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pdfconversionapi

NUMBERS to CSV API

POST a .numbers file to /v2/convert/numbers/to/csv and each table comes back as a CSV, read straight from the file without an office suite. The sample's one table returns as account-statement.csv, 258 bytes.

Endpoint
POST /v2/convert/numbers/to/csv
Accepts
numbers
Sample timing
1 ms median of 5 runsHow we measure
Request size
Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together

Request and response

Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.

curl -sS -X POST \
  https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/numbers/to/csv \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
  -F File=@account-statement.numbers \
  -o response.json

# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
  mkdir -p converted
  name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
  jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
    | base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
  cat response.json
fi
200 OK1 ms median1 file, 258 bytes
{
  "ConversionCost": 1,
  "ConversionTime": 0.001,
  "Files": [
    {
      "FileName": "account-statement.csv",
      "FileExt": "csv",
      "FileSize": 258,
      "FileData": "RGF0ZSxUcmFuc2FjdGlvbiBE…"
    }
  ]
}

Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.

The sample, converted

The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.

account-statement.csv, 4 lines

Date,Transaction Details,Paid In,Withdrawn,Balance,Category2020-05-01T00:00:00Z,Debit to Marlon Computing,250,,2021.5,Loans2020-05-01T00:00:00Z,Parking Downtown 932891,,2.99,2018.51,Entertainment2020-05-01T00:00:00Z,Grant Coffee,,13.25,2005.26,Eating Out
Input
account-statement.numbers (102 KB)
Output
account-statement.csv (258 bytes)
Source
A three-row account statement table saved by Numbers 12, taken from the MIT-licensed test files of an open-source Numbers reader; not made by us (MIT). How it was made
Made by
2026-11-04, API build 9eeeb0640aba

Parameters

Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.

ParameterWhat it does
FileNamestringStem of the CSV name. With one table the file is <stem>.csv; with several, each is <stem>-<sheet or table>.csv.
StoreFileboolean, default falseAnswer with links that work for 3 hours instead of the CSV text.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept

  • Every cell value as stored, unrounded: 2021.5, 2018.51, 2.99 and 13.25
  • The header row (Date, Transaction Details, Paid In, Withdrawn, Balance, Category) as the first line
  • Empty cells as empty fields, so the Paid In and Withdrawn columns line up
  • Plain UTF-8 with LF line endings, no byte order mark

Lost or not yet supported

  • Display formats. The GBP currency style and the date style are not applied; dates are written as 2020-05-01T00:00:00Z, with a time and a Z even when the cell holds only a day.
  • Formulas: a formula cell gives the value Numbers last calculated.
  • Fills, fonts, column widths and any charts or images.
  • Delimiter choice: the output is always comma-separated, and a Delimiter parameter is ignored.

Limits

  • One Numbers file per request.
  • Requests up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files and fields together.
  • Files with more than 10,000 parts, or over 1 GiB unpacked, return 413.
  • Tables beyond 1,048,576 rows or 16,384 columns return 413.
  • 120 seconds per conversion, then 504.

Where teams use it

Statements and budgets kept in Numbers

People on Macs and iPhones keep money records in Numbers. Accept their .numbers upload and read the rows on a server that has no Apple software.

Feeding a database import

CSV is what most import tools read. The values arrive unformatted, so a balance of 2021.5 stays 2021.5 instead of a rounded currency string.

Checking what a file holds before you store it

Turn a user's spreadsheet into plain text to validate its columns, then keep the original.

Questions

What happens with a Numbers file that has several tables?

Each table becomes its own CSV in the same response. The files are named after the upload plus the sheet name, or the sheet and table name when a sheet holds more than one table. The sample has a single table, so the result is just account-statement.csv.

Why do dates include T00:00:00Z?

Numbers stores dates as moments in time, and this route writes them in full ISO 8601 form, such as 2020-05-01T00:00:00Z. If you need the day only, keep the first 10 characters. The XLSX route writes them as real date cells instead.

Do I need a Mac or Numbers installed?

No. The file is read directly by our converter on Linux servers. The sample was saved by Numbers 12 on a Mac and converted without any Apple software.

Can I get semicolons instead of commas?

Not yet. Every CSV from this route uses commas, and quotes only the fields that need it; a Delimiter parameter is accepted but changes nothing.

Convert your first NUMBERS file in a minute.