diff --git a/.github/workflows/devcontainers.yml b/.github/workflows/devcontainers.yml
index ea7bce257..04552b676 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/devcontainers.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/devcontainers.yml
@@ -85,6 +85,22 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
+      # The worktree devcontainer runs the same `uv sync --extra dev` build as
+      # the default validate job, which now pulls transformers 5.x. Copying that
+      # into the venv volume exhausts the GitHub runner's disk ("No space left on
+      # device", see PR #495). Reclaim ~14 GB by stripping preinstalled tools the
+      # build never touches — mirrors the memory-stack job's existing remedy.
+      - name: Free runner disk
+        uses: jlumbroso/free-disk-space@v1.3.1
+        with:
+          tool-cache: true
+          android: true
+          dotnet: true
+          haskell: true
+          large-packages: false
+          docker-images: false
+          swap-storage: false
+
       - name: Create linked worktree
         run: git worktree add "$RUNNER_TEMP/headroom-worktree" HEAD
 
diff --git a/examples/README.md b/examples/README.md
index 117a5849c..6251e7092 100644
--- a/examples/README.md
+++ b/examples/README.md
@@ -31,6 +31,17 @@ export OPENAI_API_KEY='your-key'
 python examples/streaming_example.py
 ```
 
+### tabular_compression_demo.py
+
+Tabular + spreadsheet compression on generated sample data (no API key needed).
+Shows where CSV/markdown tables and `.xlsx` workbooks compress and where compact,
+all-unique data correctly passes through:
+
+```bash
+python examples/tabular_compression_demo.py            # run all scenarios
+python examples/tabular_compression_demo.py --write DIR # also save the sample files
+```
+
 ## Evaluation Examples
 
 ### smart_vs_naive_eval.py
diff --git a/examples/tabular_compression_demo.py b/examples/tabular_compression_demo.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..78994ce53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/tabular_compression_demo.py
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Demo / test harness for tabular + spreadsheet compression.
+
+Generates representative sample data and runs it through Headroom's tabular
+compressor so you can see where it helps (verbose / redundant tables, and
+query-driven selection) and where it correctly does nothing (compact, all-unique
+data with no signal to compress against).
+
+Usage:
+    python examples/tabular_compression_demo.py            # run all scenarios
+    python examples/tabular_compression_demo.py --write DIR # also save sample files
+
+The .xlsx scenario requires the spreadsheet extra:
+    pip install headroom-ai[spreadsheet]
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import importlib.util
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import headroom
+from headroom.transforms.content_router import ContentRouter
+
+_HAS_OPENPYXL = importlib.util.find_spec("openpyxl") is not None
+
+
+# ─── Sample data generators ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def compact_unique_csv(rows: int = 60) -> str:
+    """Minimal CSV, every row unique — nothing safely removable (~0 savings)."""
+    lines = ["id,name,age,city"]
+    lines += [f"{i},user_{i},{20 + i % 50},city_{i}" for i in range(rows)]
+    return "\n".join(lines)
+
+
+def redundant_csv(rows: int = 120) -> str:
+    """Highly repetitive rows — SmartCrusher can dedupe (big savings)."""
+    lines = ["region,product,status"]
+    lines += ["EMEA,widget-A,shipped" for _ in range(rows)]
+    return "\n".join(lines)
+
+
+def verbose_markdown(rows: int = 40) -> str:
+    """A padded markdown table — verbose source, lossless compaction wins."""
+    header = "| name | age | city | status | dept |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |"
+    body = "\n".join(
+        f"| user_{i} | {20 + i} | city_{i % 5} | active | engineering |" for i in range(rows)
+    )
+    return f"{header}\n{body}"
+
+
+# ─── Runners ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def _run_router(label: str, content: str) -> None:
+    """Compress raw tabular text through the ContentRouter."""
+    result = ContentRouter().compress(content)
+    before = len(content)
+    after = len(result.compressed)
+    pct = 100 * (before - after) / before if before else 0.0
+    print(
+        f"{label:24s} strat={result.strategy_used.value:9s} "
+        f"chars {before:6d} -> {after:6d}  ({pct:5.1f}% saved)"
+    )
+
+
+def _run_messages(label: str, content: str) -> None:
+    """Compress via the full pipeline (real tokenizer accounting)."""
+    res = headroom.compress(
+        [{"role": "user", "content": content}],
+        compress_user_messages=True,
+    )
+    pct = 100 * res.tokens_saved / res.tokens_before if res.tokens_before else 0.0
+    print(
+        f"{label:24s} tokens    {res.tokens_before:6d} -> "
+        f"{res.tokens_after:6d}  ({pct:5.1f}% saved)"
+    )
+
+
+def _run_xlsx(label: str, path: Path) -> None:
+    res = headroom.compress_spreadsheet(str(path))
+    pct = 100 * res.tokens_saved / res.tokens_before if res.tokens_before else 0.0
+    print(
+        f"{label:24s} tokens    {res.tokens_before:6d} -> "
+        f"{res.tokens_after:6d}  ({pct:5.1f}% saved)"
+    )
+
+
+def _build_xlsx(path: Path) -> None:
+    import openpyxl
+
+    wb = openpyxl.Workbook()
+    unique = wb.active
+    unique.title = "Unique"
+    unique.append(["id", "name", "dept"])
+    for i in range(60):
+        unique.append([i, f"user_{i}", ["eng", "sales", "ops"][i % 3]])
+
+    redundant = wb.create_sheet("Redundant")
+    redundant.append(["region", "product", "status"])
+    for _ in range(120):
+        redundant.append(["EMEA", "widget-A", "shipped"])
+
+    wb.save(path)
+
+
+# ─── Main ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--write",
+        metavar="DIR",
+        help="Also write the generated sample files (.csv/.md/.xlsx) to DIR",
+    )
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    samples = {
+        "compact_unique.csv": compact_unique_csv(),
+        "redundant.csv": redundant_csv(),
+        "verbose_table.md": verbose_markdown(),
+    }
+
+    print("=== Raw tabular text (ContentRouter, char-level) ===")
+    _run_router("compact unique CSV", samples["compact_unique.csv"])
+    _run_router("redundant CSV", samples["redundant.csv"])
+    _run_router("verbose markdown", samples["verbose_table.md"])
+
+    print("\n=== Full pipeline (real tokenizer) ===")
+    _run_messages("redundant CSV", samples["redundant.csv"])
+
+    print("\n=== Binary spreadsheet (.xlsx) ===")
+    if not _HAS_OPENPYXL:
+        print("  skipped — install: pip install headroom-ai[spreadsheet]")
+    else:
+        out_dir = Path(args.write) if args.write else Path("/tmp")
+        out_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        xlsx_path = out_dir / "demo.xlsx"
+        _build_xlsx(xlsx_path)
+        _run_xlsx("2-sheet workbook", xlsx_path)
+
+    if args.write:
+        out = Path(args.write)
+        out.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        for name, content in samples.items():
+            (out / name).write_text(content)
+        print(f"\nSample files written to {out.resolve()}")
+
+    print(
+        "\nTakeaway: redundant/verbose tables compress; compact all-unique data "
+        "correctly passes through (lossless-only — nothing safely removable)."
+    )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/headroom/__init__.py b/headroom/__init__.py
index b168df9eb..3f73656ce 100644
--- a/headroom/__init__.py
+++ b/headroom/__init__.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ from importlib import import_module
 from typing import Any
 
 from ._version import __version__  # noqa: F401
-from .compress import CompressConfig, CompressResult, compress
+from .compress import CompressConfig, CompressResult, compress, compress_spreadsheet
 
 # Keep a real callable bound for the one-function compression API so
 # `from headroom import compress` is never shadowed by the submodule object.
@@ -165,6 +165,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "EmbedderBackend",
     # One-function compression API
     "compress",
+    "compress_spreadsheet",
     "CompressConfig",
     "CompressResult",
     # Hooks
@@ -261,6 +262,7 @@ _LAZY_EXPORTS: dict[str, tuple[str, str]] = {
     "reset_otel_metrics": ("headroom.observability", "reset_otel_metrics"),
     # One-function API
     "compress": ("headroom.compress", "compress"),
+    "compress_spreadsheet": ("headroom.compress", "compress_spreadsheet"),
     # Hooks
     "CompressionHooks": ("headroom.hooks", "CompressionHooks"),
     "CompressContext": ("headroom.hooks", "CompressContext"),
diff --git a/headroom/compress.py b/headroom/compress.py
index 47ab8898e..0b967026b 100644
--- a/headroom/compress.py
+++ b/headroom/compress.py
@@ -349,6 +349,39 @@ def compress(
         )
 
 
+def compress_spreadsheet(
+    path: str,
+    model: str = "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
+    model_limit: int = 200000,
+    **kwargs: Any,
+) -> CompressResult:
+    """Compress a binary spreadsheet (``.xlsx`` / ``.xls``).
+
+    Each sheet is rendered to CSV text and submitted as its own user message so
+    the tabular compressor (CSV → SmartCrusher, lossless-first + lossy CCR
+    fallback) is applied per sheet. Requires the ``spreadsheet`` extra
+    (``pip install headroom-ai[spreadsheet]``).
+
+    Args:
+        path: Path to a ``.xlsx`` or ``.xls`` file.
+        model: Model name (token counting / context limit).
+        model_limit: Model context window size in tokens.
+        **kwargs: Forwarded to :func:`compress` (e.g. ``target_ratio``).
+
+    Returns:
+        CompressResult over the per-sheet messages.
+    """
+    from headroom.transforms.spreadsheet_ingest import load_spreadsheet
+
+    sheets = load_spreadsheet(path)
+    messages = [{"role": "user", "content": text} for text in sheets.values()]
+    if not messages:
+        return CompressResult(messages=[])
+    # User messages hold the table text, so they must be compressible here.
+    kwargs.setdefault("compress_user_messages", True)
+    return compress(messages, model=model, model_limit=model_limit, **kwargs)
+
+
 def _get_pipeline() -> Any:
     """Get or create the singleton compression pipeline."""
     global _pipeline
diff --git a/headroom/transforms/__init__.py b/headroom/transforms/__init__.py
index 1f64182f8..47932bc5c 100644
--- a/headroom/transforms/__init__.py
+++ b/headroom/transforms/__init__.py
@@ -61,6 +61,11 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
         SearchCompressorConfig,
     )
     from headroom.transforms.smart_crusher import SmartCrusher, SmartCrusherConfig  # noqa: F401
+    from headroom.transforms.tabular_ingest import (  # noqa: F401
+        TabularCompressionResult,
+        TabularCompressor,
+        TabularCompressorConfig,
+    )
 
 _HTML_EXTRACTOR_AVAILABLE = importlib.util.find_spec("trafilatura") is not None
 
@@ -88,6 +93,9 @@ __all__ = [
     "LogCompressor",
     "LogCompressorConfig",
     "LogCompressionResult",
+    "TabularCompressor",
+    "TabularCompressorConfig",
+    "TabularCompressionResult",
     "DiffCompressor",
     "DiffCompressorConfig",
     "DiffCompressionResult",
@@ -154,6 +162,15 @@ _LAZY_EXPORTS: dict[str, tuple[str, str]] = {
     "LogCompressor": ("headroom.transforms.log_compressor", "LogCompressor"),
     "LogCompressorConfig": ("headroom.transforms.log_compressor", "LogCompressorConfig"),
     "LogCompressionResult": ("headroom.transforms.log_compressor", "LogCompressionResult"),
+    "TabularCompressor": ("headroom.transforms.tabular_ingest", "TabularCompressor"),
+    "TabularCompressorConfig": (
+        "headroom.transforms.tabular_ingest",
+        "TabularCompressorConfig",
+    ),
+    "TabularCompressionResult": (
+        "headroom.transforms.tabular_ingest",
+        "TabularCompressionResult",
+    ),
     "DiffCompressor": ("headroom.transforms.diff_compressor", "DiffCompressor"),
     "DiffCompressorConfig": ("headroom.transforms.diff_compressor", "DiffCompressorConfig"),
     "DiffCompressionResult": (
diff --git a/headroom/transforms/content_detector.py b/headroom/transforms/content_detector.py
index 324139726..78ab52fb5 100644
--- a/headroom/transforms/content_detector.py
+++ b/headroom/transforms/content_detector.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ class ContentType(Enum):
     BUILD_OUTPUT = "build"  # Compiler, test, lint logs
     GIT_DIFF = "diff"  # Unified diff format
     HTML = "html"  # Web pages (needs content extraction, not compression)
+    TABULAR = "tabular"  # CSV/TSV, markdown tables, fixed-width tables
     PLAIN_TEXT = "text"  # Fallback
 
 
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@ _SEARCH_RESULT_PATTERN = re.compile(
     r"^[^\s:]+:\d+:"  # file:line: format (grep -n style)
 )
 
+# A markdown table separator row, e.g. "| --- | :--: |" or "---|---".
+# Every cell must be dashes with optional alignment colons.
+_MD_SEP_CELL = re.compile(r"^:?-{2,}:?$")
+
 # Bug-fix (2026-04-25): extended to recognize merge-commit headers
 # (`diff --combined <path>`, `diff --cc <path>`) and combined-diff hunk
 # headers (`@@@`+ ranges). Previously only `git diff` shape was detected,
@@ -159,12 +164,20 @@ def detect_content_type(content: str) -> DetectionResult:
     if log_result and log_result.confidence >= 0.5:
         return log_result
 
-    # 6. Check for source code
+    # 6. Check for tabular data (CSV/TSV, markdown tables). Runs after
+    #    search/log so colon-delimited search output and freeform logs claim
+    #    their content first; tabular requires a consistent multi-column
+    #    delimiter or a markdown header+separator pair.
+    tabular_result = _try_detect_tabular(content)
+    if tabular_result and tabular_result.confidence >= 0.6:
+        return tabular_result
+
+    # 7. Check for source code
     code_result = _try_detect_code(content)
     if code_result and code_result.confidence >= 0.5:
         return code_result
 
-    # 7. Fallback to plain text
+    # 8. Fallback to plain text
     return DetectionResult(ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT, 0.5, {})
 
 
@@ -380,6 +393,102 @@ def _try_detect_log(content: str) -> DetectionResult | None:
     )
 
 
+def _md_cell_count(row: str) -> int:
+    """Count cells in a markdown table row, ignoring the outer pipes."""
+    return len(row.strip().strip("|").split("|"))
+
+
+def _is_md_separator(row: str) -> bool:
+    """True if `row` is a markdown table separator (e.g. ``| --- | :--: |``)."""
+    cells = [c.strip() for c in row.strip().strip("|").split("|")]
+    cells = [c for c in cells if c != ""]
+    if len(cells) < 2:
+        return False
+    return all(_MD_SEP_CELL.match(c) for c in cells)
+
+
+def _try_detect_markdown_table(lines: list[str]) -> DetectionResult | None:
+    """Detect a markdown table: a piped header row followed by a separator."""
+    for i in range(len(lines) - 1):
+        header, sep = lines[i], lines[i + 1]
+        if "|" in header and _is_md_separator(sep):
+            cols = _md_cell_count(header)
+            if cols >= 2:
+                return DetectionResult(
+                    ContentType.TABULAR,
+                    0.95,
+                    {"format": "markdown", "columns": cols},
+                )
+    return None
+
+
+def _try_detect_delimited(lines: list[str]) -> DetectionResult | None:
+    """Detect CSV/TSV by a delimiter with a consistent per-line column count.
+
+    A stable column count is what separates real tabular data from prose that
+    merely contains commas, and from ``file:line:content`` search output (which
+    has a variable number of colons). Tabs are a stronger signal than commas
+    (they rarely occur in prose), so they need less consistency.
+    """
+    from collections import Counter
+
+    sample = lines[:20]
+    if len(sample) < 3:
+        return None
+
+    best: DetectionResult | None = None
+    for delim, min_consistency in ((",", 0.85), ("\t", 0.7), (";", 0.85), ("|", 0.85)):
+        counts = [row.count(delim) for row in sample]
+        if counts[0] == 0:  # header row must contain the delimiter
+            continue
+        common_count, freq = Counter(counts).most_common(1)[0]
+        if common_count == 0:
+            continue
+        consistency = freq / len(sample)
+        ncols = common_count + 1
+        if ncols < 2 or consistency < min_consistency:
+            continue
+        # Prose guard: prose that merely contains commas ("Hello, friend.")
+        # reads like sentences. Real table rows are short field tuples.
+        if _looks_like_prose(sample, delim):
+            continue
+        confidence = min(0.95, 0.5 + consistency * 0.3 + min(ncols, 5) * 0.03)
+        if best is None or confidence > best.confidence:
+            best = DetectionResult(
+                ContentType.TABULAR,
+                confidence,
+                {"format": "csv", "delimiter": delim, "columns": ncols},
+            )
+    return best
+
+
+def _looks_like_prose(sample: list[str], delim: str) -> bool:
+    """Heuristic: distinguish comma-bearing prose from real CSV rows.
+
+    Prose reads like sentences (ends with ``.!?``) and has wordy cells; CSV
+    rows are short field tuples. Either signal rejects the candidate.
+    """
+    enders = sum(1 for r in sample if r.rstrip().endswith((".", "!", "?")))
+    if enders / len(sample) >= 0.5:
+        return True
+    cells = [c.strip() for r in sample for c in r.split(delim)]
+    avg_words = sum(len(c.split()) for c in cells) / len(cells)
+    return avg_words > 3
+
+
+def _try_detect_tabular(content: str) -> DetectionResult | None:
+    """Detect tabular text: markdown tables first, then delimited CSV/TSV."""
+    lines = [ln for ln in content.split("\n") if ln.strip()][:50]
+    if len(lines) < 3:
+        return None
+
+    md_result = _try_detect_markdown_table(lines)
+    if md_result:
+        return md_result
+
+    return _try_detect_delimited(lines)
+
+
 def _try_detect_code(content: str) -> DetectionResult | None:
     """Try to detect source code and identify language."""
     lines = content.split("\n")[:100]  # Check first 100 lines
diff --git a/headroom/transforms/content_router.py b/headroom/transforms/content_router.py
index f8082b06a..901878eeb 100644
--- a/headroom/transforms/content_router.py
+++ b/headroom/transforms/content_router.py
@@ -457,6 +457,7 @@ class CompressionStrategy(Enum):
     TEXT = "text"
     DIFF = "diff"
     HTML = "html"
+    TABULAR = "tabular"
     MIXED = "mixed"
     PASSTHROUGH = "passthrough"
 
@@ -577,6 +578,7 @@ class ContentRouterConfig:
         enable_smart_crusher: Enable JSON array compression.
         enable_search_compressor: Enable search result compression.
         enable_log_compressor: Enable build/test log compression.
+        enable_tabular_compressor: Enable CSV/TSV/markdown-table compression.
         enable_image_optimizer: Enable image token optimization.
         prefer_code_aware_for_code: Use CodeAware over Kompress for code.
         mixed_content_threshold: Min distinct types to consider "mixed".
@@ -593,6 +595,7 @@ class ContentRouterConfig:
     enable_smart_crusher: bool = True
     enable_search_compressor: bool = True
     enable_log_compressor: bool = True
+    enable_tabular_compressor: bool = True  # CSV/TSV/markdown tables via SmartCrusher
     enable_html_extractor: bool = True  # HTML content extraction
     enable_image_optimizer: bool = True  # Image token optimization
 
@@ -935,6 +938,7 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
         self._log_compressor: Any = None
         self._diff_compressor: Any = None
         self._html_extractor: Any = None
+        self._tabular_compressor: Any = None
         self._kompress: Any = None
 
         # TOIN integration for cross-strategy learning
@@ -1232,6 +1236,7 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
             ContentType.BUILD_OUTPUT: CompressionStrategy.LOG,
             ContentType.GIT_DIFF: CompressionStrategy.DIFF,
             ContentType.HTML: CompressionStrategy.HTML,
+            ContentType.TABULAR: CompressionStrategy.TABULAR,
             ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT: CompressionStrategy.TEXT,
         }
 
@@ -1466,6 +1471,18 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
                         )
                         decision_reason = "log_compressor"
 
+            elif strategy == CompressionStrategy.TABULAR:
+                if self.config.enable_tabular_compressor:
+                    compressor = self._get_tabular_compressor()
+                    if compressor:
+                        compressor_name = type(compressor).__name__
+                        result = compressor.compress(content, context=context, bias=bias)
+                        compressed, compressed_tokens = (
+                            result.compressed,
+                            len(result.compressed.split()),
+                        )
+                        decision_reason = "tabular_compressor"
+
             elif strategy == CompressionStrategy.DIFF:
                 compressor = self._get_diff_compressor()
                 if compressor:
@@ -1516,6 +1533,7 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
             fallback_eligible_strategy = strategy in {
                 CompressionStrategy.SMART_CRUSHER,
                 CompressionStrategy.CODE_AWARE,
+                CompressionStrategy.TABULAR,
             }
             fallback_no_savings = compressed == content or compressed_tokens >= original_tokens
             if fallback_eligible_strategy and fallback_no_savings:
@@ -1698,6 +1716,7 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
             ContentType.BUILD_OUTPUT: CompressionStrategy.LOG,
             ContentType.GIT_DIFF: CompressionStrategy.DIFF,
             ContentType.HTML: CompressionStrategy.HTML,
+            ContentType.TABULAR: CompressionStrategy.TABULAR,
             ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT: CompressionStrategy.TEXT,
         }
         return mapping.get(content_type, self.config.fallback_strategy)
@@ -1711,6 +1730,7 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
             CompressionStrategy.LOG: ContentType.BUILD_OUTPUT,
             CompressionStrategy.DIFF: ContentType.GIT_DIFF,
             CompressionStrategy.HTML: ContentType.HTML,
+            CompressionStrategy.TABULAR: ContentType.TABULAR,
             CompressionStrategy.TEXT: ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT,
             CompressionStrategy.KOMPRESS: ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT,
             CompressionStrategy.PASSTHROUGH: ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT,
@@ -1785,6 +1805,17 @@ class ContentRouter(Transform):
                 logger.debug("LogCompressor not available")
         return self._log_compressor
 
+    def _get_tabular_compressor(self) -> Any:
+        """Get TabularCompressor (lazy load)."""
+        if self._tabular_compressor is None:
+            try:
+                from .tabular_ingest import TabularCompressor
+
+                self._tabular_compressor = TabularCompressor()
+            except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - defensive; tabular_ingest is pure stdlib
+                logger.debug("TabularCompressor not available")
+        return self._tabular_compressor
+
     def _get_diff_compressor(self) -> Any:
         """Get DiffCompressor (lazy load). Rust-only — Python implementation
         retired in Stage 3b. The wheel (`headroom._core`) is a hard import.
diff --git a/headroom/transforms/spreadsheet_ingest.py b/headroom/transforms/spreadsheet_ingest.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..01bad93e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/headroom/transforms/spreadsheet_ingest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+"""Binary spreadsheet ingestion: ``.xlsx`` / ``.xls`` → tabular text.
+
+The compression pipeline is text-only, so binary spreadsheets enter through this
+adapter at the SDK boundary. Each sheet is rendered to CSV text, which then flows
+through the normal tabular detection → SmartCrusher path like any other table.
+
+Parsers are optional dependencies (``pip install headroom-ai[spreadsheet]``) and
+are imported lazily; a missing dependency fails loudly with an actionable
+message rather than silently degrading.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import csv
+import io
+from pathlib import Path
+
+__all__ = ["load_spreadsheet"]
+
+
+def _rows_to_csv(rows: list[list[object]]) -> str:
+    """Render rows to CSV text, dropping fully empty trailing rows."""
+    buf = io.StringIO()
+    writer = csv.writer(buf)
+    for row in rows:
+        writer.writerow(["" if cell is None else cell for cell in row])
+    return buf.getvalue().strip("\n")
+
+
+def _load_xlsx(path: Path) -> dict[str, str]:
+    try:
+        import openpyxl
+    except ImportError as e:  # pragma: no cover - openpyxl ships in [dev]; defensive guard
+        raise ImportError(
+            "Reading .xlsx files requires openpyxl. "
+            "Install it with: pip install headroom-ai[spreadsheet]"
+        ) from e
+
+    wb = openpyxl.load_workbook(path, read_only=True, data_only=True)
+    sheets: dict[str, str] = {}
+    try:
+        for ws in wb.worksheets:
+            rows = [list(r) for r in ws.iter_rows(values_only=True)]
+            text = _rows_to_csv(rows)
+            if text.strip():
+                sheets[ws.title] = text
+    finally:
+        wb.close()
+    return sheets
+
+
+def _load_xls(
+    path: Path,
+) -> dict[str, str]:  # pragma: no cover - legacy .xls; needs optional xlrd + binary fixture
+    try:
+        import xlrd
+    except ImportError as e:
+        raise ImportError(
+            "Reading legacy .xls files requires xlrd. "
+            "Install it with: pip install headroom-ai[spreadsheet]"
+        ) from e
+
+    book = xlrd.open_workbook(str(path))
+    sheets: dict[str, str] = {}
+    for sheet in book.sheets():
+        rows = [sheet.row_values(i) for i in range(sheet.nrows)]
+        text = _rows_to_csv(rows)
+        if text.strip():
+            sheets[sheet.name] = text
+    return sheets
+
+
+def load_spreadsheet(path: str | Path) -> dict[str, str]:
+    """Load a spreadsheet file into ``{sheet_name: csv_text}``.
+
+    Args:
+        path: Path to a ``.xlsx`` or ``.xls`` file.
+
+    Returns:
+        Mapping of sheet name to CSV-rendered text (empty sheets omitted).
+
+    Raises:
+        FileNotFoundError: If the path does not exist.
+        ValueError: If the file extension is unsupported.
+        ImportError: If the required parser dependency is not installed.
+    """
+    p = Path(path)
+    if not p.exists():
+        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Spreadsheet not found: {p}")
+
+    suffix = p.suffix.lower()
+    if suffix == ".xlsx":
+        return _load_xlsx(p)
+    if suffix == ".xls":
+        return _load_xls(p)  # pragma: no cover - legacy .xls path, see _load_xls
+    raise ValueError(f"Unsupported spreadsheet format '{suffix}'. Supported: .xlsx, .xls")
diff --git a/headroom/transforms/tabular_ingest.py b/headroom/transforms/tabular_ingest.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..07b889b13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/headroom/transforms/tabular_ingest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+"""Tabular-text compressor: bridges CSV/TSV/markdown tables to SmartCrusher.
+
+Raw tabular *text* (CSV/TSV files, markdown tables, fixed-width tables) has no
+native compressor — it would otherwise fall through to plain-text Kompress,
+ignoring its row/column structure. This module parses tabular text into a JSON
+array of records and routes it through the existing, battle-tested
+`SmartCrusher`, which already does lossless ``csv-schema`` compaction first and
+lossy row-drop with reversible ``<<ccr:HASH>>`` markers as a fallback.
+
+No new compression algorithm and no new CCR plumbing live here — only the
+text→records bridge.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import csv
+import io
+import json
+import re
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from .content_detector import ContentType, detect_content_type
+
+# Mirrors content_detector's separator-cell pattern (e.g. ``| --- | :--: |``).
+_MD_SEP_CELL = re.compile(r"^:?-{2,}:?$")
+
+
+# ─── Public dataclasses (mirror SearchCompressor / LogCompressor surface) ────
+
+
+@dataclass
+class TabularCompressorConfig:
+    """Configuration for tabular-text compression."""
+
+    # Pass-through to SmartCrusher's lossless renderer.
+    compaction_format: str = "csv-schema"
+    # Only keep SmartCrusher's output if it is strictly smaller than the
+    # original tabular text (already-compact CSV may not benefit losslessly).
+    min_savings_chars: int = 1
+
+
+@dataclass
+class TabularCompressionResult:
+    """Result of tabular-text compression."""
+
+    compressed: str
+    original: str
+    was_modified: bool
+    fmt: str  # "csv" | "markdown" | "fixed_width"
+    rows: int
+    columns: int
+    strategy: str = "tabular"
+
+    @property
+    def compression_ratio(self) -> float:
+        if not self.original:
+            return 0.0
+        return len(self.compressed) / len(self.original)
+
+
+# ─── Parsers (text → headers + rows) ─────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def parse_csv(content: str, delimiter: str = ",") -> tuple[list[str], list[list[str]]]:
+    """Parse delimited text via the stdlib csv reader."""
+    reader = csv.reader(io.StringIO(content), delimiter=delimiter)
+    parsed = [row for row in reader if any(cell.strip() for cell in row)]
+    if not parsed:
+        return [], []
+    headers = [h.strip() for h in parsed[0]]
+    return headers, parsed[1:]
+
+
+def parse_markdown_table(content: str) -> tuple[list[str], list[list[str]]]:
+    """Parse a markdown table, dropping the ``|---|`` separator row."""
+
+    def split_row(row: str) -> list[str]:
+        return [c.strip() for c in row.strip().strip("|").split("|")]
+
+    def is_separator(row: str) -> bool:
+        cells = [c for c in split_row(row) if c]
+        return len(cells) >= 2 and all(_MD_SEP_CELL.match(c) for c in cells)
+
+    lines = [ln for ln in content.split("\n") if ln.strip() and "|" in ln]
+    if len(lines) < 2:
+        return [], []
+    headers = split_row(lines[0])
+    rows = [split_row(ln) for ln in lines[1:] if not is_separator(ln)]
+    return headers, rows
+
+
+def parse_fixed_width(content: str) -> tuple[list[str], list[list[str]]]:
+    """Parse whitespace-aligned columns (best-effort, ≥ 2 spaces as a gap)."""
+    lines = [ln for ln in content.split("\n") if ln.strip()]
+    if len(lines) < 2:
+        return [], []
+    splitter = re.compile(r"\s{2,}")
+    headers = splitter.split(lines[0].strip())
+    rows = [splitter.split(ln.strip()) for ln in lines[1:]]
+    return headers, rows
+
+
+def to_records(headers: list[str], rows: list[list[str]]) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
+    """Zip headers with each row into dicts, padding/truncating to width."""
+    if not headers:
+        return []
+    width = len(headers)
+    records: list[dict[str, str]] = []
+    for row in rows:
+        padded = (row + [""] * width)[:width]
+        records.append({headers[i]: padded[i] for i in range(width)})
+    return records
+
+
+def parse_tabular(
+    content: str,
+) -> tuple[list[str], list[list[str]], str] | None:
+    """Detect the tabular format and parse to (headers, rows, fmt).
+
+    Returns ``None`` if the content is not tabular.
+    """
+    detection = detect_content_type(content)
+    if detection.content_type is not ContentType.TABULAR:
+        return None
+
+    fmt = detection.metadata.get("format", "csv")
+    if fmt == "markdown":
+        headers, rows = parse_markdown_table(content)
+    elif fmt == "fixed_width":
+        headers, rows = parse_fixed_width(content)
+    else:
+        delimiter = detection.metadata.get("delimiter", ",")
+        headers, rows = parse_csv(content, delimiter)
+
+    if not headers or not rows:
+        return None
+    return headers, rows, fmt
+
+
+# ─── Compressor (text → records → SmartCrusher) ──────────────────────────────
+
+
+class TabularCompressor:
+    """Compresses tabular text by bridging it through SmartCrusher.
+
+    Public surface mirrors the other content-type compressors so the router
+    and tests treat it uniformly.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, config: TabularCompressorConfig | None = None) -> None:
+        self.config = config or TabularCompressorConfig()
+
+    def compress(
+        self,
+        content: str,
+        context: str = "",
+        bias: float = 1.0,
+    ) -> TabularCompressionResult:
+        parsed = parse_tabular(content)
+        if parsed is None:
+            return TabularCompressionResult(
+                compressed=content,
+                original=content,
+                was_modified=False,
+                fmt="unknown",
+                rows=0,
+                columns=0,
+            )
+
+        headers, rows, fmt = parsed
+        records = to_records(headers, rows)
+        json_str = json.dumps(records, ensure_ascii=False)
+
+        # Lazy import keeps the Rust dependency off the import path until a
+        # tabular payload actually arrives.
+        from .smart_crusher import SmartCrusher
+
+        crusher = SmartCrusher(
+            with_compaction=True,
+            compaction_format=self.config.compaction_format,
+        )
+        result = crusher.crush(json_str, context, bias)
+
+        # SmartCrusher compressed the JSON form; compare its output against the
+        # original *tabular text*. Already-compact CSV may not beat its own
+        # source, so only adopt the result when it genuinely saves bytes.
+        savings = len(content) - len(result.compressed)
+        if not result.was_modified or savings < self.config.min_savings_chars:
+            return TabularCompressionResult(
+                compressed=content,
+                original=content,
+                was_modified=False,
+                fmt=fmt,
+                rows=len(rows),
+                columns=len(headers),
+            )
+
+        return TabularCompressionResult(
+            compressed=result.compressed,
+            original=content,
+            was_modified=True,
+            fmt=fmt,
+            rows=len(rows),
+            columns=len(headers),
+            strategy=result.strategy or "tabular",
+        )
+
+
+__all__ = [
+    "TabularCompressor",
+    "TabularCompressorConfig",
+    "TabularCompressionResult",
+    "parse_csv",
+    "parse_markdown_table",
+    "parse_fixed_width",
+    "parse_tabular",
+    "to_records",
+]
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 057f03014..30b520806 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -160,6 +160,11 @@ image = [
 reports = [
     "jinja2>=3.0.0",
 ]
+# Binary spreadsheet ingestion (.xlsx / .xls -> tabular text)
+spreadsheet = [
+    "openpyxl>=3.1.0",      # .xlsx
+    "xlrd>=2.0.1",          # legacy .xls
+]
 # OpenTelemetry metrics export
 otel = [
     "opentelemetry-sdk>=1.24.0",
@@ -245,10 +250,11 @@ dev = [
     "sqlite-vec>=0.1.6",
     "sentence-transformers>=2.2.0,<6.0",
     "numpy>=1.24.0",
+    "openpyxl>=3.1.0",  # exercises spreadsheet_ingest (.xlsx) in the test suite
 ]
 # All optional dependencies (everything you need)
 all = [
-    "headroom-ai[proxy,code,ml,memory,relevance,image,reports,otel,evals,voice,html,benchmark,mcp]",
+    "headroom-ai[proxy,code,ml,memory,relevance,image,reports,otel,evals,voice,html,benchmark,mcp,spreadsheet]",
 ]
 
 [project.scripts]
diff --git a/tests/test_transforms_tabular.py b/tests/test_transforms_tabular.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..858708892
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_transforms_tabular.py
@@ -0,0 +1,330 @@
+"""Tests for tabular-text + spreadsheet compression.
+
+Covers detection (content_detector), the CSV→SmartCrusher bridge
+(tabular_ingest), router wiring (content_router), and binary spreadsheet
+ingestion (spreadsheet_ingest / compress_spreadsheet).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+
+import pytest
+
+from headroom.transforms.content_detector import (
+    ContentType,
+    DetectionResult,
+    _is_md_separator,
+    _looks_like_prose,
+    _try_detect_delimited,
+    _try_detect_markdown_table,
+    detect_content_type,
+)
+from headroom.transforms.content_router import (
+    CompressionStrategy,
+    ContentRouter,
+    ContentRouterConfig,
+)
+from headroom.transforms.tabular_ingest import (
+    TabularCompressionResult,
+    TabularCompressor,
+    parse_csv,
+    parse_fixed_width,
+    parse_markdown_table,
+    parse_tabular,
+    to_records,
+)
+
+_HAS_OPENPYXL = importlib.util.find_spec("openpyxl") is not None
+
+
+# Reusable fixtures ----------------------------------------------------------
+
+CSV = "name,age,city\nAlice,30,NYC\nBob,25,LA\nCara,40,SF"
+TSV = "id\tval\tnote\n1\ta\tx\n2\tb\ty\n3\tc\tz"
+MARKDOWN = "| name | age |\n| --- | --- |\n| Alice | 30 |\n| Bob | 25 |\n| Cara | 40 |"
+
+
+def _verbose_markdown(rows: int = 40) -> str:
+    body = "\n".join(
+        f"| user_{i} | {20 + i} | city_{i % 5} | active | engineering |" for i in range(rows)
+    )
+    return "| name | age | city | status | dept |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n" + body
+
+
+# Detection ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "content,fmt",
+    [(CSV, "csv"), (TSV, "csv"), (MARKDOWN, "markdown")],
+)
+def test_detects_tabular(content: str, fmt: str) -> None:
+    result = detect_content_type(content)
+    assert result.content_type is ContentType.TABULAR
+    assert result.metadata.get("format") == fmt
+    assert result.confidence >= 0.6
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "content,expected",
+    [
+        # Search output must not be stolen by tabular.
+        (
+            "src/main.py:42:def process():\nsrc/util.py:10:import os\nsrc/x.py:5:return 1",
+            ContentType.SEARCH_RESULTS,
+        ),
+        # Build/log output stays a log.
+        (
+            "2026-01-01 INFO starting\n2026-01-01 WARN slow\n2026-01-01 ERROR boom",
+            ContentType.BUILD_OUTPUT,
+        ),
+        # JSON arrays still go to the JSON path.
+        ('[{"a": 1}, {"a": 2}, {"a": 3}]', ContentType.JSON_ARRAY),
+        # Prose with incidental commas must NOT be tabular.
+        (
+            "Hello there, friend.\nThis is a sentence, yes.\nAnother line, ok.",
+            ContentType.PLAIN_TEXT,
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_does_not_misroute_to_tabular(content: str, expected: ContentType) -> None:
+    assert detect_content_type(content).content_type is expected
+
+
+# Detection — edge branches --------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_is_md_separator_needs_two_columns() -> None:
+    assert _is_md_separator("| --- | --- |")
+    assert not _is_md_separator("| --- |")  # single column is not a separator
+    assert not _is_md_separator("| a | b |")  # cells must be dashes
+
+
+def test_markdown_table_needs_multiple_columns() -> None:
+    # Valid separator below, but the header is a single column -> not a table.
+    assert _try_detect_markdown_table(["x|", "---|---", "y|"]) is None
+
+
+def test_delimited_needs_three_rows() -> None:
+    assert _try_detect_delimited(["a,b,c", "1,2,3"]) is None
+
+
+def test_delimited_rejects_delimiter_only_in_header() -> None:
+    # Header has commas but the data rows don't: no stable column count.
+    assert _try_detect_delimited(["a,b,c", "plain", "text"]) is None
+
+
+def test_delimited_rejects_inconsistent_columns() -> None:
+    # Column count swings too much to be a real table.
+    assert _try_detect_delimited(["a,b", "c,d", "e,f,g,h", "i,j,k,l,m"]) is None
+
+
+def test_delimited_keeps_first_equal_confidence_delimiter() -> None:
+    # Comma and semicolon are both consistent; the comma candidate is set first
+    # and a later, no-better delimiter does not displace it.
+    result = _try_detect_delimited(["a,b;c", "d,e;f", "g,h;i"])
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result.metadata["delimiter"] == ","
+
+
+def test_looks_like_prose_distinguishes_sentences_from_rows() -> None:
+    # Wordy cells (avg > 3 words/cell) read as prose even without end punctuation.
+    assert _looks_like_prose(["the quick brown fox runs, over the lazy dog now"], ",")
+    # Short field tuples are real CSV rows, not prose.
+    assert not _looks_like_prose(["a,b,c", "1,2,3", "x,y,z"], ",")
+
+
+# Parsers --------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_parse_csv_and_records() -> None:
+    headers, rows = parse_csv(CSV)
+    assert headers == ["name", "age", "city"]
+    assert rows[0] == ["Alice", "30", "NYC"]
+    records = to_records(headers, rows)
+    assert records[1] == {"name": "Bob", "age": "25", "city": "LA"}
+
+
+def test_parse_markdown_table_drops_separator() -> None:
+    headers, rows = parse_markdown_table(MARKDOWN)
+    assert headers == ["name", "age"]
+    assert ["Alice", "30"] in rows
+    assert all("---" not in cell for row in rows for cell in row)
+
+
+def test_parse_tabular_returns_none_for_non_tabular() -> None:
+    assert parse_tabular("just a normal paragraph here") is None
+
+
+def test_parse_fixed_width() -> None:
+    headers, rows = parse_fixed_width("name    age   city\nAlice   30    NYC\nBob     25    LA")
+    assert headers == ["name", "age", "city"]
+    assert rows[0] == ["Alice", "30", "NYC"]
+
+
+def test_to_records_empty_headers_returns_empty() -> None:
+    assert to_records([], [["a", "b"]]) == []
+
+
+def test_parse_csv_blank_returns_empty() -> None:
+    assert parse_csv("   \n  \n") == ([], [])
+
+
+def test_parse_markdown_table_too_short_returns_empty() -> None:
+    assert parse_markdown_table("| only one row |") == ([], [])
+
+
+def test_parse_fixed_width_too_short_returns_empty() -> None:
+    assert parse_fixed_width("a single line") == ([], [])
+
+
+def test_parse_tabular_dispatches_fixed_width(monkeypatch) -> None:
+    # The detector currently emits only csv/markdown, so drive the fixed_width
+    # dispatch branch directly with a stubbed detection result.
+    import headroom.transforms.tabular_ingest as ti
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        ti,
+        "detect_content_type",
+        lambda _c: DetectionResult(ContentType.TABULAR, 0.9, {"format": "fixed_width"}),
+    )
+    headers, rows, fmt = ti.parse_tabular("name    age\nAlice   30\nBob     25")
+    assert fmt == "fixed_width"
+    assert headers == ["name", "age"]
+    assert rows[0] == ["Alice", "30"]
+
+
+def test_parse_tabular_none_when_no_data_rows_survive() -> None:
+    # Detected as a markdown table, but it is header + separator rows only:
+    # nothing survives as a data row, so parse_tabular bails to None.
+    assert parse_tabular("| a | b |\n| --- | --- |\n| --- | --- |") is None
+
+
+def test_compression_ratio_zero_for_empty_original() -> None:
+    result = TabularCompressionResult(
+        compressed="", original="", was_modified=False, fmt="csv", rows=0, columns=0
+    )
+    assert result.compression_ratio == 0.0
+
+
+# Bridge compressor ----------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_verbose_markdown_compresses() -> None:
+    result = TabularCompressor().compress(_verbose_markdown())
+    assert result.was_modified
+    assert len(result.compressed) < len(result.original)
+    assert result.compression_ratio < 1.0
+    assert result.fmt == "markdown"
+
+
+def test_compact_unique_csv_passes_through() -> None:
+    # All-unique compact rows have nothing losslessly removable.
+    result = TabularCompressor().compress(CSV)
+    assert not result.was_modified
+    assert result.compressed == CSV
+
+
+def test_non_tabular_passes_through_unmodified() -> None:
+    # Unparseable prose returns the original content untouched.
+    text = "just a normal paragraph here"
+    result = TabularCompressor().compress(text)
+    assert not result.was_modified
+    assert result.compressed == text
+
+
+# Router wiring --------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_router_routes_tabular() -> None:
+    result = ContentRouter().compress(_verbose_markdown())
+    assert result.strategy_used is CompressionStrategy.TABULAR
+    assert result.total_compressed_tokens <= result.total_original_tokens
+
+
+def test_router_caches_tabular_compressor() -> None:
+    router = ContentRouter()
+    first = router._get_tabular_compressor()
+    assert first is router._get_tabular_compressor()  # second call returns the cached instance
+
+
+def test_router_tabular_passthrough_when_compressor_unavailable(monkeypatch) -> None:
+    # Defensive guard: if the tabular compressor can't be constructed, routing to
+    # TABULAR leaves content untouched instead of crashing.
+    md = _verbose_markdown()
+    router = ContentRouter()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(router, "_get_tabular_compressor", lambda: None)
+    result = router.compress(md)
+    assert result.compressed == md
+    assert result.tokens_saved == 0
+
+
+def test_router_respects_disable_flag() -> None:
+    # Disabling skips the tabular compressor: content passes through unchanged
+    # (the selected strategy label may still read TABULAR, like other disabled
+    # compressors).
+    md = _verbose_markdown()
+    cfg = ContentRouterConfig(enable_tabular_compressor=False)
+    result = ContentRouter(cfg).compress(md)
+    assert result.compressed == md
+    assert result.tokens_saved == 0
+
+
+# Binary spreadsheet ingestion -----------------------------------------------
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(not _HAS_OPENPYXL, reason="openpyxl not installed")
+def test_load_and_compress_xlsx(tmp_path) -> None:
+    import openpyxl
+
+    from headroom import compress_spreadsheet
+    from headroom.transforms.spreadsheet_ingest import load_spreadsheet
+
+    wb = openpyxl.Workbook()
+    ws = wb.active
+    ws.title = "Data"
+    ws.append(["id", "name", "dept", "status"])
+    for i in range(40):
+        ws.append([i, f"user_{i}", ["eng", "sales", "ops"][i % 3], "active"])
+    wb.create_sheet("Empty")  # should be skipped
+    path = tmp_path / "sample.xlsx"
+    wb.save(path)
+
+    sheets = load_spreadsheet(path)
+    assert list(sheets) == ["Data"]
+    assert sheets["Data"].splitlines()[0] == "id,name,dept,status"
+
+    result = compress_spreadsheet(str(path))
+    assert result.tokens_after <= result.tokens_before
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(not _HAS_OPENPYXL, reason="openpyxl not installed")
+def test_compress_spreadsheet_empty_workbook_returns_empty(tmp_path) -> None:
+    import openpyxl
+
+    from headroom import compress_spreadsheet
+
+    wb = openpyxl.Workbook()  # one empty sheet, no rows
+    path = tmp_path / "empty.xlsx"
+    wb.save(path)
+
+    result = compress_spreadsheet(str(path))
+    assert result.messages == []
+    assert result.tokens_saved == 0
+
+
+def test_load_spreadsheet_rejects_unknown_extension(tmp_path) -> None:
+    from headroom.transforms.spreadsheet_ingest import load_spreadsheet
+
+    bad = tmp_path / "data.txt"
+    bad.write_text("a,b\n1,2\n")
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Unsupported"):
+        load_spreadsheet(bad)
+
+
+def test_load_spreadsheet_missing_file(tmp_path) -> None:
+    from headroom.transforms.spreadsheet_ingest import load_spreadsheet
+
+    with pytest.raises(FileNotFoundError):
+        load_spreadsheet(tmp_path / "nope.xlsx")