Create a CSV validator tool

Here is a simple CSV validator tool written in Python. This script checks for:

• File existence and format (.csv)

• Consistent number of columns per row

• Presence of a header

• Optional checks for empty values or custom rules

You can copy and run this as a script or convert it into a web tool or CLI tool if needed.

python
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import csv
import os

def validate_csv(file_path, required_columns=None, allow_empty=False):
    if not os.path.isfile(file_path):
        return "Error: File does not exist."

    if not file_path.lower().endswith('.csv'):
        return "Error: File is not a CSV."

    with open(file_path, newline='', encoding='utf-8') as csvfile:
        reader = csv.reader(csvfile)
        try:
            header = next(reader)
        except StopIteration:
            return "Error: CSV file is empty."

        if required_columns:
            missing_columns = [col for col in required_columns if col not in header]
            if missing_columns:
                return f"Error: Missing required columns: {missing_columns}"

        column_count = len(header)
        row_number = 1
        for row in reader:
            row_number += 1
            if len(row) != column_count:
                return f"Error: Row {row_number} has {len(row)} columns; expected {column_count}."
            if not allow_empty and any(cell.strip() == '' for cell in row):
                return f"Error: Row {row_number} contains empty cells."

    return "CSV validation passed successfully."

# Example usage:
if __name__ == "__main__":
    path_to_csv = "example.csv"
    required = ["Name", "Email", "Age"]  # Customize as needed
    result = validate_csv(path_to_csv, required_columns=required, allow_empty=False)
    print(result)

Features:

• Validates if file is .csv.

• Confirms header exists.

• Ensures each row has same number of columns.

• Optionally checks for required headers and disallows empty values.

Let me know if you want this tool adapted for web (HTML/JS), command-line interface, or GUI version.