Overview

PocketBase data import tools for CSV and JSON files made using PocketBase JS SDK.

Automatically creates typed PocketBase collection and populates it with data.

Columns conflicting with PocketBase's autogenerated system fields (id, created, updated; case-insensitive check, target column name's case is not affected) are prefixed with _. Collection conflict will cause the import to fail without any changes to the database.

No rules, options or constraints are set for the new collection (see the import log for a full structure). You can modify them after the import from PocketBase's dashboard.

Types

pocketbase-import detects types using regular expressions. Currently supported PocketBase types are:

• Bool
• Number
• Plain text
• Email
• DateTime
• JSON
• Url

Configuration

Install the latest Deno runtime to run the scripts.

In the root directory create .env file with the following environment variables:

• ADMIN_EMAIL (required) - superadmin email
• ADMIN_PASSWORD (required) - superadmin password
• POCKETBASE_URL (optional) - PocketBase app URL, defaults to local instance

Place your import files inside of input directory.

Make sure the target PocketBase instance is running and pointed to by POCKETBASE_URL.

For versions >=0.23.2, enable and configure batch API access - go to Settings > Application in PocketBase dashboard (see below). Adjust the parameters to your performance requirements or use the defaults for small/middle-sized datasets.

Options

You can change the default import options to your needs:

Name	Files	Required	Description	Example use
input	CSV/JSON	Yes	The name of the input file (with extension)	--input=example.csv
id	CSV/JSON	No	Indicates that _id column should be typed as plain text, the type is detected by default	--id
max_batch	CSV/JSON	No	Max batch request size in rows, should not exceed PocketBase's Max allowed batch requests. Defaults to 50.	--max_batch=100
lf	CSV	No	LF (\n) EOL character will be used instead of default CRLF (\r\n)	--lf
delimiter	CSV	No	Column value separator, defaults to ,	--delimiter=";"
quote	CSV	No	Value quote character, defaults to '	--quote="~"

CSV

The import is not multiline-safe, so if you have a file with strings spanning across multiple lines the best option for you is to convert the input file to JSON with tools like DB Browser for SQLite.

Examples

Basic import (root directory):

deno run csv.ts --input=example.csv

Import without permission prompts and with max batch request size of 1 row:

deno run --allow-read --allow-env --allow-net csv.ts --input=example.csv --max_batch=1

Import without permission prompts and with _id column as text:

deno run --allow-read --allow-env --allow-net csv.ts --input=example.csv --id

Import with custom parser options (you need to adjust example.csv):

deno run csv.ts --input=example.csv --delimiter=";" --quote="~" --lf

JSON

The required data format is an array of row objects.

Examples

Basic import (root directory):

deno run json.ts --input=example.json

Import without permission prompts and with max batch request size of 1 row:

deno run --allow-read --allow-env --allow-net json.ts --input=example.json --max_batch=1

Import without permission prompts and with _id column as text:

deno run --allow-read --allow-env --allow-net json.ts --input=example.json --id