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Synopsis

dms convert csv2json FILE [--output PATH]
dms convert json2csv FILE [--output FILE]

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Description

dms convert is a command group with two subcommands for bidirectional conversion between the flat CSV spreadsheet format and structured DMS JSON records.
  • csv2json — reads a CSV where each row is one record and writes a JSON array (or individual files if the output path is a directory).
  • json2csv — reads a single DMS JSON record or a JSON array and writes a flat CSV file.
Because CSV is inherently flat, nested DMS fields are mapped to _-separated column names (e.g., creator_name, rights_access_level). Multi-value fields use the pipe character (|) as a delimiter.

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Subcommands

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csv2json

Convert a CSV file to DMS JSON records.
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FILE
path
required
Path to the input .csv file. Must exist.
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--output
path
default:"FILE_converted.json"
Output path. When omitted, the default is <stem>_converted.json in the same directory as the input file (e.g., batch_converted.json for batch.csv). If you supply a path without a .json extension, each record is written as a separate file inside that directory.

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json2csv

Convert DMS JSON record(s) to CSV format.
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FILE
path
required
Path to a DMS JSON file. Can be a single record object or a JSON array. Must exist.
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--output
path
default:"FILE.csv"
Output CSV path. When omitted, the file is written alongside the input with the same stem and a .csv extension.

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CSV column format

The canonical column order for a DMS CSV file: 
id, title, type, description, language,
creator_name, creator_role,
date_created, date_event,
subject,
location_name, location_area, location_latitude, location_longitude,
format,
rights_license, rights_access_level, rights_holder,
source_contributor, source_collection, source_original_format,
schema_version
Multi-value columns (creator_name, creator_role, subject) use | (pipe) as a delimiter. For example, two creators are stored as Alice|Bob in creator_name and author|photographer in creator_role.

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Examples

dms convert csv2json batch.csv
# writes batch_converted.json

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Notes

The _converted suffix in the default output filename is intentional — it prevents csv2json from overwriting an existing JSON file that shares the same stem as your CSV input.
When multiple creators are present, ensure creator_name and creator_role columns have the same number of |-separated values so each name is paired with the correct role.