--- title: "Quickstart" description: "Convert your first spreadsheet or CSV into SQL three ways - in the browser, with the intosql command line, and with the API or one of the SDKs." canonical: https://intosql.com/docs/quickstart last_updated: 2026-10-15 --- # Quickstart This page converts one file three ways: in the browser, on the command line and through the API. Each path uses the same engine, so the SQL and the report are the same. ## In the browser The converter at [intosql.com](https://intosql.com) is free and needs no account. Your file is read in the browser and never uploaded. 1. Open [intosql.com](https://intosql.com). The converter opens on a sample workbook, already converted. 2. Drop your file anywhere on the page, or select **Choose your file**. It takes `.xlsx`, `.xlsm`, `.xls`, `.xlsb`, `.ods`, `.csv`, `.tsv`, `.txt`, `.json`, `.ndjson`, and MySQL or MariaDB dumps as `.sql` or `.sql.gz`. 3. Pick your database under **Your database**: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, SQL Server or Oracle. The SQL is written again for it right away. 4. Check the fixes. The summary line reads like `5 rows converted, 8 fixes, none rejected`. Each fix has a number, and the same number marks the cell or column it changed on the preview of your file. 5. Select **Download ventas.postgresql.sql**, or **Copy** to put the SQL on the clipboard. If a column came out wrong, select its header in the preview to rename it, keep it as text or leave it out. [The web converter](/docs/converter) covers every option. ## With the command line The `intosql` command runs the same engine on your computer. Converting is free. ### Install ```shell brew install alfonsobries/intosql/intosql ``` Or with npm: ```shell npm i -g intosql ``` To try it without installing, prefix any command with `npx`, as in `npx intosql convert ventas.xlsx --to postgresql`. ### Convert ```shell intosql convert ventas.xlsx --to postgresql --output ventas.sql ``` The script goes to `ventas.sql` and a summary goes to standard error: ```text Converted 4 of 4 rows from ventas.xlsx into ventas for PostgreSQL. 10 fixes made; `intosql inspect ventas.xlsx` lists them. ``` The table is named after the file. `--table` names it yourself, and `--to` takes `postgresql`, `mysql`, `mariadb`, `sqlite`, `sql-server` or `oracle`. Without `--output`, the script goes to standard output. To see every fix before you convert, run `intosql inspect ventas.xlsx`. To keep the report, add `--report ventas.report.json`. ### Run the script The script creates the table and inserts the rows inside one transaction: ```sql -- Written by IntoSQL for PostgreSQL. SET client_encoding = 'UTF8'; BEGIN; CREATE TABLE ventas ( no_cliente text NOT NULL, nombre text NOT NULL, c_p text NOT NULL, alta date NOT NULL, activo boolean NOT NULL, saldo numeric(6,2) ); ``` Run it with `psql`: ```shell psql -d tienda -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -f ventas.sql ``` To skip the script and load the file straight into a database, use `intosql load`. Loading into SQLite is free; loading into PostgreSQL, MySQL or MariaDB is part of IntoSQL Pro. See [Command line](/docs/cli) for every command and flag. ## With the API The API converts files on IntoSQL's servers, for code that runs without you. It is part of IntoSQL Pro. ### Create an API key Sign in, open **Settings**, then **API keys**, and create a key. Keep it in an environment variable: ```shell export INTOSQL_API_KEY="your-key" ``` Every request sends it as a bearer token: `Authorization: Bearer $INTOSQL_API_KEY`. ### Create a conversion from a URL The quickest way is to give the API a public HTTPS address of the file. It downloads the file and converts it right away. The `spec` is the conversion request, the same one the command line and the browser use. ```shell curl -X POST https://intosql.com/api/v1/conversions \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $INTOSQL_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "url": "https://example.com/exports/ventas.csv", "spec": {"output": {"dialect": "postgresql"}} }' ``` The spec only has to name the database; every other field takes its default ([Conversion spec](/docs/api/spec)). The answer is `202 Accepted`, with the conversion queued and the whole spec filled in. `name` comes from the URL's file name, and `bytes` stays `0` until the file arrives. ```json { "data": { "id": "01J9Z8K3M4N5P6Q7R8S9T0V1W2", "status": "queued", "name": "ventas.csv", "bytes": 0, "spec": { "version": 1, "input": { "format": null, "encoding": null, "delimiter": null, "sheet": null, "header_row": null }, "output": { "format": "sql", "dialect": "postgresql", "table": null, "schema": null, "create_table": true, "column_names": "snake_case", "style": "inserts", "batch_rows": 500 }, "inference": { "sample_rows": 10000, "date_order": "auto", "keep_leading_zeros": true, "locale": null }, "columns": [] }, "report": null, "error": null, "output": null, "upload": null, "created_at": "2026-10-16T14:02:11+00:00", "started_at": null, "finished_at": null, "expires_at": "2026-10-17T14:02:11+00:00" } } ``` To send a file from your computer instead, post `name` and `bytes` in place of `url`, `PUT` the file to the `upload.url` in the answer, then call `POST /api/v1/conversions/{id}/start`. See [Conversions](/docs/api/conversions). ### Wait for it to finish Read the conversion until `status` is `done` or `failed`. It goes from `queued` to `running` to one of those two. ```shell curl https://intosql.com/api/v1/conversions/01J9Z8K3M4N5P6Q7R8S9T0V1W2 \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $INTOSQL_API_KEY" ``` When it is done, `report` holds the full report and `output.url` downloads the result: ```json { "data": { "id": "01J9Z8K3M4N5P6Q7R8S9T0V1W2", "status": "done", "name": "ventas.csv", "bytes": 357, "spec": { "version": 1, "input": { "format": null, "encoding": null, "delimiter": null, "sheet": null, "header_row": null }, "output": { "format": "sql", "dialect": "postgresql", "table": null, "schema": null, "create_table": true, "column_names": "snake_case", "style": "inserts", "batch_rows": 500 }, "inference": { "sample_rows": 10000, "date_order": "auto", "keep_leading_zeros": true, "locale": null }, "columns": [] }, "report": { "version": 1, "input": { "format": "csv", "encoding": "windows-1252", "delimiter": ";", "sheet": null, "bytes": 357 }, "dialect": "postgresql", "table": "ventas", "columns": [ { "source_name": "Folio", "name": "folio", "sql_type": "text", "kind": "text", "precision": null, "scale": null, "max_chars": 5, "nullable": false, "fixes": [4], "excluded": false, "as_text": false }, { "source_name": "Fecha", "name": "fecha", "sql_type": "date", "kind": "date", "precision": null, "scale": null, "max_chars": null, "nullable": false, "fixes": [5], "excluded": false, "as_text": false }, { "source_name": "Importe", "name": "importe", "sql_type": "numeric(6,2)", "kind": "decimal", "precision": 6, "scale": 2, "max_chars": null, "nullable": true, "fixes": [6, 7], "excluded": false, "as_text": false } ], "rows": { "read": 5, "converted": 5, "rejected": 0 }, "fixes": [ { "number": 1, "code": "text_transcoded", "column": null, "row": null, "args": { "encoding": "windows-1252" } }, { "number": 2, "code": "header_found", "column": null, "row": 4, "args": { "row": "4" } }, { "number": 5, "code": "dates_day_first", "column": "Fecha", "row": null, "args": { "column": "Fecha", "evidence": "15/02/2024", "example": "03/02/2024", "reading": "2024-02-03" } } ], "problems": [], "timings": { "read_ms": 2, "convert_ms": 1, "total_ms": 3 } }, "error": null, "output": { "bytes": 686, "url": "https://storage.example.com/01J9Z8K3M4N5P6Q7R8S9T0V1W2/ventas.sql?X-Amz-Expires=600&X-Amz-Signature=..." }, "upload": null, "created_at": "2026-10-16T14:02:11+00:00", "started_at": "2026-10-16T14:02:12+00:00", "finished_at": "2026-10-16T14:02:13+00:00", "expires_at": "2026-10-17T14:02:11+00:00" } } ``` The report above is shortened to three columns and three fixes; a real one lists every column and every fix. A failed conversion has `status` `failed` and the reason in `error`. ### Download the result `output.url` is a signed address that works for ten minutes. Read the conversion again for a fresh one. ```shell curl -o ventas.sql "https://storage.example.com/01J9Z8K3M4N5P6Q7R8S9T0V1W2/ventas.sql?X-Amz-Expires=600&X-Amz-Signature=..." ``` The file and the output are deleted 24 hours after the conversion was created, or right away with `DELETE /api/v1/conversions/{id}`. ### The same with an SDK The [SDKs](/docs/sdks) for TypeScript, PHP, Python, Java, Go, .NET and Ruby make the same calls. In TypeScript: ```shell npm install @intosql/sdk ``` `convertUrl` creates the conversion and waits until it is done. `spec()` fills in the same defaults as the curl example. ```ts import { IntoSQL, spec } from '@intosql/sdk'; const intosql = new IntoSQL({ apiKey: process.env.INTOSQL_API_KEY! }); const conversion = await intosql.convertUrl( 'https://example.com/exports/ventas.csv', { spec: spec({ dialect: 'postgresql' }), }, ); console.log(conversion.report?.rows.converted, conversion.output?.url); ``` For a file on disk, `convert` uploads it, starts the conversion and waits: ```ts import { openAsBlob } from 'node:fs'; const conversion = await intosql.convert(await openAsBlob('ventas.xlsx'), { name: 'ventas.xlsx', spec: spec({ dialect: 'postgresql', table: 'ventas' }), }); ``` A conversion that fails throws `ConversionFailedError`; a refused request throws `IntoSQLError` with a `code` such as `needs_pro` or `over_quota`. See the [TypeScript SDK](/docs/sdks/typescript), or the [SDK](/docs/sdks) for your language. ## Next steps - [The web converter](/docs/converter): every option, the column editor and the report. - [How fixes work](/docs/fixes): what each fix means and how to turn it off. - [Command line](/docs/cli): `convert`, `inspect`, `load` and the local MCP server. - [API](/docs/api): authentication, limits and every endpoint.