Importing Existing Content

Overview

After configuring your collections and blueprints in Statamic, your next step will likely be to import existing content into Statamic from a previous CMS.

This guide walks through the process of importing content using our first-party Importer addon, as well how you can build your own importer using repositories.

Importer Addon (recommended)

To make the process of importing content super easy, we've built a first-party Importer addon. The addon allows you to import entries, taxonomies and users. It provides an easy-to-use UI for mapping data to blueprint fields.

1. To get started, install the Importer addon using Composer:

   composer require statamic/importer

2. Before importing anything, you should review the Preperation steps detailed in the addon's documentation.
3. In the Control Panel, under Utilities > Importer, you can create an import. You'll be asked to give it a name, upload the file you wish to import and tell it where the data should be imported.
4. You can then map fields from your blueprint to fields/columns in your file. You will also need to specify a "Unique Key", which the Importer will use to determine if the item already exists in Statamic.
5. All that's left to do is click "Import" and watch the magic happen! ✨

For more detailed instructions on how the Importer works, please see the addon's documentation.

Build your own importer

If you need more flexibility around how the import happens, or would just prefer to handle it yourself, then you can build your own importer.

1. Create a new command to house the importer:

   php artisan make:command ImportCommand

2. In that command, you'll need to get the content you're wanting to import. This could be from a JSON file, a spreadsheet or some kind of external API. It's up to you.

3. Now, for the exciting bit, importing the content!

   You can loop through the content and create entries for eeach item. Statamic provides an entry repository, which allows you to programatically create entries. Here's an example:

   <?php
    
   namespace App\Console\Commands;
    
   use Illuminate\Console\Command;
   use Illuminate\Support\Str;
   use Statamic\Facades\Entry;
    
   class ImportCommand extends Command
   {
       /**
       * The name and signature of the console command.
       *
       * @var string
       */
       protected $signature = 'app:import';
    
       /**
       * The console command description.
       *
       * @var string
       */
       protected $description = 'Imports content into Statamic.';
    
       /**
       * Execute the console command.
       */
       public function handle() 
       {
           // Get your content...
           $teamMembers = [
               ['name', 'Josh Lyman', 'role' => 'Deputy Chief of Staff'],
               ['name', 'CJ Cregg', 'role' => 'Press Secretary'],
               ['name', 'Toby Ziegler', 'role' => 'Communications Director'],
               ['name', 'Sam Seaborn', 'role' => 'Deputy Communications Director'],
           ];
    
           // Loop through each item and create a new entry using the Entry facade...
           foreach ($teamMembers as $member) {
               $entry = Entry::make()
                   ->collection('team')
                   ->slug(Str::slug($member['name']))
                   ->data([
                       'name' => $member['name'],
                       'role' => $member['role'],
                   ]);
    
               $entry->save();
           }
       }  
   }

4. Then, simply run the command to import the content:

   php artisan app:import

If you need to import other content, like taxonomy terms or users, please review the docs on Repositories.