---
title: influx write
description: The influx write command writes data to InfluxDB via stdin or from a specified file. Write data using line protocol, annotated CSV, or extended annotated CSV.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/write/
estimated_tokens: 4074
product: InfluxDB OSS v2
version: v2
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/write/
date: '2025-04-02T15:54:32-06:00'
lastmod: '2025-04-02T15:54:32-06:00'
---

* influx CLI 2.0.0+
* InfluxDB 2.0.0+
* Updated in CLI v2.0.5

This page documents an earlier version of InfluxDB OSS.[InfluxDB 3 Core](/influxdb3/core/) is the latest stable version.

#### API token hashing is enabled by default in InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0

Stronger token security: tokens are stored as hashes on disk, so a
copy of the database file doesn’t expose usable tokens. Existing
tokens are hashed on first startup and the original strings can’t
be recovered afterward — **capture any plaintext tokens you still
need before you upgrade**.

For more information, see [Token hashing](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#token-hashing).

The `influx write` command writes data to InfluxDB via stdin or from a specified file.
Write data using [line protocol](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/line-protocol),[annotated CSV](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/annotated-csv), or[extended annotated CSV](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/annotated-csv/extended/).
If you write CSV data, CSV annotations determine how the data translates into line protocol.

## Usage

```
influx write [flags]
influx write [command]
```

### Required data

To write data to InfluxDB, you must provide the following for each row:

* **measurement**
* **field**
* **value**

#### Line protocol

In **line protocol**, the [structure of the line data](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/line-protocol/#elements-of-line-protocol)determines the measurement, field, and value.

#### Annotated CSV

In **annotated CSV**, measurements, fields, and values are represented by the`_measurement`, `_field`, and `_value` columns.
Their types are determined by CSV annotations.
To successfully write annotated CSV to InfluxDB, include all[annotation rows](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/annotated-csv/#annotations).

#### Extended annotated CSV

In **extended annotated CSV**, measurements, fields, and values and their types are determined by[CSV annotations](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/annotated-csv/extended/#csv-annotations).

## Subcommands

|                       Subcommand                       |            Description            |
|--------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|[dryrun](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/write/dryrun)|Write to stdout instead of InfluxDB|

## Flags

|Flag|                   |                                       Description                                        |Input type |Maps to [?](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/#view-mapped-environment-variables)|
|----|-------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|`-c`| `--active-config` |                           CLI configuration to use for command                           |  string   |                                                                                 |
|`-b`|    `--bucket`     |                   Bucket name (mutually exclusive with `--bucket-id`)                    |  string   |                              `INFLUX_BUCKET_NAME`                               |
|    |   `--bucket-id`   |                      Bucket ID (mutually exclusive with `--bucket`)                      |  string   |                               `INFLUX_BUCKET_ID`                                |
|    | `--configs-path`  |          Path to `influx` CLI configurations (default `~/.influxdbv2/configs`)           |  string   |                              `INFLUX_CONFIGS_PATH`                              |
|    |  `--compression`  |Input compression (`none` or `gzip`, default is `none` unless input file ends with `.gz`.)|  string   |                                                                                 |
|    |     `--debug`     |                                 Output errors to stderr                                  |           |                                                                                 |
|    |   `--encoding`    |                      Character encoding of input (default `UTF-8`)                       |  string   |                                                                                 |
|    |  `--errors-file`  |                  Path to a file used for recording rejected row errors                   |  string   |                                                                                 |
|`-f`|     `--file`      |                                      File to import                                      |stringArray|                                                                                 |
|    |    `--format`     |                        Input format (`lp` or `csv`, default `lp`)                        |  string   |                                                                                 |
|    |    `--header`     |                          Prepend header line to CSV input data                           |  string   |                                                                                 |
|`-h`|     `--help`      |                               Help for the `write` command                               |           |                                                                                 |
|    |     `--host`      |                HTTP address of InfluxDB (default `http://localhost:8086`)                |  string   |                                  `INFLUX_HOST`                                  |
|    |`--max-line-length`|     Maximum number of bytes that can be read for a single line (default `16000000`)      |  integer  |                                                                                 |
|`-o`|      `--org`      |                  Organization name (mutually exclusive with `--org-id`)                  |  string   |                                  `INFLUX_ORG`                                   |
|    |    `--org-id`     |                    Organization ID (mutually exclusive with `--org`)                     |  string   |                                 `INFLUX_ORG_ID`                                 |
|`-p`|   `--precision`   |[Precision](/influxdb/v2/write-data/#timestamp-precision) of the timestamps (default `ns`)|  string   |                               `INFLUX_PRECISION`                                |
|    |  `--rate-limit`   |                  Throttle write rate (examples: `5MB/5min` or `1MB/s`).                  |  string   |                                                                                 |
|    |  `--skip-verify`  |                            Skip TLS certificate verification                             |           |                              `INFLUX_SKIP_VERIFY`                               |
|    |  `--skipHeader`   |                            Skip first *n* rows of input data                             |  integer  |                                                                                 |
|    |`--skipRowOnError` |                   Output CSV errors to stderr, but continue processing                   |           |                                                                                 |
|`-t`|     `--token`     |                                        API token                                         |  string   |                                 `INFLUX_TOKEN`                                  |
|`-u`|      `--url`      |                                 URL to import data from                                  |stringArray|                                                                                 |

## Examples

#### Authentication credentials

The examples below assume your InfluxDB **host**, **organization**, and **token** are
provided by either the [active `influx` CLI configuration](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/#provide-required-authentication-credentials) or by environment variables (`INFLUX_HOST`, `INFLUX_ORG`, and `INFLUX_TOKEN`).
If you do not have a CLI configuration set up or the environment variables set, include these required credentials for each command with the following flags:

* `--host`: [InfluxDB host](/influxdb/v2/reference/urls/)
* `-o, --org` or `--org-id`: InfluxDB organization name or ID
* `-t, --token`: InfluxDB API token

###### Write line protocol

* [via stdin](#write-line-protocol-via-stdin)
* [from a file](#write-line-protocol-from-a-file)
* [and skip header lines](#skip-header-lines-in-a-file)
* [from multiple files](#write-line-protocol-from-multiple-files)
* [from a URL](#write-line-protocol-from-a-url)
* [from multiple URLs](#write-line-protocol-from-multiple-urls)
* [from multiple sources](#write-line-protocol-from-multiple-sources)
* [from a compressed file](#write-line-protocol-from-a-compressed-file)

###### Write CSV data

* [annotated CSV via stdin](#write-annotated-csv-data-via-stdin)
* [extended annotated CSV via stdin](#write-extended-annotated-csv-data-via-stdin)
* [from a file](#write-annotated-csv-data-from-a-file)
* [from multiple files](#write-annotated-csv-data-from-multiple-files)
* [from a URL](#write-annotated-csv-data-from-a-url)
* [from multiple URLs](#write-annotated-csv-data-from-multiple-urls)
* [from multiple sources](#write-annotated-csv-data-from-multiple-sources)
* [and prepend annotation headers](#prepend-csv-data-with-annotation-headers)
* [from a compressed file](#write-annotated-csv-data-from-a-compressed-file)
* [using rate limiting](#write-annotated-csv-data-using-rate-limiting)

### Line protocol

##### Write line protocol via stdin

```sh
influx write --bucket example-bucket "
m,host=host1 field1=1.2,field2=5i 1640995200000000000
m,host=host2 field1=2.4,field2=3i 1640995200000000000
"
```

##### Write line protocol from a file

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/line-protocol.txt
```

##### Skip header lines in a file

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/line-protocol.txt
  --skipHeader 8
```

##### Write line protocol from multiple files

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/line-protocol-1.txt \
  --file path/to/line-protocol-2.txt
```

##### Write line protocol from a URL

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --url https://example.com/line-protocol.txt
```

##### Write line protocol from multiple URLs

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --url https://example.com/line-protocol-1.txt \
  --url https://example.com/line-protocol-2.txt
```

##### Write line protocol from multiple sources

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/line-protocol-1.txt \
  --url https://example.com/line-protocol-2.txt
```

##### Write line protocol from a compressed file

```
# The influx CLI assumes files with the .gz extension use gzip compression
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/line-protocol.txt.gz

# Specify gzip compression for gzipped files without the .gz extension
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/line-protocol.txt.comp \
  --compression gzip
```

### CSV

##### Write annotated CSV data via stdin

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --format csv \
  "#group,false,false,false,false,true,true
#datatype,string,long,dateTime:RFC3339,double,string,string
#default,_result,,,,,
,result,table,_time,_value,_field,_measurement
,,0,2020-12-18T18:16:11Z,72.7,temp,sensorData
,,0,2020-12-18T18:16:21Z,73.8,temp,sensorData
,,0,2020-12-18T18:16:31Z,72.7,temp,sensorData
,,0,2020-12-18T18:16:41Z,72.8,temp,sensorData
,,0,2020-12-18T18:16:51Z,73.1,temp,sensorData
"
```

##### Write extended annotated CSV data via stdin

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --format csv \
  "#constant measurement,sensorData
#datatype dateTime:RFC3339,double
time,temperature
2020-12-18T18:16:11Z,72.7
2020-12-18T18:16:21Z,73.8
2020-12-18T18:16:31Z,72.7
2020-12-18T18:16:41Z,72.8
2020-12-18T18:16:51Z,73.1
"
```

##### Write annotated CSV data from a file

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/data.csv
```

##### Write annotated CSV data from multiple files

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/data-1.csv \
  --file path/to/data-2.csv
```

##### Write annotated CSV data from a URL

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --url https://example.com/data.csv
```

##### Write annotated CSV data from multiple URLs

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --url https://example.com/data-1.csv \
  --url https://example.com/data-2.csv
```

##### Write annotated CSV data from multiple sources

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/data-1.csv \
  --url https://example.com/data-2.csv
```

##### Prepend CSV data with annotation headers

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --header "#constant measurement,birds" \
  --header "#datatype dateTime:2006-01-02,long,tag" \
  --file path/to/data.csv
```

##### Write annotated CSV data from a compressed file

```
# The influx CLI assumes files with the .gz extension use gzip compression
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/data.csv.gz

# Specify gzip compression for gzipped files without the .gz extension
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/data.csv.comp \
  --compression gzip
```

##### Write annotated CSV data using rate limiting

```sh
influx write \
  --bucket example-bucket \
  --file path/to/data.csv \
  --rate-limit 5MB/5min
```

#### Related

* [Write data to InfluxDB](/influxdb/v2/write-data/)
* [Write CSV data to InfluxDB](/influxdb/v2/write-data/developer-tools/csv/)
* [Line protocol](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/line-protocol/)
* [Annotated CSV](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/annotated-csv/)
* [Extended annotated CSV](/influxdb/v2/reference/syntax/annotated-csv/extended/)
* [influx CLI—Provide required authentication credentials](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/#provide-required-authentication-credentials)
* [influx CLI—Flag patterns and conventions](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/#flag-patterns-and-conventions)

[write](/influxdb/v2/tags/write/)
| Subcommand | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Subcommand | Description |
| dryrun | Write to stdout instead of InfluxDB |

| Flag |  | Description | Input type | Maps to  ? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Flag |  | Description | Input type | Maps to  ? |
| -c | --active-config | CLI configuration to use for command | string |  |
| -b | --bucket | Bucket name (mutually exclusive with  --bucket-id ) | string | INFLUX_BUCKET_NAME |
|  | --bucket-id | Bucket ID (mutually exclusive with  --bucket ) | string | INFLUX_BUCKET_ID |
|  | --configs-path | Path to  influx  CLI configurations (default  ~/.influxdbv2/configs ) | string | INFLUX_CONFIGS_PATH |
|  | --compression | Input compression ( none  or  gzip , default is  none  unless input file ends with  .gz .) | string |  |
|  | --debug | Output errors to stderr |  |  |
|  | --encoding | Character encoding of input (default  UTF-8 ) | string |  |
|  | --errors-file | Path to a file used for recording rejected row errors | string |  |
| -f | --file | File to import | stringArray |  |
|  | --format | Input format ( lp  or  csv , default  lp ) | string |  |
|  | --header | Prepend header line to CSV input data | string |  |
| -h | --help | Help for the  write  command |  |  |
|  | --host | HTTP address of InfluxDB (default  http://localhost:8086 ) | string | INFLUX_HOST |
|  | --max-line-length | Maximum number of bytes that can be read for a single line (default  16000000 ) | integer |  |
| -o | --org | Organization name (mutually exclusive with  --org-id ) | string | INFLUX_ORG |
|  | --org-id | Organization ID (mutually exclusive with  --org ) | string | INFLUX_ORG_ID |
| -p | --precision | Precision  of the timestamps (default  ns ) | string | INFLUX_PRECISION |
|  | --rate-limit | Throttle write rate (examples:  5MB/5min  or  1MB/s ). | string |  |
|  | --skip-verify | Skip TLS certificate verification |  | INFLUX_SKIP_VERIFY |
|  | --skipHeader | Skip first  n  rows of input data | integer |  |
|  | --skipRowOnError | Output CSV errors to stderr, but continue processing |  |  |
| -t | --token | API token | string | INFLUX_TOKEN |
| -u | --url | URL to import data from | stringArray |  |