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ErrorCSV · .csv

CSV Unescaped Quotes — Broken Field Boundaries

A CSV file containing double-quote characters inside fields that are not properly escaped, causing parsers to misinterpret field boundaries.

Why It Fails

RFC 4180 requires that double quotes inside quoted fields be escaped by doubling them (""). An unescaped quote causes the parser to think the field has ended prematurely, corrupting all subsequent columns.

Broken Example

name,description,price
Widget,"A "great" product",9.99
Gadget,"Simple tool",4.99

Expected Error Behavior

Parsers produce incorrect column counts, merge adjacent fields, or throw unterminated string errors.

Affected Software

Python csv modulepandasExcelPostgreSQL COPYMySQL LOAD DATA

How to Fix

Escape internal quotes by doubling them: ""great"". Or use a different quoting character. Validate CSV before import.

Related Edge Cases

CSV with Mixed Delimiters

CSV · warning

CSV with Inconsistent Column Count

CSV · error

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