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API REFERENCEv2

Markdown table to SQL INSERT script API

Prepare SQL INSERT and optional CREATE TABLE text from a README or documentation table with the TableConvert conversion API. The alignment row is omitted, then header cells become record keys; confirm pipes and inline markup in each value.

REST APIv2 · Direct outputMarkdown table → SQL INSERT script1 credits per successful conversion

Try this conversion

Inspect a real sample, preview locally, or send a live request with your own key.

Verified sample
POSThttps://api.tableconvert.com/v2/convert/markdown-to-sql

SQL INSERT script response

CREATE TABLE `tableName` (
    `id`	INT,
    `name`	VARCHAR(512),
    `email`	VARCHAR(512)
);

INSERT INTO `tableName` (`id`, `name`, `email`) VALUES ('101', 'Alice', 'alice@example.com');
INSERT INTO `tableName` (`id`, `name`, `email`) VALUES ('102', 'Bob', 'bob@example.com');

Local previews use no credits and process the first imported table or worksheet.

Conversion options
A successful live request uses 1 credits.

Your key is sent only to the conversion API and is never saved by this page.

Things to check before integrating

Before you integrate

Send only the pipe table and check escaped pipes and inline formatting in values.

Before you integrate

The script is not executed; review inferred types, literal NULL handling and any generated DROP statement before using it.

Code examples

These examples send the sample as multipart/form-data and save the returned bytes unchanged. Set TABLECONVERT_API_KEY in your environment.

Markdown table to SQL INSERT script API · cURL

curl --fail-with-body --max-time 40 \
  'https://api.tableconvert.com/v2/convert/markdown-to-sql' \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $TABLECONVERT_API_KEY" \
  --form-string 'data=| id  | name  | email             |
|-----|-------|-------------------|
| 101 | Alice | alice@example.com |
| 102 | Bob   | bob@example.com   |
' \
  --form-string 'output[create]=true' \
  --form-string 'output[oneInsert]=false' \
  --form-string 'output[drop]=false' \
  --form-string 'output[table]=tableName' \
  --form-string 'output[primaryKey]=' \
  --form-string 'output[dialect]=MySQL' \
  --output 'markdown-to-sql.sql'

Requires cURL. Download the sample input first when this example uploads a file.

Authentication

Send Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY. Let the HTTP client set the multipart boundary; do not set Content-Type manually.

Keep production API keys in server-side environment variables.

Request parameters

Pipe-delimited Markdown table rows become a rectangular dataset. The alignment separator row is removed rather than treated as data.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
datastring—Inline Markdown table content. Choose one of data, file or url.
filebinary—Upload a md file using multipart/form-data.
urlstring—A supported publicly accessible HTTP or HTTPS file URL.

Send one source: data, file, or url. The examples below use the source mode appropriate for this format.

Output options

Generate SQL INSERT statements and optional table-creation text for a chosen dialect. The API returns a script and does not execute it against a database.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
output[create]booleantrueEmit a CREATE TABLE draft before SQL INSERT statements; inspect inferred column types.
output[oneInsert]booleanfalseGroup SQL records into one INSERT with multiple value tuples.
output[drop]booleanfalseEmit DROP TABLE IF EXISTS in the script; review this destructive statement before any separate execution.
output[table]stringtableNameSet the generated table identifier or label; conversion does not create a live database or analytics object.
output[primaryKey]stringEmpty stringAdd a primary-key declaration to the generated SQL CREATE TABLE text.
output[dialect]stringMySQLChoose SQL identifier/literal quoting conventions for the generated script.

Conversion rules

CaseBehavior
Mapping rule 1The Markdown header and body rows remain data; the alignment-only separator is discarded.
Mapping rule 2Headers become quoted identifiers and records become INSERT value tuples in the selected dialect.
Mapping rule 3The alignment row is omitted, then header cells become record keys; confirm pipes and inline markup in each value.

How the input is read

  • Supply the table itself; prose, fenced examples and unrelated document lines should be removed first.
  • The parser removes a recognized second-row alignment separator and trims cell edges.
  • Escaped pipes are distinguished from cell separators, but inline Markdown is not rendered to rich text.
  • Use one physical row per record; prepare multiline cell content deliberately.

How the output is written

  • Header names become column identifiers and each record becomes a VALUES tuple.
  • Optional CREATE TABLE types are heuristic; review null handling, identifier quoting and dialect rules.
  • The optional drop setting emits destructive SQL text; review it before any separate database execution.

When to use this API

This conversion in practice

Use a README or documentation table as the starting dataset for a reviewed database seed or import script. Send only the pipe table and check escaped pipes and inline formatting in values.

SQL INSERT script

Prepare a reviewed seed-data or migration-input script from a flat table.

Responses and errors

HTTP statusDescription
200text/plain; charset=utf-8
400Invalid input or conversion parameters.
402Insufficient credits for this request.
403Missing or invalid API key.
413The input exceeds the configured request limit.
415Unsupported input media type.
429Rate limit exceeded.
500The conversion could not be completed.
503The renderer is unavailable or the request timed out.

Check the response before retrying. A new HTTP request is a new conversion and may use credits again.

Limits, billing and versions

Local previews accept up to 200 KB. The current API implementation allows one uploaded file up to 50 MiB, limits each multipart text field to 1 MiB, and gives v2 conversion tasks a 30-second deadline. Deployment limits may be stricter. Read the returned error before retrying; some parser or renderer failures return HTTP 500.

Live calls follow the API credit policy. Failed conversions are refunded; a completed conversion is not undone if the download connection later fails.

View API pricing and credits

Using API v1?

This page documents v2, which returns the output directly. API v1 wraps the result in a JSON envelope. Check the overview before changing an existing integration.

API overview

References and format specifications

Format references explain the underlying syntax. The conversion rules and samples above describe TableConvert’s implementation.