Documentation > Configuration

Upload and Import Data from CSV to Your Opensolr Index

Configuration

Overview

Solr has built-in support for importing data from CSV files via the /update/csv request handler. This is one of the easiest ways to bulk-load data into your Opensolr index without writing any code.

Video Tutorial

Watch this demonstration of uploading CSV data to your Opensolr index:

Importing CSV via curl

You can upload a CSV file directly from the command line using curl:

curl "https://YOUR_SOLR_HOST/solr/YOUR_INDEX/update/csv?commit=true" \
  --data-binary @your_data.csv \
  -H "Content-Type: application/csv"

Common Parameters

  • commit=true — Commits the data immediately after import so it becomes searchable.
  • separator=%09 — Use a tab separator instead of comma (for TSV files).
  • skip=unwanted_column — Skip a column that exists in your CSV but is not in your schema.
  • fieldnames=id,title,description — Override column names if your CSV header does not match your schema field names.
  • overwrite=true — Update existing documents if the unique key (id) already exists.

Auto-Generating Unique IDs

If your CSV file does not have a unique ID column, you can configure Solr to auto-generate unique IDs. Add this updateRequestProcessorChain to your solrconfig.xml:

<updateRequestProcessorChain>
  <processor class="solr.UUIDUpdateProcessorFactory">
    <str name="fieldName">id</str>
  </processor>
  <processor class="solr.LogUpdateProcessorFactory" />
  <processor class="solr.RunUpdateProcessorFactory" />
</updateRequestProcessorChain>

Add this snippet right below one of the </searchComponent> closing tags in your solrconfig.xml file. With this in place, Solr will automatically assign a UUID to each imported row.

Preparing Your CSV File

  • The first row must contain column headers that match your schema.xml field names.
  • Use UTF-8 encoding for proper character support.
  • Ensure your data does not contain unescaped commas within fields — use double quotes around fields that contain commas.
  • Remove any BOM (Byte Order Mark) that some editors add to the beginning of CSV files.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • "Unknown field" error — Your CSV header contains a field name that is not defined in schema.xml. Either add the field to your schema or use the skip parameter.
  • "Document is missing mandatory uniqueKey field: id" — Your CSV does not have an id column. Either add one or configure the UUID processor above.
  • Data not appearing in search — Make sure you include commit=true in your request, or send a separate commit command after uploading.