Import CSV

CSV files that comply with the Neo4j import tool’s header format can be imported using the apoc.import.csv procedure. This procedure can be used to load small- to medium-sized data sets in an online database. For importing larger data sets, it is recommended to perform a batch import using the import tool, which loads data in bulk to an offline (initially empty) database.

This procedure should not be confused with the apoc.load.csv procedure which loads the lines of the CSV file to lists/maps (to be used to create the entities in the database).

Usage

The parameters of the apoc.import.csv(<nodes>, <relationships>, <config>) procedure are as follows.

The <nodes> parameter is a list, where each element is a map defining a source file (fileName) to be loaded with a set of labels (labels):

name description example

name	description	example
`fileName`	filename	`'file:/students.csv'`
`labels`	set of labels	`['Person', 'Student']`

fileName

filename

'file:/students.csv'

labels

set of labels

['Person', 'Student']

The <relationships> parameter is also a list, where each element is a map defining a source file (fileName) to be loaded with a given relationship type (type):

name description example

name	description	example
`fileName`	filename	`'file:/works_at.csv'`
`type`	relationship type	`'WORKS_AT'`

fileName

filename

'file:/works_at.csv'

type

relationship type

'WORKS_AT'

The <config> parameter is a map

name description default import tool counterpart

name	description	default	import tool counterpart
`delimiter`	delimiter character between columns	`,`	`--delimiter=,`
`arrayDelimiter`	delimiter character in arrays	`;`	`--array-delimiter=;`
`ignoreDuplicateNodes`	for duplicate nodes, only load the first one and skip the rest (true) or fail the import (false)	`false`	`--ignore-duplicate-nodes=false`
`quotationCharacter`	quotation character	`"`	`--quote='"'`
`stringIds`	treat ids as strings	`true`	`--id-type=STRING`
`skipLines`	lines to skip (incl. header)	`1`	`N/A`

delimiter

delimiter character between columns

,

--delimiter=,

arrayDelimiter

delimiter character in arrays

;

--array-delimiter=;

ignoreDuplicateNodes

for duplicate nodes, only load the first one and skip the rest (true) or fail the import (false)

false

--ignore-duplicate-nodes=false

quotationCharacter

quotation character

"

--quote='"'

stringIds

treat ids as strings

true

--id-type=STRING

skipLines

lines to skip (incl. header)

1

N/A

Examples for apoc.import.csv

Loading nodes

Given the following CSV file and procedure call, the database loads two Person nodes with their name properties set:

persons.csv

name:STRING
John
Jane

CALL apoc.import.csv([{fileName: 'file:/persons.csv', labels: ['Person']}], [], {})

Loading nodes and relationships

Given the following CSV files and procedure call, the database loads two Person nodes and a KNOWS relationship between them (with the value of the since property set). Note that both the field terminators and the array delimiters are changed from the default value, and the CSVs use numeric ids.

persons.csv

:ID|name:STRING|speaks:STRING[]
1|John|en,fr
2|Jane|en,de

knows.csv

:START_ID|:END_ID|since:INT
1|2|2016

CALL apoc.import.csv(
  [{fileName: 'file:/persons.csv', labels: ['Person']}],
  [{fileName: 'file:/knows.csv', type: 'KNOWS'}],
  {delimiter: '|', arrayDelimiter: ',', stringIds: false}
)

The loader supports advanced features of the import tool:

ID spaces are supported, using the import tool’s syntax.
Node labels can be specified with the :LABEL field.
Relationship types can be specified with the :TYPE field.