# How to Escape Tab Separators in Logstash?

To correctly process CSV data that uses tab characters as separators in Logstash, it's necessary to configure the [Logstash CSV filter](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-filters-csv.html) to recognize the tab separators. 

Suppose you're reading CSV data as shown below:

```text
input {
    file {
        path => "/var/data/*.csv"
        type => "test_data"
        start_position => "beginning"
    }
}
```

In this case, indicate the tab separator with the real tab character:

```text
filter {
   csv {
    separator => "	"  # <-- Real tab character used here
   }
}
```

It's important to note that employing the `\t` sequence will not yield the expected results:

```text
filter {
   csv {
    separator => "\t"  # <-- This does not parse as intended
   }
}
```

To further your understanding of Logstash, explore our [comprehensive guide](https://betterstack.com/community/guides/logging/logstash-explained/).