Sometimes, you might be keeping track of tasks in another program or spreadsheet, but then you want to import them into Todoist. No problem — simply export your tasks from the other program or spreadsheet into a CSV file and then <a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/208821185">import them into Todoist.</a>
When importing tasks using a CSV file you must stick to a specific format that Todoist can recognize. <a href="https://get.todoist.help/hc/article_attachments/360001324445/CSV%20template.csv">Download this template</a> 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:
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Column</th>
<th>Content</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>TYPE</td>
<td>
task, section, or note (these are case-sensitive and should be written in lowercase)</td>
<td>Use task to add a task. Use section <a href="https://get.todoist.help/hc/articles/360003788739" target="_self">to add a section.</a> Use note if you’re adding a comment to the task in the row above.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CONTENT</td>
<td>
name of the task, name of the section, or content of the note
</td>
<td>
Type the name of the task if you’re adding a task.
(When creating a task, you can <a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/205195042" target="_self" rel="undefined">add labels</a> 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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PRIORITY</td>
<td>
1, 2, 3, or 4
</td>
<td>
Type 1 to add p1 to the task (<a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/205873321">highest priority</a>).
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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>INDENT</td>
<td>
1, 2, 3 or 4
</td>
<td>
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 <a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/206432369">sub-task.</a>
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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>AUTHOR</td>
<td>username (ID)</td>
<td>
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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>RESPONSIBLE</td>
<td>username (ID)</td>
<td>
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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DATE</td>
<td>
due date and time or recurring due date and time
</td>
<td>
Add a <a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/205325931">due date and time</a> 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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DATE_LANG</td>
<td>Language code</td>
<td>
Add the language code for the set due date (if any). These are the official Todoist language codes:
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.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>TIMEZONE</td>
<td>Time zone</td>
<td>
Add the time zone that’s set for your Todoist account. (You can find your time zone under Settings &gt; General.)
For example, US/Eastern.
Leaving this cell empty will have Todoist automatically detect your time zone.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>FAQ</h2>
<div data-accordion="">
<h4>If I want to assign tasks to someone in my CSV file, how do I find their username and user ID?</h4>
You can get this information by exporting a shared Todoist project that the user is currently a part of:
<ol>
<li>Find the shared Todoist project that the user has joined.</li>
<li>At the top right, click the <img src="https://get.todoist.help/hc/article_attachments/360007340640/web_three-dots.svg" alt="web_three-dots.svg" data-icon=""> three dots icon.</li>
<li>Select <a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/208821185">Export as a template</a>.</li>
<li>Select Export as file.</li>
<li>Open the CSV file and find the username and user ID in the RESPONSIBLE cell in the row of the assigned task.</li>
</ol>
<h4>Why are some of my tasks missing when using the import?</h4>
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.
<h4>Can I undo an import?</h4>
It’s not possible to undo an import, however, you can <a href="https://support.todoist.com/hc/en-us/articles/207388659" target="_self" rel="undefined">multi-select</a> and delete any tasks that were imported by mistake.
<h4>When I open the template with Excel, all the text is merged together in column A. How do I fix this?</h4>
You can fix this by following these steps:
<ol>
<li>At the top of Excel, click the Data tab.</li>
<li>Click on Text to Columns.</li>
<li>Select Delimited and click Next.</li>
<li>Check the Comma box and uncheck all other boxes.</li>
<li>Click on Finish.</li>
</ol>
<h4>My project is in <a href="https://get.todoist.help/hc/en-us/articles/360013988740" target="_self" rel="undefined">Boards view</a> and I want to export it as a CSV file. If I later import it again, will it retain Boards view?</h4>
Yes, it will! Whether you export a project as a CSV file in List view or in Boards view, it'll retain that view once imported.
</div>

How to format your CSV file so you can import it into Todoist

Introduction to: Sections

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What’s the difference between the Inbox and a project?

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Use a template from todoist.com/templates

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How to format your CSV file so you can import it into Todoist

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