Turn a CSV into a REST API in one curl (free, no signup)

You have a spreadsheet export — a product list, a roster, survey results — and you want to hit it as an API: fetch it from a frontend, filter it, page through it, maybe write to it. The usual suspects for this job (SheetDB, Sheety, sheet2api) all want you to sign up first, connect a Google Sheet, and live inside free tiers measured in a few hundred requests per month.

If what you actually have is a CSV file, there's a shorter path. One curl, no account:

curl -X POST 'https://HOST/api/projects/import?resource=people' \
  -H 'content-type: text/csv' --data-binary @people.csv
# → {
#     "id": "f69cny6aep",
#     "baseUrl": "https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep",
#     "kind": "csv",
#     "resources": [{ "name": "people", "records": 124,
#                     "fields": ["name","role","team","salary","remote","email","joined"] }]
#   }

Every row is now a record behind a real REST endpoint, with per-column typing already done:

curl 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/people/1'
# → { "id": 1, "name": "Ada Lovelace", "role": "engineer",
#     "salary": 180000, "remote": true, "email": "ada@example.com",
#     "joined": "2023-04-11" }   ← salary is a number, remote is a boolean

Prefer a UI? Open /app#import — it drops you straight into the dashboard's import panel: paste rows or pick your CSV file, and the collection is named after the file. No terminal needed.

Query it like a real API

The imported collection gets the full json-server-style toolkit — nothing to configure:

# filter on any column
curl 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/people?remote=true'

# sort + paginate
curl 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/people?_sort=salary&_order=desc&_page=1&_limit=10'

# full-text search across fields
curl 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/people?q=curie'

# project only the fields you need (id always included)
curl 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/people?remote=true&select=name,team'

# writes are real and persist
curl -X POST 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/people' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"New Hire","role":"pm","team":"growth","salary":120000,"remote":true}'

And because it's a normal Mockbird project, you also get a GraphQL endpoint over the same data, TypeScript types / Zod schemas generated from your columns, OpenAPI and Postman exports, CORS on by default, and a request inspector:

# GraphQL over your spreadsheet
curl -X POST 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/graphql' -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"{ people(sortBy: \"salary\", order: \"desc\", limit: 2) { name salary } }"}'

# typed client for your columns
curl -o api.ts 'https://HOST/m/f69cny6aep/types.ts'

How rows are typed

In your CSV	In the API
Whole-number column (`42`, `-3`)	numbers
Decimal column (`19.5`)	numbers
`true`/`false` column	booleans
Zero-padded codes (`01234`, SKUs, ZIP codes)	kept as strings — no mangling
`id` column	your ids are preserved (`/people/101` works)
Quoted values with commas/newlines (`"Curie, Marie"`)	parsed correctly (RFC 4180)
Comma, semicolon, or tab delimiter	auto-detected (Excel's semicolon locales work)
Headers with spaces (`First Name`)	sanitized to `First_Name`
Empty cells	`null`
Cells containing JSON (`["a","b"]`)	parsed into real arrays/objects

Coming from Excel or Google Sheets: File → Download → Comma Separated Values (or Save As → CSV in Excel), then POST the file. TSV exports work too.

Honest comparison: SheetDB, Sheety, sheet2api

These tools solve a different shape of the same problem: they keep a live two-way link to a Google Sheet, so non-developers can edit data in the sheet and the API reflects it. If your team's source of truth genuinely lives in a Google Sheet, they're the right category — Mockbird imports a snapshot of your file, and edits afterwards happen through the API (re-import any time to refresh, or eject with db.json).

But if you just have a CSV and want an API for a prototype, demo, workshop, or frontend build, compare the free tiers (verified July 2026):

	SheetDB	Sheety	sheet2api	Mockbird
Signup required	yes	yes	yes	no
Needs a Google Sheet	yes	yes	yes (or Excel online)	no — any CSV/TSV file
Free requests	500 / month	200 / month	500 / month	10,000 / day
Free row / API caps	2 APIs	100 rows	2 APIs	1,000 rows per file (512 KB)
Live sheet sync	yes	yes	yes	no — snapshot import
Typed columns (numbers/booleans)	strings by default	partial	partial	yes, automatic
Filters / sort / pagination / search	paid tiers for some	basic	basic	all free
GraphQL + OpenAPI + TS types	no	no	no	yes
Data export / no lock-in	your sheet	your sheet	your sheet	`db.json` one-URL export

Refreshing the data

The import is a snapshot by design (that's what makes it signup-free and fast). Three ways to update:

Edit through the API — POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE work and persist, and the dashboard has a table editor.
Re-import a fresh CSV — you get a new URL in one curl; point your app's BASE_URL at it.
Snapshot & restore — save named snapshots of the current state and roll back any time (handy for demos and test fixtures).

This page is written by the Mockbird maker — bias disclosed. SheetDB / Sheety / sheet2api free-tier numbers checked July 2026 against their public pricing pages and docs; all three are solid choices when a live Google Sheet is your source of truth. Anonymous Mockbird projects have a per-IP daily creation cap and free accounts are, well, free — sign up to keep projects permanently. Upload limit: 512 KB per CSV.

Full import reference in the docs. More guides: json-server, hosted · mock server from OpenAPI · free GraphQL mock API. Create your API →