Import data

Bulk import is an InfluxDB 3 Enterprise feature that requires the storage engine upgrade (--use-pacha-tree). Use it to load your existing Parquet files into a database and table. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise writes the imported data to your object storage. The target database and table must already exist before you import your data into them.

How bulk import works

Bulk import reads your generic Parquet files, maps their columns to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise types, and writes the resulting rows into an existing table. Each file becomes a separate import job.

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise stores the imported data in your object storage and compacts it automatically. Rows become queryable after the compactor processes them, not immediately after the upload completes.

Import Parquet files

Use the influxdb3 import upload command to import one or more Parquet files. For the complete command syntax and flags, see the influxdb3 import CLI reference.

You can pass either of the following as the import source:

• A single Parquet file.
• A directory, which InfluxDB 3 Enterprise processes recursively for *.parquet files. InfluxDB 3 Enterprise creates one import job per file.

To review import jobs, use the influxdb3 import list command.

Map columns to InfluxDB types

Use --column flags to map Parquet columns to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise types. The following types are supported:

Any Parquet column that you don’t map with a --column flag is imported as a field.