Free tool

Free Blackbox CSV Validator

Paste or drop your Blackbox metadata CSV and get every formatting problem flagged before you submit. Encoding, keyword separators, categories, lengths, duplicates. Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. No signup.

Drag and drop your Blackbox CSV here, or

Max 5MB. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Or paste raw CSV text

Common Blackbox CSV errors this tool catches

"Invalid category" on Blackbox: causes and fixes

Blackbox only accepts categories from its fixed list (Animals, Nature, People, Technology, Transportation, Travel, and the rest of the official set). The most common cause is a category your metadata tool invented, like Wildlife or Aerial, that is not on the list. The second most common is a typo or different capitalization. This validator checks every row against the same category list ClipMeta uses for its own Blackbox exports and suggests the closest valid category when one is wrong.

Keywords formatting error (commas vs semicolons)

Blackbox expects keywords separated by commas inside a single CSV cell. If your spreadsheet or another tool exported semicolon-separated keywords, the whole keyword list can land in Blackbox as one giant keyword. The validator detects semicolon-separated keyword cells and the corrected CSV download swaps them to commas automatically.

CSV encoding errors (UTF-8 in Excel and Google Sheets)

If your descriptions show characters like ’ or a question mark in a diamond, the file was saved in the wrong encoding. In Excel, use File, then Save As, then pick "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)". In Google Sheets, File, then Download, then Comma Separated Values, which is always UTF-8. The validator flags mojibake patterns so you catch this before Blackbox does.

Title and description length limits on Blackbox

Blackbox descriptions need to be between 15 and 300 characters, and titles are optional with a 100 character cap. Rows with empty or one-word descriptions are the most common silent rejection. The validator flags every row outside those limits and the corrected CSV trims overlong fields.

Why do some rows import and others fail?

Usually one of four things: a duplicate or missing filename so Blackbox cannot match the row to a clip, an invalid category, a keyword list outside the 8 to 49 range, or broken quoting that splits one row into two. The validator checks all four per row and tells you exactly which rows have which problem.

Want the full walkthrough of the Blackbox upload flow, including screenshots of each error? Read the Blackbox Global upload tutorial on the blog, or grade the quality of your metadata (not just the formatting) with the free metadata grader.