Align Text into Neat Columns
Paste rows from logs, reports, TSV, CSV, or command output and get plain text columns aligned like column -t — with optional numeric alignment, separators, and per-column overrides.
About this tool
Column Aligner turns pasted rows into neat fixed-width plain text columns. It is
for the common column -t workflow: take command output, logs, a quick report,
CSV-ish data, or a copied table and line up each field so the result stays easy
to read in a terminal, Markdown code block, issue comment, or plain text file.
The output is deliberately not a bordered table. It does not add rules, headers, or Markdown pipes unless you ask for a separator; it only pads cells to the widest value in each column. Padding uses Unicode display width, so East Asian characters and emoji align correctly in a monospace font.
Worked example
Input:
name age city
alice 30 Berlin
bo 7 SF
Default settings (delimiter = whitespace, align = left, gap = 2) produce:
name age city
alice 30 Berlin
bo 7 SF
For report-like data, switch Alignment to auto so columns whose non-empty
cells are all numeric are right-aligned while text columns stay left-aligned.
Use Per-column alignment for explicit control: lrr means left-align the
first column and right-align the next two; l,r,c is the same idea with words.
Inputs
- Input rows — one record per line. Blank lines are preserved.
- Input delimiter — whitespace runs by default, or tab, comma, semicolon, colon, pipe, or a single space.
- Alignment — left, right, center, or auto numeric alignment.
- Per-column alignment — optional compact overrides such as
lrr,lr, orleft,right,center;-inherits the main alignment for that column. - Gap spaces — 0 to 16 spaces between columns. Default 2.
- Separator — optional text drawn between columns, such as
|. The gap is applied on both sides of the separator. - Trim fields — remove padding around fields after splitting on literal delimiters. On by default.
Limits and edge cases
- Maximum 20,000 lines and 512 columns per run. Errors name the limit and the value that exceeded it.
- Trailing spaces are never emitted. Ragged rows are padded only up to their last populated cell, so short rows do not grow invisible filler at the end.
- CRLF input is normalized to LF and a single trailing newline is not reproduced.
delimiter = whitespacetreats runs of spaces and tabs as one separator; usedelimiter = spaceonly when each individual space is meaningful.align = autotreats values like-3.5,1,200,$19.99, and12%as numeric. A header cell such asqtymakes that column text unless you override it withcolumn_align.
FAQ
How is this different from a Markdown table formatter?
A Markdown table formatter adds pipes, a header separator row, and table syntax.
Column Aligner keeps the original rows as plain text and only inserts padding so
columns line up. Use it when the destination is a terminal, a code block, a log,
or any place where column -t output is the right shape.
Which delimiter should I choose?
Use Whitespace runs for normal command output and TSV-like text where spaces or tabs separate fields. Use Comma, Pipe, Semicolon, or Colon for literal-delimited rows. Literal delimiters can preserve empty fields between two adjacent delimiters; whitespace mode cannot, because repeated spaces count as a single separator.
Why are there no trailing spaces?
Trailing spaces are hard to see and often get stripped by editors, chat clients, and version control reviews. This tool pads interior columns enough to keep the visible layout aligned, then removes invisible trailing padding at the end of each line. Ragged rows also stop at their final populated field.
What does auto alignment do?
Auto alignment inspects each column. If every non-empty cell in that column looks
numeric, the column is right-aligned; otherwise it is left-aligned. This works
well for simple reports with quantities, prices, percentages, and totals. If a
header row prevents numeric detection, set Per-column alignment explicitly,
for example lrr.
Does Unicode text line up correctly?
Yes. Padding uses display width rather than byte count or Unicode scalar count, so CJK text that occupies two terminal columns is handled correctly. The final look still depends on reading the result in a monospace font with ordinary terminal-width glyphs.
Developer & Automation Access
Run it from the terminal
Same engine as this page, headless — via the gizza CLI:
gizza tool column-aligner "name age city
alice 30 Berlin
bo 7 SF"New to the CLI? Get gizza →
Open it by URL
Pre-fill and auto-run this tool with query parameters — the names match the API/CLI:
https://gizza.ai/tools/column-aligner/?input=name%20age%20city%0Aalice%2030%20Berlin%0Abo%207%20SF&delimiter=whitespace&align=left&column_align=lrr&gap=2&separator=%7C&trim=trueMachine-readable descriptor: tool.json — title + parameters JSON Schema for agents.