LOAD CSV - FalkorDB Docs

LOAD CSV FROM 'file://actors.csv' AS row
MERGE (a:Actor {name: row[0]})

LOAD CSV FROM accepts a string path to a CSV file. The file is parsed line by line, and the current line is accessible through the variable specified by AS. Each parsed value is treated as a string. Use appropriate conversion functions, for example, toInteger, to cast values to their correct types. Additional clauses can follow and access the row variable. Additional clauses can follow and accesses the row variable

FIELD DELIMITER

If not specified, ’,’ is used as the default field delimiter. To change the delimiter, use the following:

LOAD CSV FROM 'file://actors.csv' AS row FIELDTERMINATOR ';'
RETURN row
LIMIT 10

IMPORTING DATA

Importing local files

FalkorDB defines a data directory see configuration Under which local CSV files should be stored. All file:// URIs are resolved relative to that directory. In the following example we’ll load the actors.csv file into FalkorDB.

actors.csv


Lee Pace	1979
Vin Diesel	1967
Chris Pratt	1979
Zoe Saldana	1978

LOAD CSV FROM 'file://actors.csv'
AS row
MERGE (a:Actor {name: row[0], birth_year: toInteger(row[1])})
RETURN a.name, a.birth_year

Note that we’ve used indices e.g. row[0] to access the value at the corresponding column. If the CSV contains a header row, like this:

actors.csv

name	birthyear
Lee Pace	1979
Vin Diesel	1967
Chris Pratt	1979
Zoe Saldana	1978

Use the WITH HEADERS variation of the LOAD CSV clause:

LOAD CSV WITH HEADERS FROM 'file://actors.csv'
AS row
MERGE (a:Actor {name: row[name], birth_year: toInteger(row[birthyear])})
RETURN a.name, a.birth_year

When a header row exists and WITH HEADERS is specified, the row variable becomes a map instead of an array. Access individual elements via their column names.

Importing data from multiple CSVs

Building on the previous example, we’ll introduce a second CSV file, acted_in.csv, which connects actors to movies.

acted_in.csv

actor	movie
Lee Pace	The Fall
Vin Diesel	Fast & Furious
Chris Pratt	Passengers
Zoe Saldana	Avatar

We’ll create a new graph connecting actors to the movies they’ve acted in Load actors:

LOAD CSV WITH HEADERS FROM 'file://actors.csv'
AS row
MERGE (a:Actor {name:row['name']})

Load movies and create ACTED_IN relations:

LOAD CSV WITH HEADERS FROM 'file://acted_in.csv'
AS row

MATCH (a:Actor {name: row['actor']})
MERGE (m:Movie {title: row['movie']})
MERGE (a)-[:ACTED_IN]->(m)

Importing remote files

FalkorDB supports importing remote CSVs via HTTPS. Here’s an example loading the Big Mac dataset from calmcode.io:

LOAD CSV WITH HEADERS FROM 'https://calmcode.io/static/data/bigmac.csv' AS row
RETURN row LIMIT 4

1) 1) "ROW"
2) 1) 1) "{date: 2002-04-01, currency_code: PHP, name: Philippines, local_price: 65.0, dollar_ex: 51.0, dollar_price: 1.27450980392157}"
   2) 1) "{date: 2002-04-01, currency_code: PEN, name: Peru, local_price: 8.5, dollar_ex: 3.43, dollar_price: 2.47813411078717}"
   3) 1) "{date: 2002-04-01, currency_code: NZD, name: New Zealand, local_price: 3.6, dollar_ex: 2.24, dollar_price: 1.60714285714286}"
   4) 1) "{date: 2002-04-01, currency_code: NOK, name: Norway, local_price: 35.0, dollar_ex: 8.56, dollar_price: 4.088785046728971}"

Dealing with a large number of columns or missing entries

Loading CSV files with missing entries can cause complications. The following approach handles this and works well for files with many columns. Assuming we are loading the following CSV file:

missing_entries.csv

name	birthyear
Lee Pace	1979
Vin Diesel
Chris Pratt
Zoe Saldana	1978

Note: Vin Diesel and Chris Pratt are missing their birth_year entries.

When creating Actor nodes, there is no need to explicitly define each column as done previously. The following query creates an empty Actor node and assigns the current CSV row to it. This process automatically sets the node’s attribute set to match the values of the current row:

LOAD CSV FROM 'file://missing_entries.csv' AS row
CREATE (a:Actor)
SET a = row
RETURN a

1) 1) "a"
2) 1) 1) 1) 1) "id"
            2) (integer) 0
         2) 1) "labels"
            2) 1) "Actor"
         3) 1) "properties"
            2) 1) 1) "name"
                  2) "Zoe Saldana"
               2) 1) "birthyear"
                  2) "1978"
   2) 1) 1) 1) "id"
            2) (integer) 1
         2) 1) "labels"
            2) 1) "Actor"
         3) 1) "properties"
            2) 1) 1) "name"
                  2) "Chris Pratt"
   3) 1) 1) 1) "id"
            2) (integer) 2
         2) 1) "labels"
            2) 1) "Actor"
         3) 1) "properties"
            2) 1) 1) "name"
                  2) "Vin Diesel"
   4) 1) 1) 1) "id"
            2) (integer) 3
         2) 1) "labels"
            2) 1) "Actor"
         3) 1) "properties"
            2) 1) 1) "name"
                  2) "Lee Pace"
               2) 1) "birthyear"
                  2) "1979"

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I place CSV files for import?

Local CSV files should be placed in the configured data directory (see the IMPORT_FOLDER configuration setting). All file:// URIs are resolved relative to that directory.

How do I import a CSV with headers?

Use LOAD CSV WITH HEADERS FROM 'file://data.csv' AS row — this makes row a map where you access columns by name (e.g. row['name']) instead of by index.

Can I import CSV files from remote URLs?

Yes. FalkorDB supports importing via HTTPS: LOAD CSV FROM 'https://example.com/data.csv' AS row. Only HTTPS URLs are supported for remote imports.

How do I handle different column delimiters?

Use the FIELDTERMINATOR option: LOAD CSV FROM 'file://data.csv' AS row FIELDTERMINATOR ';'. The default delimiter is a comma.

Are all CSV values loaded as strings?

Yes. All parsed values are treated as strings. Use conversion functions like toInteger(), toFloat(), or toBoolean() to cast values to their correct types.

​FIELD DELIMITER

​IMPORTING DATA

​Importing local files

​actors.csv

​actors.csv

​Importing data from multiple CSVs

​acted_in.csv

​Importing remote files

​Dealing with a large number of columns or missing entries

​missing_entries.csv

​Frequently Asked Questions

FIELD DELIMITER

IMPORTING DATA

Importing local files

actors.csv

actors.csv

Importing data from multiple CSVs

acted_in.csv

Importing remote files

Dealing with a large number of columns or missing entries

missing_entries.csv

Frequently Asked Questions