You're keeping track of tasks in another program or spreadsheet, but decided it's best to import them into Todoist. No problem — simply export your tasks from the other program or spreadsheet into a CSV file and then import them into Todoist.
Review your CSV file
When importing tasks using a CSV file you must stick to a specific format that Todoist can recognize. Download this template and modify it to ensure that you don’t encounter any issues when importing your tasks.
When reviewing your CSV file, ensure that each line follows the rules below:
| Column | Content | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TYPE | task, section, or note (these are case-sensitive and should be written in lowercase) | Use task to add a task. Use section to add a section. Use note if you’re adding a comment to the task in the row above. |
| CONTENT |
name of the task, name of the section, or content of the note |
Type the name of the task if you’re adding a task. (When creating a task, you can add labels by typing the @labelname as an addition to the name of the task.) Type the name of the section if you’re adding a section. Type the content of the note if you’re adding a comment. |
| DESCRIPTION |
content of the task description |
Type the content of the task description if you'd like to add a description. |
| PRIORITY |
1, 2, 3, or 4 |
Type 1 to add p1 to the task (highest priority). Type 2 to add p2 to the task. Type 3 to add p3 to the task. Type 4 to add p4 to the task (lowest priority). Leaving this cell empty will automatically add p1 to the task. |
| INDENT |
1, 2, 3 or 4 |
Use 1 and the task will not be indented (meaning the task is a parent task). Use 2 to indent the task to be a sub-task. Use 3 to indent the task to be a sub-sub-task. And so on. Leaving this cell empty will set the task to not be indented. |
| AUTHOR | username (ID) |
Add the username + user ID in brackets of the person that created the task. For example, Evan (14781400). Leaving this cell empty will automatically add your name and ID. |
| RESPONSIBLE | username (ID) |
Add the username + user ID in brackets of the person that you’d like to assign this task to. For example, Evan (14781400). Leaving this cell empty will not add an assignee to the task. |
| DATE |
due date and time or recurring due date and time |
Add a due date and time if you want to schedule the task. You can also set a recurring due date. If you leave this cell empty, no due date will be assigned to the task. |
| DATE_LANG | Language code |
Add the language code for the language of your Todoist app to set the due date (if any). These are the official Todoist language codes: cs for Czech. da for Danish. de for German. en for English. es for Spanish. fi for Finnish. fr for French. it for Italian. ja for Japanese. ko for Korean. nb for Norwegian. nl for Dutch. pl for Polish. pt_BR for Brazilian Portuguese. ru for Russian. sv for Swedish. zh_CN for Simplified Chinese. zh_TW for Traditional Chinese. |
| TIMEZONE | Time zone |
Add the time zone that’s set for your Todoist account. (You can find your time zone under Settings > General.) For example, US/Eastern. Leaving this cell empty will have Todoist automatically detect your time zone. |
| DURATION | Number that represents the duration of a task |
Add the estimated number of minutes it takes to work on a task. Leave this cell empty to not add a task duration. |
| DURATION UNIT | minute or None |
Specify the unit of measurement for the task duration. If there's no task duration, None will appear in this cell. |
| meta | view_style=board |
Import the template in board layout. |
Save a CSV file with UTF-8 encoding
For Todoist to import the CSV file correctly, it has to be encoded using UTF-8 formatting.
Learn how to save a CSV file with UTF-8 encoding in Microsoft Excel, Numbers, and Notepad.
- Open your CSV file in Microsoft Excel.
- Click File in the top-left of your screen.
- Select Save as...
- Open the menu next to File format.
- Select CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (.csv).
- Click Save.
- Open your CSV file in Numbers.
- Click File in the top-left of your screen.
- Select Export to...
- Select CSV...
- Click Advanced options.
- Open the drop-down menu next to Text Encoding.
- Select Unicode (UTF-8).
- Click Next.
- Click Save after choosing a name and location for your file.
- Open your CSV file in Notepad.
- Click File in the top-left of your screen.
- Select Save as...
- Select the following options:
- Open the Save as type menu. Select All Files.
- Open the Encoding menu. Select UTF-8.
- Rename your file using the
.csvextension. For example, if you want to name your file "Work", save your file asWork.csv.
- Click Save.
Revert an import
If a CSV file was imported successfully to Todoist, there's no option to revert the process. As a workaround, bulk select and delete any tasks that were imported by mistake.
FAQ
You can get this information by exporting a shared Todoist project that the user is currently a part of:
- Find the shared Todoist project that the user has joined.
- At the top-right, click the
three dots icon.
- Select Export as a template.
- Select Export as file.
- Open the CSV file and find the username and user ID in the RESPONSIBLE cell in the row of the assigned task.
Make sure you double-check that every cell has the correct content — if a mistake was made in a cell, Todoist will ignore the row and move onto the next one.
Please note that the content (such as task, section and note) written in the TYPE column are case-sensitive and should be written in all lowercase.
You can fix this by following these steps:
- Click column A to select the entire column.
- Click the Data tab.
- Click the Text to Columns option.
- Select Delimited and click Next.
- Check the Semicolon box and uncheck all other boxes.
- Click Finish to confirm.
Yes, it will! Whether you export a project as a CSV file in list layout or in board layout, it'll retain that layout once imported.