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Import from CSV

The Import wizard turns a CSV spreadsheet into a tree of Strategic Items. It walks you through four steps—upload, map columns, map values, and a previewed result—so you can catch mistakes before anything is written. Use it to migrate from a spreadsheet-based OKR system, bulk-load a quarterly plan after an offsite, or restore Items you exported earlier.

Prepare your CSV#

Each row in the file is one Item, and each column is a field. Two things decide whether a file imports cleanly: which columns are required, and how you express the hierarchy.

For new Items, five columns are required: Name, Type, Status, Start date, and End date. Everything else is optional—an Owner, a Team, the Start value, Target value, and Unit that drive progress, and a Parent column that places each Item in the tree.

The Parent column positions each row with an outline number. A top-level Item gets a whole number (1); its children extend it (1.1, 1.2); their children extend it again (1.1.1). The top level only accepts your highest Type—in a standard OKR setup that’s a Strategy, with Objectives beneath it and Key Results and KPIs beneath those. The Type and Status values are plain text that must match the names configured in your workspace.

Name,Type,Status,Start date,End date,Parent,Owner,Team,Target value,Unit
Win the self-serve market,Strategy,On Track,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1,Dana Lee,Sales,,
Grow self-serve revenue,Objective,On Track,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1.1,Bob Smith,Sales,,
Lift trial-to-paid conversion to 25%,Key Result,At Risk,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1.1.1,Bob Smith,Sales,25,%
Reach $50K self-serve MRR,Key Result,On Track,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1.1.2,Dana Lee,Sales,50000,USD
Make onboarding effortless,Objective,Not Started,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1.2,Sam Carter,Product,,
Cut median time-to-first-value to 10 minutes,Key Result,On Track,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1.2.1,Sam Carter,Product,10,min
Weekly active workspaces,KPI,On Track,2026-07-01,2026-09-30,1.2.2,Dana Lee,Product,900,workspaces

Tip — Not sure how to shape the file? Export your current Items first—More actions → Export to CSV—to see every field as a column and the outline that lays out your tree.

Labels, comments, and history aren’t part of a CSV import, and new Items take Default access. Bring those in afterward from each Item.

Start the import#

Open the Overview, then More actions → Import from CSV. The wizard opens on the upload step with two modes:

  • Create new items — adds Items from the file. This is the common case, and it needs the five required columns above.
  • Update existing items — changes Items that already exist. The file must include a key column to identify each Item, and only the columns you include are touched.

Drop your .csv file onto the upload area, or click to browse. A single import handles up to 1,000 rows.

The Import items wizard on the upload step, with a drag-and-drop area above the Create new items and Update existing items mode cards

Map columns#

Strategy Hub reads your header row and lines each column up with a field. Required fields are marked with an asterisk, and the wizard auto-detects them when your headers are close—it confirms once every required field is covered. Open any field’s dropdown to point it at a different column, or set a column to Skip to leave it out.

Beyond the required five, the optional fields cover the Owner, Teams, and value columns, plus advanced settings such as how each Item’s value and status are updated—left to follow each Type’s default unless you map them.

The map columns step, listing item fields each mapped to a CSV column, with required fields marked by an asterisk and a green check, and a confirmation that all required fields were detected

Map values#

Some columns draw from a fixed set—Types, Statuses, Teams, and Owners. The wizard collects every distinct value in those columns and matches it to your workspace. A group reads All matched when every value lines up.

Where a value doesn’t match—an Owner name that isn’t a Jira user, for instance—the wizard flags it and you pick the right one from the list. For Owners, Set all unmapped to me assigns the leftovers to you in a single click. Every value has to resolve before you can continue, so a Type or Status that matches nothing in your workspace is a signal to fix the spelling in your CSV.

The map values step with the Types and Statuses groups fully matched, above an Owners group where three names are flagged to be picked from a list

Review and import#

The last step previews exactly what the import will do. Each row shows its action—Create for a new Item—beside a provisional key, its Period read from the dates, Status, Owner, and Teams, with the tree laid out as your outline defined it.

This is where placement problems surface. If a row’s Type can’t sit where your outline puts it—an Objective at the top level, where only a Strategy belongs—the wizard lists the offending rows and blocks the import. Fix the outline in your CSV and upload again.

When the preview looks right, confirm. Strategy Hub creates the Items, assigns each a real key, and reports the count when it’s done.

The review step previewing seven items to create, each row marked Create with a provisional key and laid out as a tree, above an Import button