# Importing Data

The CSV import tool creates items, membership tiers, and mailing list subscribers from a CSV file. It does not import files -- upload those separately after importing the metadata.

A single CSV row can produce:

- **An item** (if a title is present)
- **A subscriber** (if an email is present)
- **A transaction record** (if both an email and amount are present, counted for reporting, not inserted as real purchases)

## Preparing Your CSV

The importer accepts any column order; you map columns during setup.

Available column mappings:

| Field | What it maps to |
|-------|----------------|
| `email` | Subscriber email address |
| `name` | Subscriber or buyer name |
| `amount` | Transaction amount (see format below) |
| `date` | Date of transaction or membership start |
| `item_title` | Item title to create |
| `tier` | Membership tier name |
| `status` | Membership status |

Unmapped columns are ignored, so you can leave extra columns in the CSV without issue.

### Amount Format

- Decimal values are treated as dollars: `12.50` becomes $12.50 (1250 cents)
- Whole numbers are treated as cents: `500` means $5.00
- Currency symbols (`$`, `EUR`, `GBP`, `JPY`) and commas are stripped automatically

### Date Format

The importer handles multiple date formats:

- ISO 8601: `2024-01-15` or `2024-01-15T10:30:00Z`
- US format: `01/15/2024` or `1/15/2024`
- EU format: `15.01.2024` (day > 12 disambiguates automatically)
- Unix epoch seconds: `1705312200`

If a date is missing, the current date is used.

### Invalid Rows

Rows with invalid emails (missing `@` or `.`) are skipped. Other parse errors are logged but don't stop the import. A summary of skipped rows is shown at the end.

## Running an Import

1. Go to your dashboard and open the **Import** tab
2. Select the target project
3. Upload your CSV (max 10 MB)
4. Map your columns to the available fields
5. Start the import

> [!UI] import-column-mapper

The import runs in the background. The status page shows total rows, rows processed, rows created, and rows skipped.

## What the Import Creates

The pipeline runs in four phases:

1. **Tiers**: Creates membership tiers from the `tier` column. Duplicates (by name) are skipped.
2. **Items**: Creates digital items from the `item_title` column. Tags are attached by slug lookup if present.
3. **Subscribers**: Adds email addresses to a mailing list for the project. These are email-only subscribers (they don't need MNW accounts).
4. **Transactions**: Recorded in your import report for reference, but not processed as actual charges (imported buyers have no MNW accounts).

Progress updates every 50 rows.

## After Importing

- **Upload files**: Items are created without files. Go to each item's Files tab to upload the actual content.
- **Set prices**: Review and adjust pricing on imported items.
- **Review tags**: Check that tag mappings resolved correctly.
- **Publish**: Imported items start as drafts. Publish them when ready.

## Limits

- CSV file size: 10 MB maximum
- Import history: your 20 most recent jobs are retained
- One import per project at a time

## Supported Sources

Currently, the importer supports generic CSV files. Platform-specific importers are on the [roadmap](../about/roadmap.md#importers).

## See Also

- [Content & Items](./02-content.md): Creating items manually
- [Data Export](./export.md): Exporting your data
- [Migration Guide](./migration.md): Moving to Makenot.work