Import CSV file to a Database, quickly

Challenge: you have a csv file and you need to import it into a new table in a database. You have 5 mins to get it done. What tools do you use?

@secretgeek

Below are many different solutions to this common problem, for a variety of databases and operating systems.

Table of contents:

• Any database with any OS
  • Some brute force approaches (common!)
• Any database with Windows
• Any Database with MacOS
• MS SQL Server Specific
• SQLite specific
• MySQL specific
• Postgresql specific
• Oracle specific
• Hadoop specific
• Alternative: Just treat the CSV as SQL

Any database with any OS

• Python with Pandas

    import pandas
    from sqlalchemy import create_engine
    engine = create_engine('connection string')
    df = pandas.read_csv("path/to.csv")
    df.to_sql("table_name", engine)
  

• "R"

  Via Scott Stanfield:

  Load in R with data.table fread() method. It'll impute the data types...gets you 80% of the way there.

• csv2db — "The CSV command line loader."

• csvsql from csvkit csvsql --db postgresql:///test --tables dogideas --insert data/pets/dogideas.csv

• NimbleText — Generate SQL Insert Statements with NimbleText (web version)

• DBeaver — Importing a CSV into a database using DBeaver

• Datagrip: import/export — "There is a dedicated UI for importing DSV (CSV and TSV) files to the database."

• Navicat ($$$)

Some brute force approaches (common!)

• Sublime (editor), use Multiple line edit to turn the data into SQL

• vim, "A combination of macros, regex, and standard commands that change each line to an insert statement." (via OJ)

• (Any editor), use search/replace (perhaps with regular expressions) to turn the data into SQL

• (Any spreadsheet), write formulae that combine the data together to turn the data into SQL, "="('" + A1 + "','" + A2..." etc.`

• Automate the search/replace approach with NimbleText

    $ONCE
    CREATE TABLE Contacts
    ("<% $row.replace(/[ ]*,[ ]*/g,'" varchar(50) NULL,\n"') %>" varchar(50) NULL)
    GO
  
    Insert into Contacts
    ('<% $row.replace(/[ ]*,[ ]*/g,"','") %>')
    Values
    $EACH+
    (<% ("'" + $row + "'").replace(/[ ]*,[ ]*/g,"','").replace(/'NULL'/g,'NULL') %>)<% if ($rowNumOne != $numrows) { ',' } %>
    $ONCE
    GO
  

Any database with Windows

• LinqPad — CSV to IEnumerable (or Array) in Linqpad

• Microsoft Log Parser

    Logparser -o sql -server 127.0.0.1 -database -createtable on "select * into newtable from C:\Apps\Logs\Logfile.log"
  

• Alteryx ($$$)

  • drag in an Input data, point it at the csv file.
  • (optional) drag in a Select, use it to configure the column types
  • drag in an Output data, point it at the database (and set the table name)
  • Run!

• Generate SQL Insert Statements with NimbleText (desktop version)

  The desktop version lets you use a "real" CSV parser that handles embedded delimiters/line breaks etc. Just switch on the use qualifier option under tools | options.

Any Database with MacOS

(No examples available, so use solutions for "Any database with any OS")

MS SQL Server Specific

• Sql Server Management Studio (SSMS) — right click on Database, Tasks, "Import Flat File..."

• BCP (Bulk Copy Program)

• TSQL: BULK INSERT

    BULK INSERT Sales.Orders
    FROM '\\SystemX\DiskZ\Sales\data\orders.csv'
    WITH ( FIRSTROW = 2, FORMAT='CSV');
  

• Powershell: Four Easy Ways to Import CSV Files to SQL Server with PowerShell

• Powershell: Import-DbaCsv from Chrissy LeMaire

    Import-DbaCsv -Path .\housing.csv -SqlInstance sql001 -Database markets -Table housing -Delimiter "`t" -NoHeaderRow
  

• SQL Down under tools — see ReadCSV demo movie

SQLite specific

• Tutorial: Import a CSV File Into an SQLite Table

  If there are no header names in the csv, then find the column names and run:

    create table mytable (header_a, header_b, header_c)
  

  Next step (do this whether you needed the previous step or not)

    .mode csv
    .import data.csv mytable
  

MySQL specific

• Load Data Infile

    LOAD DATA INFILE 'c:/tmp/discounts.csv'
    INTO TABLE discounts
    FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
    ENCLOSED BY '"'
    LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'
    IGNORE 1 ROWS;
  

• PhpMyAdmin

Postgresql specific

Two techniques: Copy command in sql itself, and \copy command in psql (interactive commandline).

• Sql-copy — requires root access

   COPY dog_habits FROM '/home/user521/pets/dog_habits.csv' DELIMITER ',' CSV HEADER;
  

• psql \copy — use interactive psql commandline where file permissions are an issue

   psql -c "\copy sample FROM '/home/user521/pets/dog_habits.csv' WITH (FORMAT CSV)"
  

Oracle specific

• 9 Simple Steps to Import CSV into Oracle Table Using Toad

• Oracle APEX

  "a couple of clicks and we're done"

  @APEX/JeffreyKemp.sql

Hadoop specific

• @BenBrandwood gives this Hadoop example...

    hive> CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE IF NOT EXISTS test_ext
    > (ID int,
    > DEPT int,
    > NAME string
    > )
    > ROW FORMAT DELIMITED
    > FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
    > STORED AS TEXTFILE
    > LOCATION '/test';
    OK
    Time taken: 0.395 seconds
  

Alternative: Just treat the CSV as SQL

• TextQL — Execute SQL against CSV or TSV.
• q — Run SQL directly on CSV Files
• RBQL — Rainbow Query Language, a SQL-like language with JavaScript or Python backend.
• PSKit Query — Powershell module lets you run simple queries over objects, including imported with csv.

Sponsor

♥ Love CSV? Hate CSV? Try NimbleText for your CSV transforming needs.

See also

• LinqPad: CSV to IEnumerable (or Array) in Linqpad
• Linqpad: Data Table to CSV
• Load or Save CSV with Powershell