> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cockroachlabs.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # IMPORT INTO export const InternalLink = ({version, path = "", children, ...props}) => { let detectedVersion = version || "stable"; if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && !version) { const match = window.location.pathname.match(/\/docs\/([^/]+)/); if (match) { detectedVersion = match[1]; } } const normalizedPath = path.startsWith("/") ? path.slice(1) : path; return {children} ; }; The `IMPORT INTO` statement imports CSV, Avro, or delimited data into an existing table by appending new rows to the table. ## Considerations * `IMPORT INTO` takes the table **offline** before importing the data. The table will be online again once the [job](#view-and-control-import-jobs) has completed successfully. * `IMPORT INTO` works with existing tables. To import data into a new table, see [Import into a new table from a CSV file](#import-into-a-new-table-from-a-csv-file). * `IMPORT INTO` cannot be used during a rolling upgrade. * `IMPORT INTO` is a blocking statement. To run an `IMPORT INTO` job asynchronously, use the [`DETACHED`](#options-detached) option. * `IMPORT INTO` invalidates all foreign keys on the target table. To validate the foreign key(s), use the `ALTER TABLE ... VALIDATE CONSTRAINT` statement. * `IMPORT INTO` is an insert-only statement; it cannot be used to update existing rows. Imported rows cannot conflict with primary keys in the existing table, or any other `UNIQUE` constraint on the table. * `IMPORT INTO` does not offer `SELECT` or `WHERE` clauses to specify subsets of rows. To add a subset of rows to a table, use `INSERT`. * `IMPORT INTO` will cause any changefeeds running on the targeted table to fail. * `IMPORT INTO` supports importing into `REGIONAL BY ROW` tables. * At the beginning of an `IMPORT INTO` job, CockroachDB calculates and stores all user-defined types referenced by the table being imported into, including the `crdb_internal_region` type descriptor used in multi-region clusters. At the end of the job, CockroachDB checks if any user-defined types have been modified. If so, the `IMPORT INTO` job fails. Do not make modifications to your multi-region configuration or create or alter multi-region tables while running `IMPORT INTO` jobs. Optimize import operations in your applications by following our Import Performance Best Practices. ## Before you begin Before using `IMPORT INTO`, you should have: * An existing CockroachDB table to import into. `IMPORT INTO` supports computed columns and certain [`DEFAULT` expressions](#supported-default-expressions). * Sufficient capacity in the [CockroachDB store](#available-storage) for the imported data. * The CSV or Avro data you want to import, preferably hosted on cloud storage. The [import file location](#import-file-location) must be equally accessible to all nodes using the same import file location. This is necessary because the `IMPORT INTO` statement is issued once by the client, but is executed concurrently across all nodes of the cluster. ### Supported `DEFAULT` expressions `IMPORT INTO` supports the following `DEFAULT` expressions: * `DEFAULT` expressions with user-defined types. * Constant `DEFAULT` expressions, which are expressions that return the same value in different statements. Examples include: * Literals (booleans, strings, integers, decimals, dates). * Functions where each argument is a constant expression and the functions themselves depend solely on their arguments (e.g., arithmetic operations, boolean logical operations, string operations). * `random()` * `gen_random_uuid()` * `unique_rowid()` * `nextval()` * Current `TIMESTAMP` functions that record the transaction timestamp, which include: * `current_date()` * `current_timestamp()` * `localtimestamp()` * `now()` * `statement_timestamp()` * `timeofday()` * `transaction_timestamp()` ### Available storage Each node in the cluster is assigned an equal part of the imported data, and so must have enough temp space to store it. In addition, data is persisted as a normal table, and so there must also be enough space to hold the final, replicated data. The node's first-listed/default `store` directory must have enough available storage to hold its portion of the data. On `cockroach start`, if you set `--max-disk-temp-storage`, it must also be greater than the portion of the data a node will store in temp space. ### Import file location CockroachDB uses the URL provided to construct a secure API call to the service you specify. The URL structure depends on the type of file storage you are using. For more information, see the following: * Use Cloud Storage * Use a Local File Server You can create an external connection to represent an external storage or sink URI. This allows you to specify the external connection's name in statements rather than the provider-specific URI. For detail on using external connections, see the `CREATE EXTERNAL CONNECTION` page. ## Required privileges ### Table privileges The user must have the `INSERT` and `DROP` privileges on the specified table. (`DROP` is required because the table is taken offline during the `IMPORT INTO`.) ### Source privileges You can grant a user the `EXTERNALIOIMPLICITACCESS` system-level privilege to interact with external resources that require implicit access. Either the `EXTERNALIOIMPLICITACCESS` system-level privilege or the `admin` role is required for the following scenarios: * Interacting with a cloud storage resource using `IMPLICIT` authentication. * Using a [custom endpoint](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-go/api/aws/endpoints/) on S3. * Using the `cockroach nodelocal upload` command. * Using HTTP or HTTPS. No special privilege is required for: * Interacting with an Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage resource using `SPECIFIED` credentials. Azure Storage is always `SPECIFIED` by default. * Using `userfile` storage. We recommend using cloud storage. You also need to ensure that the permissions at your storage destination are configured for the operation. See Storage Permissions for a list of the necessary permissions that each bulk operation requires. While Cockroach Labs actively tests Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Azure Storage, we **do not** test S3-compatible services S3-compatible services (e.g., [MinIO](https://min.io/), [Red Hat Ceph](https://docs.ceph.com/en/pacific/radosgw/s3/)). ## Synopsis import_into syntax diagram While importing into an existing table, the table is taken offline. ## Parameters | Parameter | Description | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `table_name` | The name of the table you want to import into. | | `column_name` | The table columns you want to import.

**Note:** Currently, target columns are not enforced. | | `file_location` | The [URL](#import-file-location) of a CSV or Avro file containing the table data. This can be a comma-separated list of URLs. For an example, see [Import into an existing table from multiple CSV files](#import-into-an-existing-table-from-multiple-csv-files) below. | | `