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Master Data Import

With the master data import, you don't have to create plant species, cultivars, and botanical families one by one — you can bring them in all at once from a CSV file (a plain-text, comma-separated table). This is especially useful when you first set up your instance or want to update many records at the same time.

Prerequisites

  • You are logged in — the import is available to any authenticated account; no special role is required.
  • Your file is in CSV format (comma-, semicolon-, or tab-separated), encoded as UTF-8 or Latin-1.

Supported Data Types

Data Type Label in the UI Unique Identifier
Botanical species Species Scientific name
Cultivar Cultivars Parent species + cultivar name
Botanical family Botanical Families Name

Downloading a CSV Template

So you don't have to guess which columns are expected, Kamerplanter provides a matching template for each data type:

  1. Navigate to Master Data → Import
  2. Select the desired data type at the top (Species, Cultivars, or Botanical Families)
  3. Click Download Template

This downloads a CSV file with exactly the column headers supported for the selected data type. Fill in your data row by row below the header.

Use AI-generated CSV data

The AI pipeline provides ready-made CSV rows in section 8 of each plant document, already in the correct format — you can paste these directly into the downloaded template.

Required Fields per Data Type

Data Type Required Columns Other Supported Columns
Species scientific_name common_name, family_name, growth_habit, cycle_type, root_type, description, container_suitable, recommended_container_volume_l, min_container_depth_cm, mature_height_cm, mature_width_cm, spacing_cm, indoor_suitable, balcony_suitable, greenhouse_recommended, support_required
Cultivars species_key, cultivar_name breeder, description, traits
Botanical Families name common_name, order_name, description

Scientific name must follow the \"Genus species\" pattern

For the Species data type, scientific_name must start with a capitalized genus name followed by a lower-case species epithet, e.g. Solanum lycopersicum. If the value doesn't follow this pattern, the validation report flags an error.

Two columns with a special role: family_name and cycle_type

When creating a new species, Kamerplanter stores every column listed in the template — with two exceptions:

  • family_name is matched by display name against an already existing botanical family. When the name matches a family, the species is linked to it correctly. When Kamerplanter finds no matching family, the family assignment is left empty (instead of writing an invalid reference) — create the family first and repeat the import in that case.
  • cycle_type is checked in the validation report but not saved — the species model has no matching field for it. Add the life cycle afterwards on the species detail page if needed.

For botanical families, all four columns are stored in full.

Uploading a File

  1. Navigate to Master Data → Import
  2. Select the data type (Species, Cultivars, or Botanical Families)
  3. Choose the duplicate strategy (see Handling Duplicates below)
  4. Click Select CSV File and choose your completed file
  5. Click Upload

Kamerplanter automatically detects the encoding and delimiter (comma, semicolon, or tab) — you don't need to configure anything.

Upload limits

An import file may be at most 10 MB in size and contain at most 10,000 data rows. Split larger data sets across multiple files.

The Two-Phase Workflow

An import always runs through two separate steps: first your file is checked without saving anything (validation report), and only afterward do you confirm the actual import. This lets you see exactly what would happen beforehand and correct errors in your file before anything lands in the database.

flowchart LR
    A["Upload file"] --> B["Review validation report"]
    B --> C["Fix errors in CSV"]
    C --> A
    B --> D["Confirm import"]
    D --> E["Result"]

Step 1: Upload and Automatically Validate

As soon as you upload a file, Kamerplanter checks every row individually — before anything is saved. You are then automatically taken to the Preview step.

Step 2: Review the Validation Report

The validation report shows you, per row:

  • the parsed raw data,
  • the status — valid, invalid, or duplicate —,
  • for errors, a list of the affected fields with an error message (as a tooltip on the error chip).

At this point, nothing has been saved yet. If your file contains errors, use Back to return to the first step, fix the CSV file outside of Kamerplanter, and upload it again.

Step 3: Confirm the Import

Once you're satisfied with the validation report, click Confirm Import. Only now are valid rows actually created as new records (or skipped/marked as failed, depending on the duplicate strategy). You'll then see the Result with a summary.

Handling Validation Errors

A row is considered invalid if at least one of the following applies:

  • A required field is empty (e.g. scientific_name for species).
  • The scientific name doesn't match the "Genus species" pattern.
  • A selection field (e.g. growth habit, root type, container suitability) contains a value that isn't one of the allowed options.
  • The cell starts with a character that spreadsheet programs could interpret as a formula (e.g. =, +, -, @). Kamerplanter automatically strips this character for security reasons and flags it in the report.

Invalid rows are not imported when you confirm and count as "Failed" in the result.

Fix errors without starting over

You don't have to start from scratch after an error. Click Back, fix the affected cells in your CSV file, and upload it again — the previous job is discarded.

Handling Duplicates

If a record with the same unique identifier already exists (e.g. the same scientific name), the validation report marks the row as a duplicate. How duplicates are handled is decided before you upload via the duplicate strategy:

Option Behavior
Skip The row is ignored when confirming; the existing record stays unchanged.
Update The existing record is updated with the values from the CSV row — empty cells never overwrite an existing value.
Report Error The row is counted as a failure; nothing is saved.

Update applies to species and botanical families, not yet to cultivars

For the Species and Botanical Families data types, the Update option updates the existing record as described above. For Cultivars, the validation report does not yet detect duplicates (see Frequently Asked Questions below) — the Update option therefore has no effect for this data type yet. Until this changes, edit existing cultivars directly on the species detail page.

Result After the Import

After confirming, Kamerplanter shows a summary with four metrics:

  • Created — newly created records
  • Updated — updated records (see the note above about the duplicate strategy)
  • Skipped — duplicates skipped according to the chosen strategy
  • Failed — rows that were not imported due to validation errors or an active "Report Error" strategy

If errors occurred, they are also listed. Use New Import to start the next run right away — e.g. to import another data type.

No overview of past imports yet

Currently the UI only shows the import that's in progress. An overview page with the history of previous imports is not yet available in the web interface.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I confirm the same import more than once?

No. Once confirmed, the import job is complete. To process the same file again (e.g. after a correction), upload it again via New Import.

Are duplicates detected automatically when I upload again?

For Species (scientific name) and Botanical Families (name), yes — as long as the unique identifier already exists in the database, the row is marked as a duplicate in the validation report. For Cultivars, the validation report does not yet detect duplicates; every valid cultivar row is created as a new record when you confirm, even if a cultivar with the same name already exists.

What happens if I leave the page during the preview?

The unconfirmed import job is lost — nothing had been saved yet anyway. Upload the file again via New Import.

Can I also use the import for nutrient plans or other master data?

No, the CSV import currently supports only species, cultivars, and botanical families.

See Also