mariadb-import

name

mariadb-import

description

MariaDB-specific behavior of the mariadb-import client — a command-line wrapper around LOAD DATA INFILE for bulk-loading text files. Covers the table-name-from-filename rule, TAB (not CSV) defaults, the --local vs server-side fork, --replace/--ignore, --columns vs --ignore-lines, --parallel and its --lock-tables interaction, and the locale-autodetected charset. Use when invoking or reviewing mariadb-import commands, or scripting bulk CSV/TSV imports into MariaDB.

mariadb-import in MariaDB

Last updated: 2026-06-24

mariadb-import is the command-line front end for LOAD DATA INFILE: it bulk-loads text files into tables. It does not change LOAD DATA's rules — for the loading semantics (the LOCAL security model, duplicate/strict-mode behavior, escaping), see mariadb-load-data. This skill covers the tool's own quirks. The binary is mariadb-import (mysqlimport is a compatibility symlink).

Default context: Assume MariaDB 11.8 LTS (GA May 2025) unless the user states another version. Anything available in current LTS branches (10.6, 10.11, 11.4, 11.8) is shown without a "since" annotation; only newer-than-10.6 features carry one.

What LLMs Often Miss

If the agent writes / assumes…	…prefer the MariaDB form
Passes the target table as an argument (mariadb-import db mytable file.csv)	There is no table argument. The table name is the data file's base name, minus directory and extension: users.csv → table users; /data/orders.tsv → table orders. To load into table t, name the file t.<ext>. The first non-option argument is the database
Expects a .csv file to be parsed as comma-separated	mariadb-import uses the LOAD DATA defaults — TAB-separated fields, newline-terminated lines — regardless of extension. For real CSV: --fields-terminated-by=, --fields-optionally-enclosed-by='"'
Assumes the client reads the file	Without --local, the server reads the file (server-side path; needs FILE privilege and secure_file_priv compliance). Use --local/-L to have the client read it (LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE) — subject to the same local_infile enablement caveats. See mariadb-load-data
Combines --replace and --ignore to "handle dupes safely"	They are mutually exclusive — the tool errors and exits. Pick -r/--replace (replace the row) or -i/--ignore (keep the existing row)
Uses --columns to skip a header row, or --ignore-lines to map columns	They're different jobs: --ignore-lines=N skips N header lines; --columns=c1,c2,… names the target columns. A CSV with a header usually needs both
Adds --parallel/--use-threads together with --lock-tables	--lock-tables/-l disables parallelism — the threaded path runs only when locking is off. Don't expect concurrent loads while holding write locks
Wonders why a UNIQUE constraint didn't fire mid-import	For speed, mariadb-import wraps each load in DISABLE KEYS/ENABLE KEYS and sets session unique_checks=0 / check_constraint_checks=0. Constraints are validated as keys are re-enabled, not row-by-row
Assumes the connection charset defaults to latin1	The default character set is auto-detected from the client locale, not a fixed latin1. Pass --default-character-set=utf8mb4 to be explicit

Flags worth knowing

Invocation: mariadb-import [options] database file1 [file2 …] — one LOAD DATA INFILE per file.

Flag	Effect
-L, --local	Client reads the file (LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE)
-r, --replace / -i, --ignore	Duplicate handling (mutually exclusive)
-c, --columns=list	Target column list
--ignore-lines=N	Skip the first N lines (header)
-d, --delete	DELETE FROM table first (empty before load)
--fields-terminated-by / --fields-optionally-enclosed-by / --fields-escaped-by / --lines-terminated-by	Map 1:1 to the LOAD DATA clauses
-l, --lock-tables	Write-lock the tables (disables --parallel)
--low-priority, -k/--ignore-foreign-keys, -f/--force	Priority / foreign_key_checks=0 / continue past errors
-j, --parallel=N (since 11.4; synonym --use-threads)	Up to N concurrent file loads
--innodb-optimize-keys (since 11.8, on by default)	Build InnoDB secondary indexes after load
--dir + --database/--table/--ignore-database/--ignore-table (since 11.6)	Restore a mariadb-dump --dir directory tree

# Local CSV with a header row, comma-delimited, quoted fields → table `users` in db `mydb`:
mariadb-import --local \
  --fields-terminated-by=, --fields-optionally-enclosed-by='"' \
  --ignore-lines=1 \
  --user=admin --password mydb ./users.csv

# Replace-on-duplicate, parallel load of several files:
mariadb-import --local --replace --parallel=4 --user=admin --password mydb t1.tsv t2.tsv

See Also

• mariadb-load-data — the underlying LOAD DATA [LOCAL] INFILE statement: the LOCAL/local_infile/secure_file_priv security model, duplicate and strict-mode behavior, escaping — all of which mariadb-import inherits
• mariadb-dump — the round-trip companion: mariadb-dump --tab / --dir produces the files that mariadb-import (and mariadb-import --dir) load back
• Canonical reference on mariadb.com/docs, consult only for edge cases not covered here: https://mariadb.com/docs/server/clients-and-utilities/backup-restore-and-import-clients/mariadb-import