CSV Output Prompts
When the destination is a spreadsheet, CSV is the contract: one header row, one data row, quoting rules, and an honest answer about nested data.
Overview
CSV output earns its place when the consumer is a spreadsheet or a bulk importer — and it punishes vagueness harder than JSON, because there's no syntax to lean on: a stray comma silently shifts every column after it. The CSV contract pins the header row to the schema names, demands exact quoting for cells with commas or quotes, and handles CSV's structural limit honestly: arrays get joined with '; ', and genuinely nested data triggers a recommendation to use JSON instead. This resource loads a lead-qualification contract in CSV mode, flat fields chosen deliberately.
Workflow
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Generate in CSV mode
The builder warns when your schema has array/object fields — CSV is flat, and the contract says so honestly.
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Check the quoting rule
Cells with commas must be quoted, quotes doubled — the rule that prevents silent column shifts.
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Keep it to one data row per call
One row per response keeps validation trivial; batch by calling, not by asking for many rows.
Why This Works
- Pinning the header row to schema names makes column mapping deterministic
- Explicit quoting rules close CSV's classic silent-corruption hole
- Honest flat-data limits (join with '; ', or use JSON) beat pretending CSV nests
Best for
- Spreadsheet-final workflows: reports, imports, batch reviews
- Flat record shapes — scores, statuses, contact rows
- Ops teams who live in Sheets, not in parsers
Not for
- Nested data — the contract itself will tell you to use JSON
- Code consumers — JSON's syntax guarantees beat CSV's conventions
Use cases
- Producing rows a spreadsheet or bulk importer ingests directly
- Generating clean CSV without the stray-comma column-shift bug
- Deciding honestly when data is too nested for CSV