diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index af10ad1..ce7092c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 # libBIDS.sh
 
-A Bash library for parsing and processing BIDS datasets into CSV-like structures, enabling flexible data filtering, extraction, and iteration within shell scripts.
+A Bash library for parsing and processing BIDS datasets into TSV (tab-separated values) structures, enabling flexible data filtering, extraction, and iteration within shell scripts.
 
 Pattern matching is permissive with respect to BIDS spec, it may match some files which do not meet validation requirements.
 
 ## Features
 
-- Converts BIDS datasets into a flat CSV format
+- Converts BIDS datasets into a flat TSV format
 - Extracts key BIDS entities from filenames
 - Provides filtering, column selection, and row operations
 - Allows iteration over rows with associative arrays
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ source libBIDS.sh
 
 ### Command-Line Execution
 
-Run directly to dump dataset as CSV:
+Run directly to dump dataset as TSV:
 
 ```bash
 ./libBIDS.sh bids-examples/ds001
@@ -42,17 +42,17 @@ Run directly to dump dataset as CSV:
 
 ## Core Functions
 
-### `libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv`
+### `libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table`
 
-Parses a directory tree, identifies BIDS files, extracts BIDS entities, and outputs CSV.
+Parses a directory tree, identifies BIDS files, extracts BIDS entities, and outputs TSV.
 
 ```bash
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "bids-examples/ds001")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "bids-examples/ds001")
 ```
 
 **Output columns:**
 
-The CSV columns use the full BIDS entity names (display names), not the short keys found in filenames.
+The TSV columns use the full BIDS entity names (display names), not the short keys found in filenames.
 
 - `derivatives`: Pipeline name if in derivatives folder
 - `data_type`: BIDS data type (anat, func, dwi, etc.)
@@ -65,34 +65,34 @@ The CSV columns use the full BIDS entity names (display names), not the short ke
 
 ## Filtering and Subsetting
 
-### `libBIDSsh_csv_filter`
+### `libBIDSsh_table_filter`
 
-Filters CSV data by columns, values, regex, and missing data.
+Filters TSV data by columns, values, regex, and missing data.
 
 ```bash
-libBIDSsh_csv_filter "${csv_data}" [OPTIONS]
+libBIDSsh_table_filter "${table_data}" [OPTIONS]
 ```
 
 **Options:**
 
-- `-c, --columns <col1,col2,...>`: Select columns by name or index
+- `-c, --columns <col1,col2,...>`: Select columns by name or index (tab-separated)
 - `-r, --row-filter <col:pattern>`: Keep rows where column matches value/regex (AND logic for multiple filters)
-- `-d, --drop-na <col1,col2,...>`: Drop rows where listed columns are "NA"
+- `-d, --drop-na <col1,col2,...>`: Drop rows where listed columns are "NA" (tab-separated)
 
 **Examples:**
 
 ```bash
 # Keep only subject and task columns
-libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$csv_data" -c "subject,task"
+libBIDSsh_table_filter "$table_data" -c $'subject\ttask'
 
 # Filter for balloon analog risk task (ds001)
-libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$csv_data" -r "task:balloonanalogrisktask"
+libBIDSsh_table_filter "$table_data" -r "task:balloonanalogrisktask"
 
 # Multiple filters: task AND subject 01
-libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$csv_data" -r "task:balloonanalogrisktask" -r "subject:sub-01"
+libBIDSsh_table_filter "$table_data" -r "task:balloonanalogrisktask" -r "subject:sub-01"
 
 # Complex filtering with regex
-libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$csv_data" -r "task:(rest|motor)" -r "run:[1-3]"
+libBIDSsh_table_filter "$table_data" -r "task:(rest|motor)" -r "run:[1-3]"
 ```
 
 ### `libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns`
@@ -100,26 +100,26 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$csv_data" -r "task:(rest|motor)" -r "run:[1-3]"
 Removes columns that contain only NA values across all rows.
 
 ```bash
-cleaned_csv=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$csv_data")
+cleaned_table=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$table_data")
 ```
 
 **Example:**
 
 ```bash
 # Remove empty columns from dataset
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "bids-examples/ds001")
-cleaned_csv=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$csv_data")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "bids-examples/ds001")
+cleaned_table=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$table_data")
 ```
 
 ## JSON Processing
 
 ### `libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path`
 
-Processes CSV data to add a `json_path` column that links data files to their **direct** JSON sidecars.
+Processes TSV data to add a `json_path` column that links data files to their **direct** JSON sidecars.
 Note: This only matches files where a JSON file exists with the exact same name (except extension). It does not resolve BIDS inheritance.
 
 ```bash
-updated_csv=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$csv_data")
+updated_table=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$table_data")
 ```
 
 **Behavior:**
@@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ updated_csv=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$csv_data")
 **Example:**
 
 ```bash
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "bids-examples/ds001")
-csv_with_json=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$csv_data")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "bids-examples/ds001")
+table_with_json=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$table_data")
 ```
 
 ### `libBIDSsh_json_to_associative_array`
@@ -160,17 +160,17 @@ echo "TR: ${sidecar[RepetitionTime]}"  # Output: number:2
 
 ## Column Extraction
 
-### `libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array`
+### `libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array`
 
 Extracts a column as a Bash array with deduplication and NA filtering.
 
 ```bash
-libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "$csv_data" "column" array_var [unique] [exclude_NA]
+libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array "$table_data" "column" array_var [unique] [exclude_NA]
 ```
 
 **Arguments:**
 
-- `csv_data`: CSV-formatted string
+- `table_data`: TSV-formatted string
 - `column`: Column name (e.g., `subject`) or index
 - `array_var`: Name of array variable to populate
 - `unique`: "true" (default) to return only unique values
@@ -181,28 +181,28 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "$csv_data" "column" array_var [unique] [exclude_N
 ```bash
 declare -a subjects
 # Note: Use "subject", not "sub"
-libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "$csv_data" "subject" subjects true true
+libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array "$table_data" "subject" subjects true true
 echo "Unique subjects: ${subjects[@]}"
 
 declare -a all_runs
-libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "$csv_data" "run" all_runs false false
+libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array "$table_data" "run" all_runs false false
 echo "All runs (including duplicates and NA): ${all_runs[@]}"
 ```
 
 ## Row Iteration
 
-### `libBIDS_csv_iterator`
+### `libBIDS_table_iterator`
 
-Iterates CSV rows, exposes fields in an associative array with optional sorting.
+Iterates TSV rows, exposes fields in an associative array with optional sorting.
 
 ```bash
-while libBIDS_csv_iterator "$csv_data" row_var [sort_col1] [sort_col2] [-r]; do
+while libBIDS_table_iterator "$table_data" row_var [sort_col1] [sort_col2] [-r]; do
   # Process row
 done
 ```
 
 **Arguments:**
-- `csv_data`: CSV data string
+- `table_data`: TSV data string
 - `row_var`: Name of associative array to populate with each row. Keys correspond to column headers (e.g., `row[subject]`).
 - `sort_columns`: Optional column names to sort by
 - `-r`: Optional reverse sort flag
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ done
 
 ```bash
 declare -A row
-while libBIDS_csv_iterator "$csv_data" row "subject" "session" "run"; do
+while libBIDS_table_iterator "$table_data" row "subject" "session" "run"; do
   echo "Processing: ${row[subject]} ${row[session]} ${row[run]}: ${row[path]}"
 done
 ```
@@ -246,18 +246,18 @@ _libBIDSsh_parse_filename "sub-01_task-rest_bold.nii.gz" file_info
 source libBIDS.sh
 
 bids_path="bids-examples/ds001"
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "$bids_path")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "$bids_path")
 
 # Extract unique subjects
 declare -a subjects
-libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "$csv_data" "subject" subjects true true
+libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array "$table_data" "subject" subjects true true
 echo "Found subjects: ${subjects[*]}"
 
 # Clean up empty columns
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$csv_data")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$table_data")
 
 # Add JSON sidecar information (if sidecars match exactly)
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$csv_data")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$table_data")
 ```
 
 ### Functional Data Processing
@@ -268,19 +268,19 @@ source libBIDS.sh
 
 # Using volume_timing dataset which has sidecars
 bids_path="bids-examples/volume_timing"
-csv_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "$bids_path")
+table_data=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "$bids_path")
 
 # Filter for functional BOLD data
-func_csv=$(libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$csv_data" \
+func_table=$(libBIDSsh_table_filter "$table_data" \
   -r "data_type:func" \
   -r "suffix:bold")
 
 # Add JSON paths
-func_csv=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$func_csv")
+func_table=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$func_table")
 
 # Process each file with its JSON metadata
 declare -A row
-while libBIDS_csv_iterator "$func_csv" row "subject" "task" "run"; do
+while libBIDS_table_iterator "$func_table" row "subject" "task" "run"; do
   echo "Processing: ${row[path]}"
 
   if [[ "${row[json_path]}" != "NA" ]]; then
@@ -320,8 +320,9 @@ To see an example, rename the template file from `custom/custom_entities.json.tp
 
 ## Notes
 
-- All functions handle CSV data as strings, not files
+- All functions handle TSV data as strings, not files
 - NA values are used for missing BIDS entities
 - Pattern matching is permissive and may match non-BIDS-compliant files
 - JSON processing requires `jq` to be installed
-- Sort operations use version sort for natural ordering of numbers
\ No newline at end of file
+- Sort operations use version sort for natural ordering of numbers
+- Column lists for filtering should use tab-separated values (e.g., `$'subject\ttask'`)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/libBIDS.sh b/libBIDS.sh
index f454576..5616d79 100755
--- a/libBIDS.sh
+++ b/libBIDS.sh
@@ -7,17 +7,17 @@ fi
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
-libBIDSsh_csv_filter() {
-  # Filter CSV-structured BIDS data, returning specified columns and optionally filtering rows
-  # Usage: libBIDSsh_csv_filter "${csv_data}" [OPTIONS]
+libBIDSsh_table_filter() {
+  # Filter TSV-structured BIDS data, returning specified columns and optionally filtering rows
+  # Usage: libBIDSsh_table_filter "${table_data}" [OPTIONS]
   # Options:
-  #   -c, --columns <list>      Comma-separated list of column indices or names to keep
+  #   -c, --columns <list>      Tab-separated list of column indices or names to keep
   #   -r, --row-filter <col:pattern> Filter rows where column matches exact string or regex
-  #   -d, --drop-na <list>      Comma-separated list of columns to check for NA values
-  # Returns: Filtered CSV data through stdout
+  #   -d, --drop-na <list>      Tab-separated list of columns to check for NA values
+  # Returns: Filtered TSV data through stdout
   # Example:
-  #   filtered=$(libBIDSsh_csv_filter "$data" -c "sub,ses" -r "task:rest" -d "run")
-  local csv_data="$1"
+  #   filtered=$(libBIDSsh_table_filter "$data" -c "sub	ses" -r "task:rest" -d "run")
+  local table_data="$1"
   shift
 
   local columns=""
@@ -53,9 +53,9 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_filter() {
     -v row_filters_str="${row_filters_str}" \
     -v drop_na_cols="${drop_na_cols}" \
     'BEGIN {
-            FS=","; OFS=",";
-            split(columns, cols, ",");
-            split(drop_na_cols, na_cols, ",");
+            FS="\t"; OFS="\t";
+            split(columns, cols, "\t");
+            split(drop_na_cols, na_cols, "\t");
 
             # Parse row filters
             filter_count = split(row_filters_str, filter_lines, "\n");
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_filter() {
                     } else if (filters[i]["col"] ~ /^[0-9]+$/) {
                         col = filters[i]["col"];
                     } else {
-                        print "Error: Row filter column \"" filters[i]["col"] "\" not found in CSV header" > "/dev/stderr";
+                        print "Error: Row filter column \"" filters[i]["col"] "\" not found in table header" > "/dev/stderr";
                         exit 1;
                     }
 
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_filter() {
                     } else if (na_cols[i] ~ /^[0-9]+$/) {
                         col = na_cols[i];
                     } else {
-                        print "Error: Drop NA column \"" na_cols[i] "\" not found in CSV header" > "/dev/stderr";
+                        print "Error: Drop NA column \"" na_cols[i] "\" not found in table header" > "/dev/stderr";
                         exit 1;
                     }
 
@@ -140,18 +140,18 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_filter() {
             } else {
                 print;
             }
-        }' <<<"${csv_data}"
+        }' <<<"${table_data}"
 }
 
 libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns() {
-  # Remove columns from CSV data that contain only NA values
-  # Usage: libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "${csv_data}"
-  # Returns: CSV data with NA-only columns removed through stdout
+  # Remove columns from TSV data that contain only NA values
+  # Usage: libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "${table_data}"
+  # Returns: TSV data with NA-only columns removed through stdout
   # Example:
   #   cleaned=$(libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns "$data")
-  local csv_data="$1"
-  awk -F, '
-    BEGIN {OFS=","}
+  local table_data="$1"
+  awk -F'\t' '
+    BEGIN {OFS="\t"}
     NR == 1 {
         # Save header and initialize column tracking
         header = $0
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns() {
     }
     END {
         # Determine which columns to keep
-        split(header, header_fields, /,/)
+        split(header, header_fields, /\t/)
         for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) {
             if (!col_all_na[i]) {
                 cols_to_keep[i] = 1
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns() {
 
         # Print each row (only keeping non-NA columns)
         for (j = 2; j <= NR; j++) {
-            split(rows[j], row_fields, /,/)
+            split(rows[j], row_fields, /\t/)
             first_field = 1
             for (i = 1; i <= NF; i++) {
                 if (cols_to_keep[i]) {
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ libBIDSsh_drop_na_columns() {
             }
             printf "\n"
         }
-    }' <<<"${csv_data}"
+    }' <<<"${table_data}"
 }
 
 _libBIDSsh_parse_filename() {
@@ -266,16 +266,16 @@ _libBIDSsh_parse_filename() {
 }
 
 libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path() {
-  # Convert JSON file rows into a json_path column in the CSV data
-  # Usage: libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "${csv_data}"
-  # Returns: CSV data with json_path column added through stdout
+  # Convert JSON file rows into a json_path column in the TSV data
+  # Usage: libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "${table_data}"
+  # Returns: TSV data with json_path column added through stdout
   # Example:
   #   updated=$(libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path "$data")
-  local csv_data="$1"
+  local table_data="$1"
 
-  awk -F',' '
+  awk -F'\t' '
   BEGIN {
-    OFS = ",";
+    OFS = "\t";
   }
 
   NR == 1 {
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ libBIDSsh_extension_json_rows_to_column_json_path() {
       }
     }
   }
-  ' <<<"$csv_data"
+  ' <<<"$table_data"
 }
 
 _libBIDSsh_load_custom_entities() {
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ _libBIDSsh_load_custom_entities() {
   # JSON files should be placed in ./custom directory
   # Each JSON file should contain an "entities" array with objects having:
   #   - name: entity short name
-  #   - display_name: entity display name for CSV headers
+  #   - display_name: entity display name for TSV headers
   #   - pattern: bash glob pattern for matching
 
 
@@ -412,12 +412,12 @@ _libBIDSsh_load_custom_entities() {
   shopt -u nullglob
 }
 
-libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv() {
-  # Parse a BIDS directory structure into CSV format
-  # Usage: libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "/path/to/bids/dataset"
-  # Returns: CSV data through stdout with columns for each BIDS entity
+libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table() {
+  # Parse a BIDS directory structure into TSV format
+  # Usage: libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "/path/to/bids/dataset"
+  # Returns: TSV data through stdout with columns for each BIDS entity
   # Example:
-  #   bids_csv=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "/path/to/bids")
+  #   bids_table=$(libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "/path/to/bids")
   local bidspath="${1:-}"
   if [[ ! -d "$bidspath" ]]; then
     echo "Error: Directory '$bidspath' does not exist" >&2
@@ -499,7 +499,7 @@ libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv() {
   shopt -u globstar
 
   # Order of entities from generate_entity_patterns.sh
-  entities_displayname_order="subject,session,sample,task,tracksys,acquisition,nucleus,volume,ceagent,tracer,stain,reconstruction,direction,run,modality,echo,flip,inversion,mtransfer,part,processing,hemisphere,space,split,recording,chunk,segmentation,resolution,density,label,description"
+  entities_displayname_order="subject	session	sample	task	tracksys	acquisition	nucleus	volume	ceagent	tracer	stain	reconstruction	direction	run	modality	echo	flip	inversion	mtransfer	part	processing	hemisphere	space	split	recording	chunk	segmentation	resolution	density	label	description"
   entities_order="sub ses sample task tracksys acq nuc voi ce trc stain rec dir run mod echo flip inv mt part proc hemi space split recording chunk seg res den label desc"
 
   # Add custom entities to ordering
@@ -508,37 +508,37 @@ libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv() {
   done
 
   for entity_display in "${CUSTOM_ENTITY_DISPLAY_NAMES[@]}"; do
-    entities_displayname_order+=",$entity_display"
+    entities_displayname_order+="	$entity_display"
   done
 
-  echo "derivatives,data_type,${entities_displayname_order},suffix,extension,path"
+  printf "derivatives\tdata_type\t%s\tsuffix\textension\tpath\n" "${entities_displayname_order}"
   for file in "${files[@]}"; do
     declare -A file_info
     _libBIDSsh_parse_filename "${file}" file_info
     for key in derivatives data_type ${entities_order} suffix extension path; do
       if [[ "${file_info[${key}]+abc}" ]]; then
-        echo -n "${file_info[${key}]},"
+        printf "${file_info[${key}]}\t"
       else
-        echo -n NA,
+        printf "NA\t"
       fi
     done
-    echo ""
-  done | sed 's/,*$//'
+    printf "\n"
+  done | sed 's/\t$//'
 }
 
-libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array() {
-  # Extract a column from CSV data into a bash array
-  # Usage: libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "${csv_data}" "column_name" array_ref [unique] [exclude_NA]
+libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array() {
+  # Extract a column from TSV data into a bash array
+  # Usage: libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array "${table_data}" "column_name" array_ref [unique] [exclude_NA]
   # Arguments:
-  #   csv_data: CSV-formatted string
+  #   table_data: TSV-formatted string
   #   column_name: Name or index of column to extract
   #   array_ref: Name of array variable to populate (declare -a)
   #   unique: (optional) "true" to return only unique values (default: true)
   #   exclude_NA: (optional) "true" to exclude NA values (default: true)
   # Example:
   #   declare -a subjects
-  #   libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array "$data" "sub" subjects true true
-  local csv_data="$1"
+  #   libBIDSsh_table_column_to_array "$data" "sub" subjects true true
+  local table_data="$1"
   local column="$2"
   local -n array_ref="$3" # nameref to the array variable
   local unique="${4:-true}"
@@ -555,7 +555,7 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array() {
     fi
     array_ref+=("${line}")
   done < <(awk -v col="${column}" '
-        BEGIN { FS="," }
+        BEGIN { FS="\t" }
         NR == 1 {
             if (col ~ /^[0-9]+$/) {
                 col_idx = col
@@ -571,10 +571,10 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array() {
             next  # Skip header row
         }
         { print $col_idx }
-    ' <<<"${csv_data}")
+    ' <<<"${table_data}")
 
   # Check if awk succeeded
-  if [ ${#array_ref[@]} -eq 0 ] && [ $(wc -l <<<"${csv_data}") -gt 1 ]; then
+  if [ ${#array_ref[@]} -eq 0 ] && [ $(wc -l <<<"${table_data}") -gt 1 ]; then
     echo "Error: Column '${column}' not found or no data rows present" >&2
     return 1
   fi
@@ -593,21 +593,21 @@ libBIDSsh_csv_column_to_array() {
   fi
 }
 
-libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
-  # Iterate through CSV data row by row with optional sorting
-  # Usage: libBIDS_csv_iterator "${csv_data}" array_ref [sort_columns...] [-r]
+libBIDS_table_iterator() {
+  # Iterate through TSV data row by row with optional sorting
+  # Usage: libBIDS_table_iterator "${table_data}" array_ref [sort_columns...] [-r]
   # Arguments:
-  #   csv_data: CSV-formatted string
+  #   table_data: TSV-formatted string
   #   array_ref: Name of associative array to populate with each row's data
   #   sort_columns: (optional) Columns to sort by (multiple allowed)
   #   -r: (optional) Reverse sort order
   # Returns: 0 for success (more rows), 1 when done
   # Example:
   #   declare -A row
-  #   while libBIDS_csv_iterator "$data" row "sub" "ses" "-r"; do
+  #   while libBIDS_table_iterator "$data" row "sub" "ses" "-r"; do
   #     echo "Processing subject ${row[sub]} session ${row[ses]}"
   #   done
-  local csv_var="${1:-}"    # Name of the variable containing CSV data
+  local table_var="${1:-}"    # Name of the variable containing TSV data
   if [[ -z "${2:-}" ]]; then
     echo "Error: Missing array reference argument" >&2
     return 1
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
   done
 
   # Read all lines into an array
-  IFS=$'\n' read -d '' -r -a lines <<<"${csv_var}" || true
+  IFS=$'\n' read -d '' -r -a lines <<<"${table_var}" || true
 
   # Handle empty input
   if [[ ${#lines[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
@@ -642,7 +642,7 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
   # If we have sort columns, sort the data
   if ((${#sort_columns[@]} > 0)); then
     # Get column indices for sorting
-    IFS=',' read -r -a headers <<<"${header}"
+    IFS=$'\t' read -r -a headers <<<"${header}"
     declare -A column_indices
     for i in "${!headers[@]}"; do
       column_indices["${headers[i]}"]=${i}
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
         local idx=$((column_indices["${col}"] + 1)) # sort uses 1-based indexing
         sort_keys+=("-k$idx,$idx")
       else
-        echo "Error: Column '${col}' not found in CSV header" >&2
+        echo "Error: Column '${col}' not found in table header" >&2
         return 1
       fi
     done
@@ -671,7 +671,7 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
       local old_ifs="${IFS}"
       IFS=$'\n' sorted_data=($(
         printf "%s\n" "${data_lines[@]}" |
-          sort --version-sort -t, "${sort_reverse_flag[@]}" "${sort_keys[@]}"
+          sort --version-sort -t$'\t' "${sort_reverse_flag[@]}" "${sort_keys[@]}"
       )) || true
       IFS="${old_ifs}"
     else
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
     fi
   else
     # No specific sort columns provided, sort by all columns left to right
-    IFS=',' read -r -a headers <<<"${header}"
+    IFS=$'\t' read -r -a headers <<<"${header}"
     local sort_keys=()
     for i in "${!headers[@]}"; do
       local idx=$((i + 1)) # sort uses 1-based indexing
@@ -697,7 +697,7 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
       local old_ifs="${IFS}"
       IFS=$'\n' sorted_data=($(
         printf "%s\n" "${data_lines[@]}" |
-          sort --version-sort -t, "${sort_reverse_flag[@]}" "${sort_keys[@]}"
+          sort --version-sort -t$'\t' "${sort_reverse_flag[@]}" "${sort_keys[@]}"
       )) || true
       IFS="${old_ifs}"
     else
@@ -720,14 +720,14 @@ libBIDS_csv_iterator() {
 
   # Process header if we're on the first line
   if ((current_line == 0)); then
-    IFS=',' read -r -a headers <<<"${header}"
+    IFS=$'\t' read -r -a headers <<<"${header}"
     ((current_line++))
   fi
 
   # Read the current data line (with bounds checking)
   if ((current_line > 0 && current_line <= ${#sorted_data[@]})); then
     local line_content="${sorted_data[current_line - 1]}"
-    IFS=',' read -r -a values <<<"${line_content}"
+    IFS=$'\t' read -r -a values <<<"${line_content}"
 
     # Store key-value pairs in the array
     for i in "${!headers[@]}"; do
@@ -789,5 +789,5 @@ if ! (return 0 2>/dev/null); then
     echo 'error: the first argument must be a path to a bids dataset'
     exit 1
   fi
-  libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_csv "${1}"
+  libBIDSsh_parse_bids_to_table "${1}"
 fi