`mongoimport`

MongoDB Command Line Database Tool binaries are not supported or tested for use with non-genuine MongoDB deployments. While the tools may work on these deployments, compatibility is not guaranteed.

This documentation is for version 100.13.0 of mongoimport.

Synopsis

mongoimport imports content from an Extended JSON, CSV, or TSV export created by mongoexport, or potentially, another third-party export tool.

Run mongoimport from the system command line, not the mongo shell.

mongoexport provides data export capabilities.

You can use the MongoDB Database Tools to migrate from a self-hosted deployment to MongoDB Atlas. MongoDB Atlas is the fully managed service for MongoDB deployments in the cloud. To learn more, see Seed with mongorestore.

To learn all the ways you can migrate to MongoDB Atlas, see Migrate or Import Data.

Tip

You can also import and export data using the graphical user interface tool MongoDB Compass. For details, see MongoDB Compass Import and Export.

Syntax

mongoimport syntax:

mongoimport <options> <connection-string> <file>

Options

--help: Returns information on the options and use of mongoimport.

--verbose, -v: Increases the amount of internal reporting returned on standard output or in log files. Increase the verbosity with the -v form by including the option multiple times, (e.g. -vvvvv.)

--quiet

Runs mongoimport in a quiet mode that attempts to limit the amount of output.

This option suppresses:

output from database commands
replication activity
connection accepted events
connection closed events

--version: Returns the mongoimport release number.

--config=<filename>

New in version 100.3.0.

Specifies the full path to a YAML configuration file that contains sensitive values for the following mongoimport options:

This is the recommended way to specify a password to mongoimport, aside from specifying it through a password prompt. You can use any combination of the arguments in the file.

The configuration file takes the following form:

password: <password>
uri: mongodb://mongodb0.example.com:27017
sslPEMKeyPassword: <password>

If you specify the password option without specifying uri, you can specify the other components of the connection string by using mongoimport command line options, such as --username and --host.

Be sure to secure this file with appropriate filesystem permissions.

Important

When using the --config option, keep the following limitations and behaviors in mind:

If you provide the password field and provide a connection string in the uri field with a conflicting password, mongorestore throws an error.
If you specify a configuration file with --config and also use the --password, --uri, or --sslPEMKeyPassword mongoimport command line options, the command line option overrides the corresponding configuration file option.

--uri=<connectionString>

Specifies the resolvable URI connection string of the MongoDB deployment, enclosed in quotes:

--uri "mongodb://[username:password@]host1[:port1][,host2[:port2],...[,hostN[:portN]]][/[database][?options]]"

Note

If you don't specify a database with the --db or --uri option, mongoimport uses the test database by default. If the test database doesn't exist, mongoimport creates the database.

Starting with version 100.0 of mongoimport, the connection string may alternatively be provided as a positional parameter, without using the --uri option:

mongoimport mongodb://[username:password@]host1[:port1][,host2[:port2],...[,hostN[:portN]]][/[database][?options]]

As a positional parameter, the connection string may be specified at any point on the command line, as long as it begins with either mongodb:// or mongodb+srv://. For example:

mongoimport --username joe --password secret1 mongodb://mongodb0.example.com:27017 --ssl

Only one connection string can be provided. Attempting to include more than one, whether using the --uri option or as a positional argument, will result in an error.

For information on the components of the connection string, see the Connection String URI Format documentation.

Note

Some components in the connection string may alternatively be specified using their own explicit command-line options, such as --username and --password. Providing a connection string while also using an explicit option and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

Note

If using mongoimport on Ubuntu 18.04, you may experience a cannot unmarshal DNS error message when using SRV connection strings (in the form mongodb+srv://) with the --uri option. If so, use one of the following options instead:

the --uri option with a non-SRV connection string (in the form mongodb://)
the --host option to specify the host to connect to directly

Warning

On some systems, a password provided in a connection string with the --uri option may be visible to system status programs such as ps that may be invoked by other users. Consider instead:

omitting the password in the connection string to receive an interactive password prompt, or
using the --config option to specify a configuration file containing the password.

--host=<hostname><:port>, -h=<hostname><:port>

Default: localhost:27017

Specifies the resolvable hostname of the MongoDB deployment. By default, mongoimport attempts to connect to a MongoDB instance running on the localhost on port number 27017.

To connect to a replica set, specify the replSetName and a seed list of set members, as in the following:

--host=<replSetName>/<hostname1><:port>,<hostname2><:port>,<...>

When specifying the replica set list format, mongoimport always connects to the primary.

You can also connect to any single member of the replica set by specifying the host and port of only that member:

--host=<hostname1><:port>

If you use IPv6 and use the <address>:<port> format, you must enclose the portion of an address and port combination in brackets (e.g. [<address>]).

Alternatively, you can also specify the hostname directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --host and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

--port=<port>

Default: 27017

Specifies the TCP port on which the MongoDB instance listens for client connections.

Alternatively, you can also specify the port directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --port and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

--ssl

Enables connection to a mongod or mongos that has TLS/SSL support enabled.

Alternatively, you can also configure TLS/SSL support directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --ssl and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

--sslCAFile=<filename>

Specifies the .pem file that contains the root certificate chain from the Certificate Authority. Specify the file name of the .pem file using relative or absolute paths.

Alternatively, you can also specify the .pem file directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --sslCAFile and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

--sslPEMKeyFile=<filename>

Specifies the .pem file that contains both the TLS/SSL certificate and key. Specify the file name of the .pem file using relative or absolute paths.

This option is required when using the --ssl option to connect to a mongod or mongos that has CAFile enabled without allowConnectionsWithoutCertificates.

Alternatively, you can also specify the .pem file directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --sslPEMKeyFile and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

--sslPEMKeyPassword=<value>

Specifies the password to de-crypt the certificate-key file (i.e. --sslPEMKeyFile). Use the --sslPEMKeyPassword option only if the certificate-key file is encrypted. In all cases, the mongoimport redacts the password from all logging and reporting output.

If the private key in the PEM file is encrypted and you do not specify the --sslPEMKeyPassword option, the mongoimport prompts for a passphrase. See TLS/SSL Certificate Passphrase.

Alternatively, you can also specify the password directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --sslPEMKeyPassword and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

Warning

On some systems, a password provided directly using the --sslPEMKeyPassword option may be visible to system status programs such as ps that may be invoked by other users. Consider using the --config option to specify a configuration file containing the password instead.

--sslCRLFile=<filename>

Specifies the .pem file that contains the Certificate Revocation List. Specify the file name of the .pem file using relative or absolute paths.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

--sslAllowInvalidCertificates

Bypasses the validation checks for server certificates and allows the use of invalid certificates. When using the allowInvalidCertificates setting, MongoDB logs a warning for invalid certificates.

Warning

Although available, avoid using the --sslAllowInvalidCertificates option if possible. If the use of --sslAllowInvalidCertificates is necessary, only use the option on systems where intrusion is not possible.

Connecting to a mongod or mongos instance without validating server certificates is a potential security risk. If you only need to disable the validation of the hostname in the TLS/SSL certificates, see --sslAllowInvalidHostnames.

Alternatively, you can also disable certificate validation directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --sslAllowInvalidCertificates and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

--sslAllowInvalidHostnames

Disables the validation of the hostnames in TLS/SSL certificates. Allows mongoimport to connect to MongoDB instances even if the hostname in their certificates do not match the specified hostname.

Alternatively, you can also disable hostname validation directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --sslAllowInvalidHostnames and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

For more information about TLS/SSL and MongoDB, see Configure mongod and mongos for TLS/SSL and TLS/SSL Configuration for Clients.

--username=<username>, -u=<username>

Specifies a username with which to authenticate to a MongoDB database that uses authentication. Use in conjunction with the --password and --authenticationDatabase options.

Alternatively, you can also specify the username directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --username and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

If connecting to a MongoDB Atlas cluster using the MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanism, you can specify your AWS access key ID in:

this field,
the connection string, or
the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID environment variable.

See Connect to a MongoDB Atlas Cluster using AWS IAM Credentials for an example of each.

--password=<password>, -p=<password>

Specifies a password with which to authenticate to a MongoDB database that uses authentication. Use in conjunction with the --username and --authenticationDatabase options.

To prompt the user for the password, pass the --username option without --password or specify an empty string as the --password value, as in --password "" .

Alternatively, you can also specify the password directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --password and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

If connecting to a MongoDB Atlas cluster using the MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanism, you can specify your AWS secret access key in:

this field,
the connection string, or
the AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY environment variable.

See Connect to a MongoDB Atlas Cluster using AWS IAM Credentials for an example of each.

Warning

On some systems, a password provided directly using the --password option may be visible to system status programs such as ps that may be invoked by other users. Consider instead:

omitting the --password option to receive an interactive password prompt, or
using the --config option to specify a configuration file containing the password.

--awsSessionToken=<AWS Session Token>

If connecting to a MongoDB Atlas cluster using the MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanism, and using session tokens in addition to your AWS access key ID and secret access key, you can specify your AWS session token in:

this field,
the AWS_SESSION_TOKEN authMechanismProperties parameter to the connection string, or
the AWS_SESSION_TOKEN environment variable.

See Connect to a MongoDB Atlas Cluster using AWS IAM Credentials for an example of each.

Only valid when using the MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanism.

--authenticationDatabase=<dbname>

Specifies the authentication database where the specified --username has been created. See Authentication Database.

If using the GSSAPI (Kerberos), PLAIN (LDAP SASL), or MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanisms, you must set --authenticationDatabase to $external.

Alternatively, you can also specify the authentication database directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --authenticationDatabase and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

--authenticationMechanism=<name>

Default: SCRAM-SHA-1

Specifies the authentication mechanism the mongoimport instance uses to authenticate to the mongod or mongos.

Changed in version 100.1.0: Starting in version 100.1.0, mongoimport adds support for the MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanism when connecting to a MongoDB Atlas cluster.

Value	Description
SCRAM-SHA-1	RFC 5802 standard Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism using the SHA-1 hash function.
SCRAM-SHA-256	RFC 7677 standard Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism using the SHA-256 hash function. Requires featureCompatibilityVersion set to `4.0`.
MONGODB-X.509	MongoDB TLS/SSL certificate authentication.
`MONGODB-AWS`	External authentication using AWS IAM credentials for use in connecting to a MongoDB Atlas cluster. See Connect to a MongoDB Atlas Cluster using AWS IAM Credentials. New in version 100.1.0.
GSSAPI (Kerberos)	External authentication using Kerberos. This mechanism is available only in MongoDB Enterprise.
PLAIN (LDAP SASL)	External authentication using LDAP. You can also use `PLAIN` for authenticating in-database users. `PLAIN` transmits passwords in plain text. This mechanism is available only in MongoDB Enterprise.

Alternatively, you can also specify the authentication mechanism directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --authenticationMechanism and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

--gssapiServiceName=<serviceName>

Specify the name of the service using GSSAPI/Kerberos. Only required if the service does not use the default name of mongodb.

This option is available only in MongoDB Enterprise.

--gssapiHostName=<hostname>

Specify the hostname of a service using GSSAPI/Kerberos. Only required if the hostname of a machine does not match the hostname resolved by DNS.

This option is available only in MongoDB Enterprise.

--db=<database>, -d=<database>

Specifies the name of the database on which to run the mongoimport.

Alternatively, you can also specify the database directly in the URI connection string. Providing a connection string while also using --db and specifying conflicting information will result in an error.

Note

If you don't specify a database with the --db or --uri option, mongoimport uses the test database by default. If the test database doesn't exist, mongoimport creates the database.

--collection=<collection>, -c=<collection>: Specifies the collection to import. If you do not specify --collection, mongoimport reads the collection name from the input filename, omitting the file's extension if it has one.

--fields=<field1[,field2]>, -f=<field1[,field2]>

Specify a comma separated list of field names when importing CSV or TSV files that do not have field names in the first (i.e. header) line of the file.

To also specify the field type as well as the field name, use --fields with --columnsHaveTypes.

If you attempt to include --fields when importing JSON data, mongoimport returns an error. --fields is only for CSV or TSV imports.

--fieldFile=<filename>

As an alternative to --fields, the --fieldFile option allows you to specify a file that holds a list of field names if your CSV or TSV file does not include field names in the first line of the file (i.e. header). Place one field per line.

To also specify the field type as well as the field name, use --fieldFile with --columnsHaveTypes.

If you attempt to include --fieldFile when importing JSON data, mongoimport returns an error. --fieldFile is only for CSV or TSV imports.

--ignoreBlanks

Ignores empty fields in CSV and TSV exports. If not specified, mongoimport creates fields without values in imported documents.

If you attempt to include --ignoreBlanks when importing JSON data, mongoimport returns an error. --ignoreBlanks is only for CSV or TSV imports.

--type=<json|csv|tsv>

Specifies the file type to import. The default format is JSON, but it's possible to import CSV and TSV files.

The csv parser accepts that data that complies with RFC-4180. As a result, backslashes are not a valid escape character. If you use double-quotes to enclose fields in the CSV data, you must escape internal double-quote marks by prepending another double-quote.

--file=<filename>: Specifies the location and name of a file containing the data to import. If you do not specify a file, mongoimport reads data from standard input (e.g. "stdin").

--drop: Modifies the import process so that the target instance drops the collection and any associated indexes before importing data from the input.

--headerline

If using --type csv or --type tsv, uses the first line as field names. Otherwise, mongoimport imports the first line as a distinct document.

If you attempt to include --headerline when importing JSON data, mongoimport returns an error. --headerline is only for CSV or TSV imports.

--useArrayIndexFields

New in version 100.0.0.

Interpret natural numbers in fields as array indexes when importing CSV or TSV files.

Field names must be in the form <colName>.<arrayIndex> where arrayIndex is a natural number beginning with 0 and increasing sequentially by 1 for each member of the array.

For example, with the following CSV file:

a.0,a.1,a.2,a.3
red,yellow,green,blue

An import with the --useArrayIndexFields option would result in the following document:

"a" : [ "red", "yellow", "green", "blue" ]

If using the --columnsHaveTypes option as well, use the form <colName>.<arrayIndex>.<type>(<arg>) to specify both the array index and type for each field. See --columnsHaveTypes for more information.

Numerical keys with leading zeros (e.g. a.000,a.001) are not interpreted as array indexes.

If the first part of a key is a natural number (e.g. 0.a,1.a), it is interpreted as a document key, and not an array index.

If using the --ignoreBlanks option with --useArrayIndexFields, mongoimport returns an error if you attempt to import a document that contains a blank value (e.g. "") for an array index field.

The --useArrayIndexFields option has no effect when importing JSON data, as arrays are already encoded in JSON format.

--mode=<insert|upsert|merge|delete>

Default: insert

Specifies how the import process should handle existing documents in the database that match documents in the import file.

By default, mongoimport uses the _id field to match documents in the collection with documents in the import file. To specify the fields against which to match existing documents for the upsert, merge, and delete modes, use --upsertFields.

Value	Description
`insert`	Insert the documents in the import file. `mongoimport` returns an error if you attempt to import a document that contains a duplicate value for a field with a unique index, such as `_id`.
`upsert`	Replace existing documents in the database with matching documents from the import file. `mongoimport` inserts all other documents. Replace Matching Documents during Import describes how to use `--mode` `upsert`.
`merge`	Merge existing documents that match a document in the import file with the new document. `mongoimport` inserts all other documents. Merge Matching Documents during Import describes how to use `--mode` `merge`.
`delete`	Delete existing documents in the database that match a document in the import file. `mongoimport` takes no action on non-matching documents. Delete Matching Documents describes how to use `--mode` `delete`. New in version 100.0.0.

--upsertFields=<field1[,field2]>

Specifies a list of fields for the query portion of the import process. --upsertFields can be used with --mode upsert, merge, and delete.

Use this option if the _id fields in the existing documents don't match the field in the document, but another field or field combination can uniquely identify documents as a basis for performing upsert operations.

If you do not specify a field, --upsertFields upserts on the basis of the _id field.

To ensure adequate performance, indexes should exist for the field or fields you specify with --upsertFields.

--stopOnError

Forces mongoimport to halt the insert operation at the first error rather than continuing the operation despite errors.

By default, mongoimport continues an operation when it encounters duplicate key and document validation errors. To ensure that the program stops on these errors, specify --stopOnError.

--jsonArray

Accepts the import of data expressed with multiple MongoDB documents within a single JSON array. Limited to imports of 16 MB or smaller.

Use --jsonArray in conjunction with mongoexport --jsonArray.

--legacy

Indicates that the import data is in Extended JSON v1 format instead of the default Extended JSON v2 format.

Tip

In general, the versions of mongoexport and mongoimport should match. That is, to import data created from mongoexport, you should use the corresponding version of mongoimport.

For example, if the import data is in v1 format:

{"_id":1.0,"myregfield":{"$regex":"foo","$options":"i"}}

Import without the --legacy option results in the following document in the collection:

{ "_id" : 1, "myregfield" : { "$regex" : "foo", "$options" : "i" } }

Import with the --legacy results in the following document in the collection:

{ "_id" : 1, "myregfield" : { "$regularExpression" : { "pattern" : "foo", "options" : "i" } } }

--maintainInsertionOrder

Default: false

If specified, mongoimport inserts the documents in the order of their appearance in the input source. That is, both the bulk write batch order and document order within the batches are maintained.

Specifying --maintainInsertionOrder also enables --stopOnError and sets numInsertionWorkers to 1.

If unspecified, mongoimport may perform the insertions in an arbitrary order.

--numInsertionWorkers=<int>

Default: 1

Specifies the number of insertion workers to run concurrently.

For large imports, increasing the number of insertion workers may increase the speed of the import.

--writeConcern=<document>

Default: majority

Specifies the write concern for each write operation that mongoimport performs.

Specify the write concern as a document with w options:

--writeConcern "{w:'majority'}"

If the write concern is also included in the --uri connection string, the command-line --writeConcern overrides the write concern specified in the URI string.

--bypassDocumentValidation: Enables mongoimport to bypass document validation during the operation. This lets you insert documents that do not meet the validation requirements.

--columnsHaveTypes

Instructs mongoimport that the field list specified in --fields, --fieldFile, or --headerline specifies the types of each field.

Field names must be in the form of <colName>.<type>(<arg>). You must backslash-escape the following characters if you wish to include them in an argument: (, ), and \.

`type`	Supported Arguments	Example Header Field
`auto()`	None.	`misc.auto()`
`binary(<arg>)`	`base32` (RFC4648 encoding schema) `base64` (RFC4648 encoding schema) `hex`	`user thumbnail.binary(base64)`
`boolean()`	None.	`verified.boolean()`
`date(<arg>)`	Alias for `date_go(<arg>)`. Go Language time.Parse format.	`created.date(2006-01-02 15:04:05)`
`date_go(<arg>)`	Go Language time.Parse format	`created.date_go(2006-01-02T15:04:05Z)`
`date_ms(<arg>)`	Microsoft SQL Server FORMAT format	`created.date_ms(yyyy-MM-dd H:mm:ss)`
`date_oracle(<arg>)`	Oracle Database TO_DATE format.	`created.date_oracle(YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS)`
`decimal()`	None	`price.decimal()`
`double()`	None.	`revenue.double()`
`int32()`	None.	`followerCount.int32()`
`int64()`	None.	`bigNumber.int64()`
`string()`	None.	`zipcode.string()`

See Import CSV with Specified Field Types for sample usage.

If you attempt to include --columnsHaveTypes when importing JSON data, mongoimport returns an error. --columnsHaveTypes is only for CSV or TSV imports.

--parseGrace=<grace>

Default: stop

Specifies how mongoimport handles type coercion failures when importing CSV or TSV files with --columnsHaveTypes.

--parseGrace has no effect when importing JSON documents.

Value	Description
`autoCast`	Assigns a type based on the value of the field. For example, if a field is defined as a `double` and the value for that field was `"foo"`, `mongoimport` would make that field value a string type.
`skipField`	For the row being imported, `mongoimport` does not include the field whose type does not match the expected type.
`skipRow`	`mongoimport` does not import rows containing a value whose type does not match the expected type.
`stop`	`mongoimport` returns an error that ends the import.

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