csv2notion-neo 1.1.0

Upload & Merge CSV Data with Images to Notion Database

CSV2Notion Neo

An advance method to upload & merge *.csv or *.json files to Notion. CSV2Notion Neo uses notion-py API Library.

Core Features

Advantages over native import

• Actually merge CSV or JSON with existing database rows (not just add new ones), first column will be used as a key
• Manually set column types instead of relying on autodetection
• Automatically link or create new entries in relation columns based on their value
• Upload files into "Files & media" column
• Set icon for each row
• Set cover or embed image for each row
• Upload image file used for cover or icon
• Options for validation of input data

Disadvantages over native import

• Slower speed, since every row is imported separately
  • this is mitigated by multithreaded upload

Table of contents

• Background
• Installation
  • Pre-compiled Binary (Recommended)
  • From Source
• Guide
  • macOS Gatekeeper & Notarization
  • Prerequisite
  • Upload Speed
  • Duplicate CSV Columns
  • Missing Columns
  • Column Types
  • Mergin
  • Relation Columns
  • Cover Image & Embedded Image
  • Icons
  • Mandatory Columns
• Examples
• Known Issues
• Credits
• License
• Reporting Bugs

Background

Originally, we developed csv2notion to address the lack of advanced importing support for *.csv files in Notion. We took inspiration from Airtable’s CSV import extension.

CSV2Notion Neo was created as a spin-off project to address occasional inactivity in the original repository and maintain compatibility with Notion. As Notion changes or updates its backend API periodically, we aim to fix, update and add new features to the tool in a timely manner. Any dependent tools or project that relied on csv2notion, can use our CSV2Notion Neo tool interchangeably.

Installation

Pre-compiled Binary (Recommended)

Download the latest release of the latest binary release here.

With PIP

$ pip install --user csv2notion_neo

Python 3.7 or later required.

From source

This project uses poetry for dependency management and packaging. You will have to install it first. See poetry official documentation for instructions.

$ git clone https://github.com/TheAcharya/csv2notion-neo.git
$ cd csv2notion_neo/
$ poetry install --no-dev
$ poetry run csv2notion_neo

Guide

$ csv2notion_neo --help
usage: csv2notion_neo [-h] --token TOKEN [--url URL] [OPTION]... FILE

https://github.com/TheAcharya/csv2notion-neo

Upload & Merge CSV or JSON Data with Images to Notion Database

positional arguments:
  FILE                               CSV or JSON file to upload

general options:
  --token                            Notion token, stored in token_v2 cookie for notion.so
  --url URL                          Notion database URL; if none is provided, will create a new database
  --max-threads                      upload threads (default: 5)
  --log FILE                         file to store program log
  --verbose                          output debug information
  --version                          show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help                         show this help message and exit

column options:
  --column-types                     comma-separated list of column types to use for non-key columns;
                                     if none is provided, types will be guessed from CSV values
                                     (can also be used with --add-missing-columns flag)
  --add-missing-columns              if columns are present in CSV but not in Notion DB, add them to Notion DB
  --rename-notion-key-column         rename the key column in the file to a different key column in Airtable
  --randomize-select-colors          randomize colors for added options in select and multi select columns

merge options:
  --merge                            merge CSV with existing Notion DB rows, first column will be used as a key
  --merge-only-column                CSV column that should be updated on merge;
                                     when provided, other columns will be ignored
                                     (use multiple times for multiple columns)
  --merge-skip-new                   skip new rows in CSV that are not already in Notion DB during merge

relations options:
  --add-missing-relations            add missing entries into linked Notion DB

page cover options:
  --image-column COLUMN              CSV column that points to URL or image file that will be embedded for that row
  --image-column-keep                keep image CSV column as a Notion DB column
  --image-column-mode {cover,block}  upload image as [cover] or insert it as [block] (default: block)
  --image-caption-column             CSV column that points to text caption that will be added to the image block
                                     if --image-column-mode is set to 'block'
  --image-caption-column-keep        keep image caption CSV column as a Notion DB column

page icon options:
  --icon-column                      CSV column that points to emoji, URL or image file
                                     that will be used as page icon for that row
  --icon-column-keep                 keep icon CSV column as a Notion DB column
  --default-icon ICON                Emoji, URL or image file that will be used as page icon for every row by default

validation options:
  --mandatory-column                 CSV column that cannot be empty (use multiple times for multiple columns)
  --payload-key-column               JSON object that is the key in Notion DB;
                                     if JSON file is used, this cannot be empty
  --fail-on-relation-duplicates      fail if any linked DBs in relation columns have duplicate entries;
                                     otherwise, first entry in alphabetical order
                                     will be treated as unique when looking up relations
  --fail-on-duplicates               fail if Notion DB or CSV has duplicates in key column,
                                     useful when sanitizing before merge to avoid ambiguous mapping
  --fail-on-duplicate-csv-columns    fail if CSV has duplicate columns;
                                     otherwise last column will be used
  --fail-on-conversion-error         fail if any column type conversion error occurs;
                                     otherwise errors will be replaced with empty strings
  --fail-on-inaccessible-relations   fail if any relation column points to a Notion DB that
                                     is not accessible to the current user;
                                     otherwise those columns will be ignored
  --fail-on-missing-columns          fail if columns are present in CSV but not in Notion DB;
                                     otherwise those columns will be ignored
  --fail-on-unsettable-columns       fail if DB has columns that don't support assigning value to them;
                                     otherwise those columns will be ignored
                                     (columns with type created_by, last_edited_by, rollup or formula)
  --fail-on-wrong-status-values      fail if values for 'status' columns don't have matching option in DB;
                                     otherwise those values will be replaced with default status

macOS Gatekeeper & Notarization

After trying to run csv2notion_neo for the first time, the process will be blocked by macOS's Gatekeeper, and a system dialog will appear which includes

"csv2notion_neo" can't be opened because the developer cannot be verified...

• To approve the process and allow csv2notion_neo to run, go to System Preferences, Security & Privacy, General, and look in the bottom right corner for a button to click.
• After approving csv2notion_neo, it should run successfully.
• For more information, visit https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202491.

Prerequisite

You must pass a single *.csv file for upload. The CSV file must contain at least 2 rows. The first row will be used as a header.

Optionally you can provide a URL to an existing Notion database with the --url option; if not provided, the tool will create a new database named after the CSV file. The URL must link to a database view, not a page.

Obtaining Database URL

The tool also requires you to provide a token_v2 cookie for the Notion website through --token option.

1. Login to your Notion account via a web browser.
2. Find and copy the entire token_v2 value including v02%3Auser_token_or_cookies% from your Notion session.

Obtaining Notion Session Token (Safari)

Enable Web Inspector

• If you don’t see the Develop menu in the menu bar, choose Safari, Settings, click Advanced, then select “Show features for web developers”.
• Press ⌥ + ⌘ + i to show Web Inspector

Obtaining Notion Session Token (Brave, Chrome or Edge)

Go to Setting, Privacy and security

Important notice. token_v2 cookie provides complete access to your Notion account. Handle it with caution.

Upload Speed

Due to API limitations, the upload is performed one row at a time. To speed things up, this tool uses multiple parallel threads. Use the --max-threads option to control how fast it will go. Try not to set it too high to avoid rate limiting by the Notion server.

Duplicate CSV Columns

Notion does not allow the database to have multiple columns with the same name. Therefore CSV columns will be treated as unique. Only the last column will be used if CSV has multiple columns with the same name. If you want the program to stop if it finds duplicate columns, use the --fail-on-duplicate-csv-columns flag.

Missing Columns

If a CSV file has columns absent from Notion DB, they will be ignored by default. Use the --add-missing-columns flag if you want the tool to add missing columns into Notion DB. Use the --fail-on-missing-columns flag if you want the program to stop if it finds a column mismatch.

Column Types

By default, the tool will try to guess column types based on their content. Alternatively, you can provide a comma-separated list of column types with the --column-types option when creating a new database or adding new columns with the --add-missing-columns flag. Since the first column in Notion DB is always text, the tool will use the list to set types for the rest of the columns.

By default, new options for select and multi_select columns are added with default (gray) color. If you want the tool to randomize colors for new options, use the --randomize-select-colors flag.

Some column types do not support assigning value to them because the database generates their content automatically. Currently these types include created_by, last_edited_by, rollup and formula. If you want the program to stop if it finds such columns in the database, use the --fail-on-unsettable-columns flag.

If the tool cannot convert the column value type properly, it will replace it with an empty string. If you want to make sure all values are correctly converted, use the --fail-on-conversion-error flag, which will stop execution in case of a conversion error.

The table below describes available codes for --column-types and what values are supported by each column type:

Support Table

Column Type Name	Column Type Code	Supported Values	Multiple Values (Comma Separated)
Basic
Text	text	string	❌
Number	number	numerical	❌
Select	select	string	❌
Multi-select	multi_select	string	✅
Status	status	string	❌
Date	date	any date format	✅ (range)
Person	person	username, email	✅
Files & media	file	file name, URL	✅
Checkbox	checkbox	true, false	❌
URL	url	string	❌
Email	email	string	❌
Phone	phone_number	string	❌
Advanced
Formula	formula	---	---
Relation	---	key, Notion URL	✅
Rollup	rollup	---	---
Created time	created_time	any date format	❌
Created by	created_by	---	---
Last edited time	last_edited_time	any date format	❌
Last edited by	last_edited_by	---	---

Merging

By default, the tool will add rows to the existing Notion DB. To merge CSV rows with the Notion database, use the --merge flag. The first column of CSV and Notion DB will be used as a key to update existing rows with new values. CSV rows that didn't have a match in Notion DB will be added as new.

Since the tool treats rows as unique during merge based on the key column, it will use first found rows with a unique key. To avoid this ambiguity, you might want to validate duplicate row keys with the --fail-on-duplicates flag. It will check both CSV and target Notion DB before the merge.

If you want only select columns to be updated, use the --merge-only-column option.

If you don't want the tool to add any new rows not already present in the Notion DB during merge, use the --merge-skip-new flag.

Relation Columns

Notion database has a relation column type, which allows you to link together entries from different databases. The tool will try to match column data with keys from a linked database.

By default, it will match with the first found row; it will add nothing if it cannot find the match. Use the --add-missing-relations flag if you want the tool to create new entries in the linked DB if no match is found. Use the --fail-on-conversion-error flag if you want the program to stop if no match is found.

You can also use Notion URLs in columns of this type, and they must belong to the linked DB. The tool will not be able to add missing entries for URLs if you use the --add-missing-columns flag.

Since the tool treats rows in the linked DB as unique you can prevent ambiguous matching with the --fail-on-relation-duplicates flag. It will check linked DB for duplicate keys and stop the executions if it finds any.

If linked DB is not accessible (linked DB is deleted or your account doesn't have access to it), columns that point to it will be ignored. If you prefer the program to stop in this case, use the --fail-on-inaccessible-relations flag.

Cover Image & Embedded Image

The tool allows you to add an image to each row with the --image-column option. It will use one column from CSV as a data source for the image. It can be either a URL or a file name. The file name must be either an absolute path or a path relative to the CSV file. The tool will upload the file to the Notion server.

By default, the tool will embed an image inside the row page. If you want it to use the image as a page cover, then set the --image-column-mode option to cover.

Column specified with the --image-column option will not be treated as a regular column by default. If you want it to appear in Notion DB, use the --image-column-keep flag.

To add custom caption to image block uploaded with --image-column-mode set to block, use --image-caption-column option. To also keep the caption as a Notion DB column, use --image-caption-column-keep flag.

Icons

The tool allows you to add an icon to each row with the --icon-column option. The behavior is the same as with --image-column; the only difference is that you can use URL, file name, or single emoji.

To also treat --icon-column as a regular column, use --icon-column-keep flag, similar to --image-column-keep.

If you want to set the same icon for each row, use the --default-icon option. If both --icon-column and --default-icon are present, the default icon is used if the row doesn't have anything in the icon column.

Mandatory Columns

If you want to ensure that specific columns always have value and are not allowed to be empty, then use the --mandatory-column option. The program execution will stop if validation fails.

Examples

Importing CSV into New Database

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE test.csv

Using Custom Column Types

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE --column-types "number,multi_select" test.csv

Importing CSV into Existing Database

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE --url NOTION_URL test.csv

Merging CSV with Existing Database

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE --url NOTION_URL --merge test.csv

Merging CSV with Select Columns in Existing Database

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_ TOKEN_HERE --url NOTION URL --merge --merge-only-column "Column 2" --merge-onLy-column "Column 3" test.csv

Importing Rows with Images

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE --image-column "Image Column" test.csv

Importing Rows with Emoji Icons

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE --icon-column "Icon Column" test.csv

Updating Emoji Icon Only for All Rows

csv2notion_neo --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE --url NOTION_URL --default-icon 👍 --merge --merge-only-column "Key" test.csv

Known Issues

• Users would not be able to duplicate entries/records there where uploaded using CSV2Notion Neo in Notion.
  • Workaround: Simply duplicate the database directly in Notion. You would be able to duplicate your entries/records in the duplicated database.

Credits

Original Idea and Workflow Architecture by Vigneswaran Rajkumar

Maintained by Arjun Prakash (1.0.0 ...)

Original Work by Vladilen Zhdanov

Icon Design by Bor Jen Goh

License

Licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE for details.

Reporting Bugs

For bug reports, feature requests and other suggestions you can create a new issue to discuss.