Delete List Separator
Remove or convert separators in any list. Custom multi-char delimiters, replace-with mode (a,b,c → a | b | c), trim. Free, offline, client-side, instant, secure.
Remove the separator from any list to merge items into a single string (a,b,c → abc) OR convert one separator to another (a,b,c → a | b | c). Both now wired up.
How to Use Delete List Separator
- Paste your list (any separator: commas, newlines, tabs, semicolons, pipes, spaces, or anything custom).
- Pick the separator from the preset list, or choose Custom string and type your own (multi-character OK - try
::or&&or even an emoji). - Tick Replace with another string to convert instead of delete - enter what to put between items. Leave off for pure removal.
- Tick Trim whitespace per item to clean up
apple , banana→apple|bananainstead ofapple | banana. - Live preview updates after 200 ms. Ctrl+Enter recalculates manually.
- Stats card shows item count, separator occurrences removed (= items − 1), and output length in characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Delete vs Replace mode – when to use which?
Delete (default, toggle off): the separator is removed entirely, items are concatenated with nothing between. a,b,c → abc. Useful for: merging CSV data into a single string, removing tab characters from text, stripping pipes from log entries.
What does the “Custom” separator allow?
Any string, single or multi-character. Examples: :: (double-colon delimited), | (pipe with surrounding spaces), --- (triple-dash, common in markdown), & , even an emoji like 🔹. Treated as a literal string, NOT a regex pattern – so . matches only a literal dot, not “any character”. For regex separators use a different tool.
What’s the “Trim whitespace” option?
Strips leading/trailing whitespace from each item before joining. Input "apple , banana , cherry" with comma separator and trim ON: split → ["apple ", " banana ", " cherry"] → trim each → ["apple", "banana", "cherry"] → join. Output without trim: apple banana cherry (double spaces preserved). Output with trim: applebananacherry (or with replace-with, cleanly delimited).
Will this affect separators inside quoted text?
NO – and yes. The tool does a plain string split on the chosen separator. It has no awareness of quotes, brackets, or escape sequences. So "Smith, John",30 with comma separator splits to 3 parts ("Smith, John", 30) – quotes don’t protect anything. If your data has RFC 4180-style quoted CSV with embedded commas, use the sibling tool “Delete CSV Columns” which has a proper parser. This tool is for simple find-and-replace separator work.
What’s “Separators removed” in the stats?
Equal to (item count − 1) when at least one separator was found. If your input had 5 items separated by 4 commas, the stat shows 4. If no separator was found (the chosen separator doesn’t appear in the input), the stat shows 0 and output equals input.
Can I delete multiple separator types at once?
Not directly. Run the tool twice: first remove commas, then with the output, remove newlines (or whatever else). For more complex multi-pattern needs, use a regex-based tool. Tip: if you need to normalize a list with mixed separators to a single one, run it once per separator type, all into the same replacement string.
What if my chosen separator isn’t in the input?
Identity. Output equals input, stat shows 0 separators removed, no error. Useful for safe pipelines that may or may not encounter the separator.
How fast is processing?
Single string split + join – O(n) on input length. 100,000-item lists process in ~30-80 ms on a typical desktop. Large multi-megabyte inputs may take a few hundred ms due to memory allocation for the output string. No noticeable lag for normal use.
Is my data secure?
Yes. All processing happens in your browser using native string split/join. Your data never leaves your device. Download is generated in-memory and offered locally.