Import tasks from CSV

Use this guide to move task data from another system into Cogno with a controlled review step. Cogno imports CSV files, asks you to confirm every column, maps source statuses and members, then creates Cogno tasks.

When to use CSV import

CSV import is best when:

You are moving from Linear, Notion, GitHub Issues, Asana, Jira Cloud, or another task system.
You want to review the mapping before tasks are created.
You need source URLs, IDs, labels, milestones, priorities, or custom fields preserved as metadata.
You are doing a one-time migration or a controlled batch import.

CSV import creates tasks. It is not a live sync.

Before you export

Prepare the source system first.

Check	Reason
One row per task	Cogno creates one task from each valid CSV row.
Header row present	Cogno uses the first row as column names.
Source URL or external ID present	Humans and AI can trace tasks back to the original system.
Stable assignee values	Names, emails, or handles can be mapped to workspace members.
Absolute dates	Import accepts absolute date values, not relative phrases.
Parent references are stable	Parent task mapping needs a title, source URL, external ID, or other stable lookup value.

Invite members before import when you want assignees or collaborators to map to Cogno members.

Import flow

Export a CSV from the source app.
Open the Cogno app.
Select the target workspace.
Open Settings > General.
Drop one or more CSV files into Task import, or choose files from your computer.
Select each uploaded file and review the mapping.
Map every CSV column to a Cogno field, or choose Do not import.
Map every source status value to a Cogno status.
Map source assignees and collaborators to workspace members, or choose Do not assign.
Check the mapped preview.
Mark each file Mapping complete.
Select Import.
Spot-check the created tasks from the Tasks page.

Supported sources

Source	Recommended export	Best for
Linear	Issue CSV	Issue lists, project issues, custom views, workspace issue exports.
Notion	Markdown & CSV export	Task databases and project databases.
GitHub Issues	GitHub CLI JSON formatted as CSV	Repository issue migrations with labels, assignees, milestones, and URLs.
Asana	Project CSV	Project-level task movement.
Jira Cloud	Export CSV - all fields	Issues, comments, custom fields, and work item metadata.
Other CSV	Custom CSV	Any task-like table with a title column.

Cogno fields

Cogno field	Required	Multiple columns	Use it for
Task title	Yes	Yes	Main task title. Multiple title columns are joined with spaces.
Description	No	Yes	Long-form task body. Multiple description columns are joined with blank lines.
Status	No	No	Source workflow state. Source values are mapped before import.
Assignee	No	No	Primary owner. Multiple values in the cell are split by comma, semicolon, or newline.
Collaborators	No	Yes	Additional owners, followers, reviewers, or participants.
Due date	No	No	Task due date.
Start date	No	No	Task start date.
Project	No	No	Cogno project name. Cogno can create or reuse a project by name.
Parent Task	No	No	Parent reference for a one-level task hierarchy.
Source	No	No	Original URL or canonical source link.
Metadata	No	Yes	Labels, tags, priority, estimate, issue key, number, timestamps, reporter, creator, comments, and unsupported fields.
Do not import	No	Yes	Columns that should be ignored.

Every column must be mapped or explicitly ignored.

Column mapping rules

Task title is required.
Status, Assignee, Due date, Start date, Project, Parent Task, and Source can each be mapped to one CSV column.
Task title, Description, Collaborators, Metadata, and Do not import can each receive multiple CSV columns.
Empty title rows are skipped.
Unsupported fields are rejected.
Source URL and metadata are stored under the task import metadata.

Date values

Cogno accepts absolute dates in common formats:

Example	Accepted
`2026-06-11`	Yes
`2026/06/11`	Yes
`06/11/2026`	Yes
`11/06/2026`	Yes
`Jun 11, 2026`	Yes
`June 11, 2026`	Yes
`tomorrow`	No
`next Friday`	No

Timestamps are handled when the first 10 characters form an ISO date.

Status mapping

Cogno statuses are:

proposed
active
backlog
completed
archived

When you map a CSV column to Status, the importer lists each source status value. Map every source value before marking the file complete. Source statuses are converted into Cogno statuses. To keep source-specific categories, manage them as workspace tags after import.

Member mapping

Map source assignees and collaborators to Cogno workspace members.

Source value	Mapping behavior
Exact member name, user ID, or agent ID	Cogno can preselect the matching member when there is one match.
Multiple names in one cell	Values split by comma, semicolon, or newline.
First assignee value	Becomes primary assignee.
Extra assignee values	Become collaborators.
Unknown person	Choose a workspace member or Do not assign.
Ambiguous person	Choose the correct workspace member manually.

Invite members before import when the CSV contains people.

Parent task mapping

Map a parent reference column to Parent Task when the source system has subtasks. Cogno resolves a parent reference against:

Tasks in the same CSV import batch.
Previously imported tasks in the same workspace.
Import metadata values, source URLs, task titles, and task titles derived from the CSV.

Rules:

Cogno supports one level of task nesting.
A child can link to a parent imported in the same file.
A child can link to a parent imported earlier when the reference is still present in metadata.
Ambiguous parent references are skipped.
Cycles are skipped.

For large migrations, import parent tasks first when the source export separates parents and children.

Import limits

Limit	Value
CSV headers	Required
CSV task rows	At least 1
Columns	Up to 100
Cell length	Up to 20,000 characters
API payload text	Up to 2,000,000 characters
UI batch size	250 rows per request
UI batch text	Up to 1,500,000 characters per request

Large files are sent in batches. If a batch partially succeeds, Cogno shows created, skipped, and error counts.

Export from Linear

Linear supports issue CSV exports from issue views, projects, custom views, and workspace-level export tools. Recommended steps:

Open the issue list, project, or custom view you want to move.
Open the command menu with Cmd/Ctrl + K.
Choose Export issues as CSV.
Upload the downloaded CSV to Cogno.

Recommended mapping:

Linear column	Cogno field
`Title`	Task title
`Description`	Description
`Status`	Status
`Assignee`	Assignee
`Project`	Project
`Due Date`	Due date
`Parent issue`	Parent Task
`ID`, `Priority`, `Estimate`, `Labels`, `Cycle`, `Created`, `Updated`, milestones	Metadata

Export from Notion

Use the CSV inside a Notion Markdown & CSV export. Recommended steps:

Open the Notion database that contains the tasks.
Open the top-right page menu.
Choose Export.
Select Markdown & CSV.
Download and unzip the export.
Upload the database CSV to Cogno.

Recommended mapping:

Notion column	Cogno field
Task name or page title	Task title
Description or notes	Description
Status	Status
Assignee or People	Assignee
Due date	Due date
Project or milestone	Project
Tags, priority, relation fields, rollups	Metadata

Export from GitHub Issues

GitHub Issues does not provide a browser CSV export. Use GitHub CLI to export issue data as JSON and format it as CSV.

gh auth login

REPO="OWNER/REPO"
OUT="github-${REPO//\//-}-issues.csv"

gh issue list -R "$REPO" --state all --limit 1000 \
  --json number,title,body,state,stateReason,labels,assignees,milestone,createdAt,updatedAt,closedAt,url \
  --jq '(["number","title","body","state","stateReason","labels","assignees","milestone","createdAt","updatedAt","closedAt","url"], (.[] | [.number,.title,.body,.state,(.stateReason // ""),([.labels[].name] | join(";")),([.assignees[].login] | join(";")),(.milestone.title // ""),.createdAt,.updatedAt,(.closedAt // ""),.url])) | @csv' \
  > "$OUT"

Recommended mapping:

GitHub column	Cogno field
`title`	Task title
`body`	Description
`state`	Status
`assignees`	Assignee
`milestone`	Project or Metadata
`url`	Source
`number`, `stateReason`, `labels`, timestamps	Metadata

Use --limit high enough for the repository. Use --search when you need a scoped subset.

Export from Asana

Use a project CSV export for the cleanest task set. Recommended steps:

Open the Asana project.
Open the dropdown next to the project title.
Choose the CSV export option from the project export menu.
Upload the CSV to Cogno.

Recommended mapping:

Asana column	Cogno field
Task name	Task title
Notes or Description	Description
Section or Status	Status or Metadata
Assignee	Assignee
Collaborators or Followers	Collaborators
Due Date	Due date
Projects	Project
Tags, custom fields, task ID, created date, completed date	Metadata

Export from Jira Cloud

Jira Cloud can export work items from a project list or from global work item search. Recommended steps:

Open a Jira project and select List, or open Filters > Search work items.
Apply the query or filter for the work items you want.
Open the more actions menu.
Choose Export.
Select Export CSV - all fields.
Upload the CSV to Cogno.

Recommended mapping:

Jira column	Cogno field
`Summary`	Task title
`Description`	Description
`Status`	Status
`Assignee`	Assignee
`Due date`	Due date
`Project name` or `Project key`	Project
`Parent` or parent issue key	Parent Task
`Issue key` or issue URL	Source
Comments, labels, components, priority, custom fields, created/updated timestamps	Metadata

Use all fields when comments and custom fields matter. Jira Cloud exports CSV in UTF-8.

Validate after import

Spot-check at least five tasks:

Check	Expected result
Title	The task title is readable and unique enough.
Description	Important source details appear in the task body.
Status	Source states landed in the intended Cogno statuses.
Status tag	Source workflow details are preserved when useful.
Assignee	The correct workspace member owns the task.
Collaborators	Secondary owners or followers are present.
Project	Tasks appear under the expected project.
Parent task	Child tasks link to the intended root parent.
Source	The task can be traced back to the original app.
Metadata	Labels, priorities, IDs, and custom fields are preserved.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
File cannot load	Confirm the CSV has a header row and at least one task row.
Mapping complete is disabled	Map every column, every status value, and every assignee value.
Task title is required	Map a non-empty title, name, or summary column to Task title.
A single-value field has multiple columns	Keep one column mapped to that field and move the others to Metadata or Do not import.
Assignee not found	Invite the member, map the source value manually, or choose Do not assign.
Status looks too broad	Map source status to Cogno status and use tags for source-specific workflow steps.
Date is invalid	Convert dates to an accepted absolute date format.
Parent task not found	Import parents first or preserve stable parent IDs/source URLs.
Characters look corrupted	Re-export as UTF-8 or resave with a modern spreadsheet app.

See Troubleshooting for symptom-first diagnosis.

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Import & export

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Help

Import tasks from CSV

When to use CSV import

Before you export

Import flow

Supported sources

Cogno fields

Column mapping rules

Date values

Status mapping

Member mapping

Parent task mapping

Import limits

Export from Linear

Export from Notion

Export from GitHub Issues

Export from Asana

Export from Jira Cloud

Validate after import

Troubleshooting

Official references

​When to use CSV import

​Before you export

​Import flow

​Supported sources

​Cogno fields

​Column mapping rules

​Date values

​Status mapping

​Member mapping

​Parent task mapping

​Import limits

​Export from Linear

​Export from Notion

​Export from GitHub Issues

​Export from Asana

​Export from Jira Cloud

​Validate after import

​Troubleshooting

​Official references

When to use CSV import

Before you export

Import flow

Supported sources

Cogno fields

Column mapping rules

Date values

Status mapping

Member mapping

Parent task mapping

Import limits

Export from Linear

Export from Notion

Export from GitHub Issues

Export from Asana

Export from Jira Cloud

Validate after import

Troubleshooting

Official references