.DictWriter(sys.stdout,fieldnames=d[0].keys()); w.writeheader(); w.writerows(d)"

For anything beyond a one-off conversion, the Python approach scales better than jq's syntax. For quick terminal work on a Mac, jq with Homebrew is the standard.

Windows: Browser Tool and PowerShell Alternatives

Browser method: Open the converter in Edge, Chrome, or Firefox on Windows 10 or 11. Microsoft Edge is pre-installed on all Windows 10/11 machines — no download needed. Paste, convert, download.

PowerShell alternative:

$data = Get-Content data.json | ConvertFrom-Json
$data | Export-Csv output.csv -NoTypeInformation

PowerShell's ConvertFrom-Json and Export-Csv cmdlets handle flat JSON arrays cleanly. This is built into Windows — no additional install needed if you have PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7 (both common on Windows 10/11).

Limitation: PowerShell's Export-Csv doesn't flatten nested objects — it serializes them as @{key=value} strings. For nested JSON on Windows without installing Python or jq, the browser converter is actually the easiest option.

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Linux: Browser Tool and jq CLI

Browser method: Open the converter in Firefox or Chromium (available on all major distros). Works on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, and any distro with a modern browser. Processes files locally using your browser — no apt install needed for conversion.

jq on Linux:

sudo apt install jq  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo dnf install jq  # Fedora
sudo pacman -S jq    # Arch

Then convert:

cat data.json | jq -r '[.[] | to_entries | map(.value)] | .[] | @csv'

Python (usually pre-installed):

python3 -c "
import json, csv, sys
data = json.load(open('data.json'))
keys = list(data[0].keys())
w = csv.DictWriter(sys.stdout, fieldnames=keys)
w.writeheader()
w.writerows(data)
" > output.csv

For scripting on Linux, Python is the most readable and maintainable approach. jq is faster for quick terminal pipelines. The browser converter is fastest for non-developers who need a result without touching the terminal.

Which Method to Choose

Situation	Best Method
One-time conversion, any OS	Browser converter — fastest setup
Recurring scripted conversion on Mac	Python or jq via Homebrew
Recurring scripted conversion on Windows	PowerShell (for flat JSON) or Python
Recurring scripted conversion on Linux	jq or Python in a shell script
Nested JSON on any OS without code	Browser converter (dot notation flatten)
Nested JSON with arrays (complex schema)	Python pandas.json_normalize()
Large files (> 50MB) in the terminal	jq (memory-efficient streaming)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the browser converter work offline on Mac or Windows?

The tool requires an initial page load over the internet. Once loaded, conversion happens locally in your browser. If you reload the page without internet, it won't load. For fully offline conversion, use the Python standard library or PowerShell approach.

Can I convert JSON to CSV on a Chromebook?

Yes — Chrome on Chromebook supports the converter. The conversion runs locally in Chrome's browser engine. No Linux app setup or Android app needed.

Is jq the best command-line tool for JSON to CSV on all platforms?

jq is the most widely used JSON CLI tool and handles many cases well, but its CSV-output syntax is complex. For developers comfortable with Python, the standard library approach is often clearer and more maintainable than jq one-liners. Both work on Mac, Linux, and Windows (via WSL or Chocolatey).

Does PowerShell's Export-Csv handle large JSON files?

Yes for memory — PowerShell pipes the data rather than loading everything at once in most cases. For very large files (100MB+), using jq or Python with streaming JSON reading is more efficient. For files under 50MB, PowerShell is fine.