How to Open an Avro File and Convert It to CSV or JSON

Open and convert Apache Avro files in your browser, with no install and no code.

Open the Avro viewer and converter

Avro is a row-based file format used with Kafka, Hadoop and data pipelines. It stores the schema inside the file, but you cannot read it in a text editor or open it in Excel.

The Format Converter reads the schema and shows every record as a table. Nested records, arrays, maps, enums and unions are supported, and date and timestamp types become real dates. Save the result as CSV, JSON, Excel or Parquet. You can also go the other way: CSV, JSON, Excel or Parquet to a new .avro file, with column types detected and written into the schema.

Files with no compression or deflate compression are supported. Your file is processed in your browser and never uploaded.

Open the Avro viewer and converter

Related tool pages

  • JSON, CSV, Parquet and Excel Converter: Convert between JSON, CSV, Parquet and Excel online for free, one file or a whole folder. It runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.
  • Avro to CSV Converter: Convert an Avro file to CSV online. Nested records are flattened. Free, private, runs in your browser.
  • CSV to Avro Converter: Convert CSV to an Avro (.avro) file online. Column types are detected and written into the Avro schema. Free and private: nothing is uploaded.
  • Avro to JSON Converter: Convert an Avro file to JSON online. Nested records, arrays and maps stay nested. Free, private, no upload.
  • JSON to Avro Converter: Convert JSON to an Avro (.avro) file online. The schema is built from your data. Free, private, no upload.
  • Avro to Parquet Converter: Convert Avro to Parquet online for faster analytics in Spark, DuckDB or BigQuery. Free, private, runs in your browser.

How to use the Avro viewer and converter: step by step

  1. Open the Format Converter.
  2. Choose From: Avro and the format you need in To.
  3. Drop your .avro file into the box.
  4. Click Convert, then copy or download the result.

When to use the Avro viewer and converter

  • Looking inside an Avro file exported from Kafka or a data lake
  • Sending Avro data to someone who only uses Excel
  • Converting Avro to Parquet for Spark, DuckDB or BigQuery
  • Creating a small Avro test file from a CSV

Example

Input: events.avro

Output: events.csv

Frequently asked questions

How do I open an Avro file without code?

Drop the .avro file into the converter. It reads the embedded schema and shows every record as a table you can download as CSV, JSON, Excel or Parquet. No Java, Python or avro-tools needed.

Which Avro codecs are supported?

Files with no compression (null) or deflate. Nested records, arrays, maps, enums, unions and date or timestamp logical types are read too.

How big can a file be?

It depends on your device. A few hundred MB usually works.

Which conversions does the Format Converter support?

Any direction between JSON, CSV, Parquet and Excel (.xlsx), for one file or a whole folder. Nested JSON is flattened into columns such as address.city. For Excel, the first sheet is read; old .xls files are not supported.

Tip: Nested Avro records become columns such as address.city when you save as CSV or Excel.