Free on all plans

Messy headers in. Clean format out.

Upload your file. Operelio strips special characters, trims whitespace, and numbers any duplicates. One click. Free.

No credit card required. Headers cleaned without the manual work.

The Clean Headers tool in Operelio previewing the rename of every column, turning Full Name into full_name and JOB title into job_title.

What it does

Every header, cleaned the same way

Lowercase with underscores

Every header is converted to lowercase with underscores between words. "Email Address" becomes "email_address". "Account ID" becomes "account_id".

Special characters stripped

Brackets, exclamation marks, hash symbols, and slashes are removed. So is anything else that isn't a letter or number. Only letters, numbers, and underscores remain.

Whitespace trimmed

Leading and trailing spaces are removed. Double spaces between words collapse to a single underscore. Tabs and other invisible characters that break imports get cleared too.

Duplicate headers numbered

If your file has two columns called "Name", the second becomes "name_2", the third "name_3", and so on. Every column keeps its own data.

CSV and Excel supported

Upload .csv, .xlsx, or .xls files. On Pro, Team, and Agency, your output keeps the same format as your input. On Free, the output is always CSV.

Data stays untouched

Only the header row changes. Every row of data below the headers is preserved exactly as it was. Nothing gets moved, merged, or deleted.

How to use it

Three steps, no configuration

1

Upload your file

Drag and drop any CSV or Excel file. Operelio reads the headers for you.

messy_contacts.csv

5 columns detected

2

Review the changes

No config needed. Operelio shows you every header before and after cleaning. Nothing runs until you confirm.

Full Namefull_name
JOB titlejob_title
3

Download the clean file

Click Clean headers and download your file with standardized headers. Every row of data is preserved exactly as it was.

5 of 5 headers renamed

The alternative

Doing it yourself

This is what header cleanup looks like without a tool.

In Excel or Google Sheets

1Open the file and read through every column header
2Retype each one: trim spaces, fix casing, replace special characters
3Check for invisible tabs and other characters Excel won't show you
4Scan for duplicate column names (Excel won't flag these)
5Do it all again next month when the source sends a new export

15-30 minutes per file

Repetitive. Invisible characters are easy to miss. You have to redo it every time the same source sends a new file.

With Clean Headers

1Upload your file
2Review the before/after preview
3Download the cleaned file

Under 10 seconds

Every header, every file, the same clean format. No manual retyping.

Messy headers might not be the only problem in that file

Upload it and Bridgeant reviews the file before you commit to a tool. It reports what it finds, orders the problems by how much they actually matter, and points you at the tool for each one. That is on every plan including Free, and it works from a summary of your file rather than the contents.

On Pro and up it stops advising and starts doing. Describe the job in a sentence and Bridgeant plans the steps, shows you the plan, and runs them in the right order once you approve. You are not running four jobs by hand and trying to remember which came first.

See how Bridgeant works

Pricing

Free on every plan.

Clean Headers is included on every plan. Free covers files up to 2,000 rows; Pro raises that to 50,000, Team to 75,000, and Agency to 150,000. No limits on the number of columns.

Common questions

Clean Headers FAQ

What format does it convert headers to?

Each header is converted to lowercase with underscores between words. Special characters are stripped, and duplicate names get a numbered suffix (_2, _3). "First Name" becomes "first_name". "Phone # (Work)" becomes "phone_work".

Does it change any of my data?

No. Only the header row is modified. Your data is untouched.

What if I have two columns with the same name?

The first column keeps the clean name. The second gets a _2 suffix, the third gets _3, and so on. This prevents silent overwrites when importing into databases or CRMs.

Is this free?

Yes. Clean Headers is free on all plans. The only limit is row count: up to 2,000 rows on Free, 50,000 on Pro, 75,000 on Team, and 150,000 on Agency.

Can I use this with Excel files?

Yes. Upload .csv, .xlsx, or .xls files. Pro, Team, and Agency keep your input format; Free returns CSV only.

Does it work with multi-tab workbooks?

Yes. The tool reads the workbook's first tab by default, and a tab picker under the upload switches to any other. Each run cleans one tab's headers, so run it once per tab you care about, or combine the tabs into one list in Merge Files to clean everything at once.

Why do CRMs need clean headers?

Most CRM import tools match columns by exact header name. A header like "Email Address!" with stray spaces or punctuation won't match the CRM's "email" field. Clean headers make the match automatic.

Want the full walkthrough? Read the Clean Headers guide →

More guides: Clean up messy column headers

Stop retyping column names.

Upload your file, get clean headers back. Free on every plan.