# getstream import Bulk-import chat or feeds data into your app from a prepared JSON Lines file. The file is uploaded to Stream and processed in the background as an import task; the `status` and `list` subcommands track those tasks. ```bash getstream import chat getstream import feeds getstream import status getstream import list ``` Commands use the initialized project's credentials by default. Pass `--app-id` to target another app you own (requires login), or set `STREAM_API_KEY` and `STREAM_API_SECRET` to supply credentials directly. `--app-id` works on every subcommand. ## `getstream import chat` ```bash getstream import chat export.jsonl getstream import chat export.jsonl --watch ``` Uploads the file and creates a chat import task, printing the task as JSON. Imports run in upsert mode, the only mode the CLI offers. The file format is JSON Lines: one object per line, of type `user`, `device`, `future_channel_ban`, `channel`, `member`, `message`, `reaction`, `poll`, or `poll_vote`, in that order. See [Import chat data](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/node/import/#file-format) for the format and its validation rules. | Flag | Effect | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--merge-custom` | Merge custom data during import. Only sent to the server when passed explicitly. | | `-w, --watch` | Follow the import task until it finishes. | | `--app-id ` | Target an app you own instead of the initialized project. Requires login. | ## `getstream import feeds` ```bash getstream import feeds export.jsonl getstream import feeds export.jsonl --skip-references-check getstream import feeds export.jsonl --watch ``` Uploads the file and creates a feeds import task, printing the task as JSON. The file format is JSON Lines: each line is an envelope, `{ "type": "", "data": { ... } }`. See [Importing data into feeds](https://getstream.io/activity-feeds/docs/node/importing-data-feeds/) for the entity types and full schemas. | Flag | Effect | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--skip-references-check` | Skip references validation for the import. | | `-w, --watch` | Follow the import task until it finishes. | | `--app-id ` | Target an app you own instead of the initialized project. Requires login. | By default, validation requires every referenced object (for example an activity's `user_id`) to appear in the file or already exist in the app, and fails the import otherwise. Pass `--skip-references-check` when you deliberately import a partial dataset whose references live outside the file. ## `getstream import status` ```bash getstream import status dcb6e366-93ec-4e52-af6f-b0c030ad5272 getstream import status dcb6e366-93ec-4e52-af6f-b0c030ad5272 --watch ``` Prints an import task by ID as JSON, for chat and feeds imports alike. The task's `state` field is one of the values below. | Flag | Effect | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `-w, --watch` | Keep polling until the import finishes. | | `--app-id ` | Target an app you own instead of the initialized project. Requires login. | ## `getstream import list` ```bash getstream import list getstream import list --state 4 ``` Lists the app's import tasks, chat and feeds alike, as JSON. | Flag | Effect | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `-s, --state ` | Filter tasks by state, using the values below. | | `--app-id ` | Target an app you own instead of the initialized project. Requires login. | ## Task states | State | Meaning | | ----- | ---------- | | `1` | queued | | `2` | processing | | `3` | failed | | `4` | completed | ## Behavior - The upload is an HTTP PUT to a presigned URL the API issues for the file. In a terminal, a progress bar with ETA renders on stderr, so large uploads are not opaque. - `--watch` polls the task every 5 seconds and reprints the task JSON whenever its state changes. It exits `0` when the task completes and non-zero with `import failed` when it fails. Interrupting the watch stops the polling only; the server keeps processing the import. - Output is JSON on stdout, formatted the same way as `getstream api` responses: when stdin is not a terminal, long arrays are shortened, with a notice on stderr. ## Errors - `no app credentials`: run the command from a directory linked with `getstream init`, pass `--app-id`, or set `STREAM_API_KEY` and `STREAM_API_SECRET`. Setting only one of the two variables errors and names the missing one. - `upload failed: `: the file transfer to the presigned URL was rejected; the response body is included. - A task in state `3` failed server-side validation or processing; `import status ` shows the task with the server's error details. The most common validation failure is a reference to an object that neither appears in the file nor exists in the app - fix the file, or for feeds imports pass `--skip-references-check` if the missing references are intentional. ## See also - [Import chat data](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/node/import/): the chat file format and validation rules - [Importing data into feeds](https://getstream.io/activity-feeds/docs/node/importing-data-feeds/): the feeds file format and schemas - [Projects and credentials](https://getstream.io/cli/docs/concepts/projects-and-credentials/): how `--app-id` resolves - [Use the CLI in CI](https://getstream.io/cli/docs/ci/): credentials for headless workflows --- For the most recent version of this documentation, visit [https://getstream.io/cli/docs/commands/import/](https://getstream.io/cli/docs/commands/import/).