Convert to File

Convert JSON data into binary files (CSV, XLSX, JSON, text, ICS, and more)

Overview

The Convert to File tool transforms structured JSON data or text strings into binary file formats. For spreadsheet formats (CSV, HTML, RTF, ODS, XLS, XLSX), it aggregates ALL input items into a single output file (many-to-one pattern). For JSON output, it supports two modes: all items into one file (once) or each item as a separate file (each). For text and base64-to-binary operations, each input item produces its own output file (one-to-one). For ICS calendar events, each input item generates a separate .ics file. No external API calls or credentials required.

Category: Core Nodes
Tool Name: convert_to_file
Version: 1

Appearance: Icon: lucide-FileInput | Color: #2244FF

Node Type

Action (Binary) — handles file/binary data operations

Input / Output

Direction	Port(s)
Input	Input
Output	Output, Error

Credentials

This tool does not require any credentials.

Operations

Operation	Value	Description
Convert to CSV	csv	Transform input data into a CSV file
Convert to HTML	html	Transform input data into a table in an HTML file
Convert to ICS	iCal	Converts each input item to an ICS event file
Convert to JSON	toJson	Transform input data into a single or multiple JSON files
Convert to ODS	ods	Transform input data into an ODS file
Convert to RTF	rtf	Transform input data into a table in an RTF file
Convert to Text File	toText	Transform input data string into a file
Convert to XLS	xls	Transform input data into an Excel file
Convert to XLSX	xlsx	Transform input data into an Excel file
Move Base64 String to File	toBinary	Convert a base64-encoded string into its original file format

Parameters

The six spreadsheet operations share one set of parameters and are documented together.

Convert to CSV / HTML / RTF / ODS / XLS / XLSX (csv, html, rtf, ods, xls, xlsx)

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Put Output File in Field	string	Yes	data	The name of the output binary field to put the file in. Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Options (options)	collection	No	{}	Formatting options for the generated spreadsheet.
— Compression	boolean	No	false	Whether to reduce the output file size. (shown when Operation is xlsx, ods)
— Delimiter	string	No	,	The character to use to separate fields. (shown when Operation is csv)
— File Name	string	No	—	Name of the output file.
— Header Row	boolean	No	true	Whether the first row of the file contains the header names.
— Sheet Name	string	No	Sheet	Name of the sheet to create in the spreadsheet. (shown when Operation is ods, xls, xlsx)

Convert to JSON (toJson)

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Mode	options	No	once	Whether to write every input item into one file or give each item its own file.
				Options: once (all items to one file), each (each item to a separate file)
Put Output File in Field	string	Yes	data	The name of the output binary field to put the file in. Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Options (options)	collection	No	{}	Formatting and encoding options for the generated JSON file.
— Add Byte Order Mark (BOM)	boolean	No	false	Whether to add special marker at the start of your text file. This marker helps some programs understand how to read the file correctly. (shown when Encoding is utf8, cesu8, ucs2)
— Format	boolean	No	false	Whether to format the JSON data for easier reading.
— Encoding	options	No	utf8	Choose the character set to use to encode the data.
				Options: armscii8, ascii, base64, big5hkscs, binary, cesu8, cp1046, cp1124, cp1125, cp1129, cp1133, cp1161, cp1162, cp1163, cp437, cp720, cp737, cp775, cp808, cp850, latin1, ucs2, utf8
— File Name	string	No	—	Name of the output file.

Convert to Text File (toText)

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Text Input Field	string	Yes	—	The name of the input field that contains a string to convert to a file. Use dot-notation for deep fields (e.g. ‘level1.level2.currentKey’). Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Put Output File in Field	string	Yes	data	The name of the output binary field to put the file in. Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Options (options)	collection	No	{}	Encoding and naming options for the generated text file.
— Add Byte Order Mark (BOM)	boolean	No	false	Whether to add special marker at the start of your text file. This marker helps some programs understand how to read the file correctly. (shown when Encoding is utf8, cesu8, ucs2)
— Encoding	options	No	utf8	Choose the character set to use to encode the data.
				Options: armscii8, ascii, base64, big5hkscs, binary, cesu8, cp1046, cp1124, cp1125, cp1129, cp1133, cp1161, cp1162, cp1163, cp437, cp720, cp737, cp775, cp808, cp850, latin1, ucs2, utf8
— File Name	string	No	—	Name of the output file.

Move Base64 String to File (toBinary)

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Base64 Input Field	string	Yes	—	The name of the input field that contains the base64 string to convert to a file. Use dot-notation for deep fields (e.g. ‘level1.level2.currentKey’). Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Put Output File in Field	string	Yes	data	The name of the output binary field to put the file in. Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Options (options)	collection	No	{}	Naming and type options for the decoded file.
— Add Byte Order Mark (BOM)	boolean	No	false	Whether to add special marker at the start of your text file. (shown when Encoding is utf8, cesu8, ucs2)
— Encoding	options	No	utf8	Choose the character set to use to encode the data.
				Options: armscii8, ascii, base64, big5hkscs, binary, cesu8, cp1046, cp1124, cp1125, cp1129, cp1133, cp1161, cp1162, cp1163, cp437, cp720, cp737, cp775, cp808, cp850, latin1, ucs2, utf8
— File Name	string	No	—	Name of the output file.
— MIME Type	string	No	—	The MIME type of the output file.

Convert to ICS (iCal)

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Event Title	string	No	—	The event’s summary line. Supports expressions like {{ $json.title }}.
Start	string	Yes	—	Date and time at which the event begins (ISO 8601). For all-day events, the time will be ignored.
End	string	Yes	—	Date and time at which the event ends (ISO 8601). For all-day events, the time will be ignored. If not set, will be equal to the start date.
All Day	boolean	No	false	Whether the event lasts all day or not.
Put Output File in Field	string	Yes	data	The field that your iCalendar file will be available under in the output. Names are case-sensitive — see the upstream node’s Binary Data panel for the exact names to use.
Options (additionalFields)	collection	No	{}	Optional calendar properties written into the event.
— Attendees	fixedCollection	No	{}	People invited to the event. Add one entry per attendee.
— — Name	string	Yes	—	The attendee’s display name.
— — Email	string	Yes	—	The attendee’s email address.
— — RSVP	boolean	No	false	Whether the attendee has to confirm attendance or not.
— Busy Status	options	No	—	Used to specify busy status for Microsoft applications, like Outlook.
				Options: BUSY, TENTATIVE
— Calendar Name	string	No	—	Specifies the calendar (not event) name. Used by Apple iCal and Microsoft Outlook.
— Description	string	No	—	Longer text describing the event.
— File Name	string	No	—	The name of the file to be generated. Default name is event.ics.
— Geolocation	fixedCollection	No	{}	Coordinates for the event location. One entry only.
— — Latitude	string	No	—	Latitude of the event location.
— — Longitude	string	No	—	Longitude of the event location.
— Location	string	No	—	The intended venue.
— Recurrence Rule	string	No	—	A rule to define the repeat pattern of the event (RRULE).
— Organizer	fixedCollection	No	{}	Who is hosting the event. One entry only.
— — Name	string	Yes	—	The organizer’s display name.
— — Email	string	Yes	—	The organizer’s email address.
— Sequence	number	No	0	When sending an update for an event (with the same uid), defines the revision sequence number.
— Status	options	No	CONFIRMED	The event’s confirmation state.
				Options: CONFIRMED, CANCELLED, TENTATIVE
— UID	string	No	—	Universally unique ID for the event (will be auto-generated if not specified). Should be globally unique.
— URL	string	No	—	URL associated with event.

All Operations

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Max Concurrency	number	No	10	Maximum number of items to process concurrently (used for per-item operations like toJson each, toText, toBinary, iCal).

Output Data

This node produces files, not fields. The output item’s json is empty — nothing from the input item’s JSON is carried forward, so read any values you still need before this node, or pass them down a parallel branch. The generated file lands on the binary property named by Put Output File in Field.

How many items come out depends on the operation:

Operation	Items out
csv, html, rtf, ods, xls, xlsx	One item for the whole node run — every input item becomes a row in a single file.
toJson with Mode once	One item for the whole node run, holding one file containing an array of every input item’s JSON.
toJson with Mode each	One item per input item.
toText, toBinary, iCal	One item per input item.

The per-item operations (toJson with Mode each, toText, toBinary, iCal) keep the binary properties that arrived on the item and add the new file alongside them. The aggregating operations emit a fresh item that carries only the generated file.

When no File Name is set, each operation falls back to a default, and the MIME type is fixed by the format:

Operation	Default file name	MIME type
csv	File.csv	text/csv
html	File.html	text/html
rtf	File.rtf	application/rtf
ods	File.ods	application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet
xls	File.xls	application/vnd.ms-excel
xlsx	File.xlsx	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
toJson	file.json	application/json
toText	file.txt	text/plain
toBinary	file	MIME Type if set, otherwise detected from the file name, otherwise application/octet-stream
iCal	event.ics	text/calendar

For the spreadsheet operations, nested objects are flattened into dot-notation columns — { "address": { "city": "NYC" } } becomes a column headed address.city. Turning Header Row off writes the values with no header line.

Usage Examples

• Convert JSON data to an Excel XLSX file
• Export workflow data to a CSV file with custom delimiter
• Create a JSON file from all input items
• Convert a text string to a .txt binary file
• Generate an ICS calendar event from event data
• Convert a base64-encoded string back to its original binary file

Example Configuration

Export every input item to one CSV file:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "csv",
    "binaryPropertyName": "csvFile",
    "options": {
      "delimiter": ",",
      "headerRow": true,
      "fileName": "data_export.csv"
    }
  }
}

Build a compressed Excel workbook with a named sheet:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "xlsx",
    "binaryPropertyName": "excelFile",
    "options": {
      "compression": true,
      "headerRow": true,
      "sheetName": "DataSheet",
      "fileName": "report.xlsx"
    }
  }
}

Write all items into a single, pretty-printed JSON file:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "toJson",
    "mode": "once",
    "binaryPropertyName": "jsonFile",
    "options": {
      "format": true,
      "encoding": "utf8",
      "fileName": "combined_data.json"
    }
  }
}

Give each item its own JSON file, numbered by position:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "toJson",
    "mode": "each",
    "binaryPropertyName": "jsonFiles",
    "options": {
      "format": false,
      "encoding": "utf8",
      "fileName": "item_{{ $index }}.json"
    },
    "maxConcurrency": 5
  }
}

Turn a nested string field into a .txt file:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "toText",
    "sourceProperty": "content.message",
    "binaryPropertyName": "textFile",
    "options": {
      "encoding": "utf8",
      "fileName": "message.txt"
    }
  }
}

Decode a base64 string back into a PDF:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "toBinary",
    "sourceProperty": "attachments.base64Data",
    "binaryPropertyName": "decodedFile",
    "options": {
      "fileName": "document.pdf",
      "mimeType": "application/pdf"
    }
  }
}

Generate a calendar invite with an organizer and one attendee:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "iCal",
    "title": "Team Meeting",
    "start": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "end": "2024-01-15T11:00:00Z",
    "allDay": false,
    "binaryPropertyName": "calendarFile",
    "additionalFields": {
      "description": "Weekly team sync meeting",
      "location": "Conference Room A",
      "fileName": "team_meeting.ics",
      "organizerUi": {
        "organizerValues": [
          {
            "name": "John Doe",
            "email": "john@company.com"
          }
        ]
      },
      "attendeesUi": {
        "attendeeValues": [
          {
            "name": "Jane Smith",
            "email": "jane@company.com",
            "rsvp": true
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Generate an all-day event on a named calendar:

{
  "type": "convert_to_file",
  "parameters": {
    "operation": "iCal",
    "title": "Company Holiday",
    "start": "2024-12-25T00:00:00Z",
    "allDay": true,
    "binaryPropertyName": "holidayEvent",
    "additionalFields": {
      "description": "Christmas Day - Office Closed",
      "calName": "Company Calendar",
      "fileName": "holiday.ics",
      "status": "CONFIRMED"
    }
  }
}

Error Handling

Mode	Behavior
stop	Halts workflow on first error
continue	Skips failed items, passes successful ones through
errorPort	Routes failed items to Error output port

Tips

Convert JSON data into binary files — spreadsheets (CSV/XLSX/XLS/ODS/HTML/RTF), JSON files, text files, ICS calendar events, or base64-to-binary conversion.

Common Patterns

• Data export pipeline — use the spreadsheet operations for structured data export with custom formatting and compression options.
• Document generation — combine text operations with dynamic content from workflow data to generate reports or documents.
• Calendar integration — create calendar events from workflow data, supporting both simple events and complex recurring patterns with attendees.
• File format conversion — use toBinary for base64 data, or chain operations in sequence for multi-format output.
• Batch processing — raise Max Concurrency for efficient processing of large datasets, especially with per-item operations like individual JSON files or calendar events.