Prepare your Excel, CSV, XML, JSON, TSV, or TXT file for use with Spreadsheet importer.
This article covers preparing your spreadsheet before using our Spreadsheet importer.
Take a look at our article Use the Spreadsheet importer for details on importing your spreadsheet into ClickUp.
Feature availability and limits vary by plan and user role. Learn more
Supported file formats
To use the Spreadsheet importer, you must save the spreadsheet as one of the following file formats:
There is a 10,000-row limit for imported spreadsheets. For files larger than that, we recommend breaking the file into batches with a maximum of 10,000 rows each.
- Excel:.xls, .xlsx
- Comma-separated values (CSV): .csv
- XML:.xml
- JSON: .json
- Tab-separated values (TSV): .tsv
- Text: .txt
You can also manually enter your data.
Supported fields
You can import data into many task fields and existing and new Custom Fields. The only required field is task name.
Import subtasks
You can import subtasks when using the Spreadsheet importer. Only the first-level subtask's name will be imported along with its relation to its parent task. For example:
- The parent task and subtask are in the spreadsheet column Folder Name/Path as [TaskA, SubtaskA].
Alternatively, you can import individual tasks and use the Bulk Action Toolbar to convert them into subtasks after the import.
Data formatting
Column headings
We recommend including a header row. If you include a heading row, each column must have a unique heading.
Column and row order
You will map your columns to ClickUp task fields during the import. Your rows can be in any order. You can only include one task field per row.
Date and time formats
You can use the following date formats:
| Format | Example |
| mm/dd/yy | 12/31/25 |
| dd/mm/yy | 31/12/25 |
| yy/mm/dd | 25/12/31 |
| mm/dd/yyyy | 12/31/2025 |
| dd/mm/yyyy | 31/12/2025 |
| yyyy/mm/dd | 2025/12/31 |
You can specify a time by including it along with any of the above date formats:
| Format | Time format | Example |
| mm/dd/yy hh:mm | 24-hour time | 12/31/25 13:30 |
| mm/dd/yy hh:mm | 24-hour time | 12/31/25 03:30 |
| mm/dd/yy hh:mm | 12-hour time | 12/31/25 03:30 am |
| mm/dd/yy hh:mm | 12-hour time | 12/31/25 03:30 pm |
Time data is interpreted as 24-hour time by default (00:00–23:59). To use 12-hour time, add am or pm as shown above.
You can use Epoch/Unix/Posix date and time stamps:
| Format | Date and time | Example |
| Unix in milliseconds | 12/31/20 3:30 pm | 1609428600000 |
You can also use the ISO 8601 format:
| Format | Date and time | Example |
| ISO 8601 | 12/31/25 3:30 pm UTC | 2025-12-31T13:30:00.123Z |