How to set up a CSV file for import?

How can I import task information?

You’re welcome to import several tasks to your board in one go - either by:

uploading a .csv spreadsheet file,
dragging/pasting a copy of data directly from an Excel sheet to the import window
or typing/pasting task data as text into the import table.

What data types can I import?

Your Kanban Tool cards can use any combination of the default and custom fields, most of which can be populated via the import.
The only necessary field is the task name.

The following is a list of fields you can import data into, provided that you have first enabled and customized them all at your Settings - Card Types and Card Template pages:

type	format	comments	char limit
name	text		250
stage (column)	text	as defined at Settings - Board Editor	256
swimlane (row)	text	as defined at Settings - Board Editor	256
checklist	text	e.g., item 1; item2; item 3;	1000
description	text		59600
external link	text/URL		1024
card type	text	as defined at Settings - Card Types	255
priority	1, 0, -1	1 high, 0 normal, -1 low	2
start date	YYYY-MM-DD		10
due date	YYYY-MM-DD		10
assigned to	Name Surname	as defined on your People page	255
external ID	number		256
estimated time	number of hrs	e.g., 2 (two hrs), or 2:30 (two hrs 30 min)	6
difficulty	number	as defined at Settings - Card Template	250
tags	text		256
custom field	text	as defined at Settings - Card Template	6500
custom field	non-text	as defined at Settings - Card Template	256
ID*	number	refers to the native ID of existing tasks; *only to be used for updating existing cards	8

What data cannot be imported?

Task information impossible to import are file attachments, task comments, task changes history (e.g., creation date or update times), and task dependencies.

How to import data to a board?

If you’re going to import a file that contains a title row, naming what data type is listed in which columns, you should either delete this row before uploading or use the built-in import option to change file format, with which you can select to ignore the first row. If the imported file seems to have incorrectly detected your data separators, you may also tweak this in here.

Once you’ve got the first row removed and data separators in order, it’s time to assign which card fields are represented by which column. On many occasions, Kanban Tool will recognize some fields itself, especially if you’re using a Kanban Tool export file to import back.
If your file has any empty columns, or columns you do not want or can’t import back to Kanban Tool, leave the heading above this row as (ignored). For all other columns, be sure to choose the right data type field from the drop-down list.

In cases where you need to choose an option defined by the board settings, such as a card type - you can do this by hovering over the field - an arrow will show and let you choose the right type from a drop-down menu. This will happen for various field types - whenever you see this arrow, it means that cues are available for you to choose from.

After this, simply hit the blue Import button at the bottom.
If there are any problems with the import, you’ll see a black exclamation point - if you hover the mouse cursor over it, you’ll see information about what exactly the problem was.

Mass-update tasks with the import tool!

The import functionality also allows you to make updates to tasks already present on your board. To update them, be sure to include either the cards’ native IDs or External IDs on the import list. The data you import with a reference to an existing ID/External ID will overwrite (not add into, but replace) what was there previously. It’s a great way to mass update task due dates, user assignments, priorities, or tags.

For as long as either an ID or External ID is named, you can synchronize tasks with a spreadsheet with no limits.

Related: A reverse action - exporting tasks to a spreadsheet - is also available.