Free PostgreSQL importer — no upload, no account

Convert CSV to PostgreSQL
COPY or INSERT,
your choice.

Free CSV to PostgreSQL converter. Generate COPY FROM STDIN or batch INSERT with ON CONFLICT upsert, SERIAL primary key, schema-qualified tables and accurate PostgreSQL type inference. Runs entirely in your browser.

Your data never leaves your browser
COPY FROM STDIN
ON CONFLICT upsert
Copy to clipboard
Always free
Need the reverse? PostgreSQL to CSV converter
CSV to PostgreSQL Converter  100% client-side
Drop your CSV file here
PostgreSQL types inferred — BOOLEAN, INTEGER, NUMERIC, DATE, TIMESTAMPTZ, TEXT…
 SQL generated 

      

    

  

 
  
  
PostgreSQL-specific features

  
What makes this different from the generic CSV to SQL tool.

  

    

      
COPY FROM STDIN

      
Generates PostgreSQL's native bulk import syntax — the fastest way to load large CSV files directly in psql without server file access.

    

    

      
ON CONFLICT upsert

      
PostgreSQL's standard upsert syntax — inserts or updates on conflict using EXCLUDED.col references for all non-key columns.

    

    

      
SERIAL / BIGSERIAL

      
Adds a standard PostgreSQL auto-increment primary key using SERIAL (up to 2B) or BIGSERIAL (up to 9 quintillion).

    

    

      
Schema-qualified tables

      
Supports schema.table notation — e.g. public.users or sales.orders — for multi-schema databases.

    

    

      
TIMESTAMPTZ

      
Detects ISO 8601 datetime strings and uses TIMESTAMPTZ — the correct timezone-aware type for PostgreSQL, not the naive TIMESTAMP.

    

    

      
Standard SQL quoting

      
Uses double-quote identifiers and standard single-quote escaping ('' not \') — correct for PostgreSQL and ANSI SQL compliant.

    

  

 
  
  
Native PostgreSQL CSV import commands

  
Faster alternatives when you have direct database access.

 
  

    
\copy — client-side COPY, no server file access needed

    
\copy your_table FROM '/local/path/file.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER true, DELIMITER ',', QUOTE '"');

    
Run in psql. Reads the CSV from the client machine — works with remote databases, cloud hosts (RDS, Supabase, Neon) without server file access.

  

 
  

    
COPY — server-side, fastest for large files

    
COPY your_table FROM '/server/path/file.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER true);

    
Requires superuser or pg_read_server_files role. The path must be on the PostgreSQL server filesystem. Not available on most managed cloud databases.

  

 
  

    
psql one-liner — import from command line

    
psql -U username -d database -c "\copy table FROM 'file.csv' CSV HEADER"

    
Combines psql and \copy into a single command. Works with remote databases using the -h flag for host and -p for port.

  

 
  

 
  
  
How to import CSV into PostgreSQL

  
Three steps — choose INSERT for compatibility or COPY for speed.

  

    

      
1

      

      
Upload your CSV

      
Drop your CSV file. CSVShift samples up to 200 rows per column to infer PostgreSQL types — BOOLEAN, INTEGER, BIGINT, NUMERIC, DATE, TIMESTAMPTZ, VARCHAR or TEXT. Pre-fills the table name from the filename.

    

    

      
2

      

      
Choose COPY or INSERT

      
COPY FROM STDIN generates the psql bulk import syntax — paste the output into a psql session for maximum speed. Batch INSERT generates standard SQL runnable in pgAdmin, DBeaver or any PostgreSQL client without needing a psql session.

    

    

      
3

      

      
Run in psql or pgAdmin

      
Copy the SQL to clipboard and paste into pgAdmin's query window, DBeaver or a psql session. Or download the .sql file and run with: psql -U user -d db < file.sql

    

  

 
  

 
  
  
When do you need CSV to PostgreSQL conversion?

  
Common PostgreSQL workflows that start with a CSV file.

  

    

      
 Cloud PostgreSQL (RDS, Supabase, Neon)

      
Managed PostgreSQL hosts don't allow server-side COPY. The \copy command or INSERT statements from CSVShift work with any cloud PostgreSQL instance over a standard connection — no server file access required.

    

    

      
 MySQL to PostgreSQL migration

      
The standard migration path is: export MySQL as CSV → convert to PostgreSQL INSERT statements here → import. Avoids dialect incompatibilities in SQL dump conversion and works with any migration tool.

    

    

      
 Seeding test databases

      
Converting fixture CSV files to PostgreSQL INSERT statements produces seed scripts that work in CI/CD pipelines and development environments — shareable, version-controllable, and runnable in any PostgreSQL client.

    

    

      
 Incremental loads with ON CONFLICT

      
Using ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE, the same CSV can be re-imported to upsert records — inserting new rows and updating changed ones without truncating the table or running a separate UPDATE query.

    

  

 
  

 
  
  
Related CSV tools

  
Other free converters on CSVShift you might need.

  
PostgreSQL to CSV
Export pg_dump files and psql output to CSV.
CSV to SQL
Generate CREATE TABLE and INSERT statements for any SQL database.
CSV to MySQL
Ready-to-run MySQL CREATE TABLE and INSERT with utf8mb4.
MySQL to CSV
Convert mysqldump files and MySQL CLI output to CSV.
CSV to SQLite
Create a real SQLite .db database file from a CSV.
CSV to Access
Access SQL and a VBA TransferText macro for your CSV.
SQL to CSV
Turn SQL dumps and INSERT statements into a CSV file.
SQLite to CSV
Export any table of a SQLite .db file to CSV.
CSV to MongoDB
NDJSON, JSON array or insertMany() for MongoDB from a CSV.
All database converters 

 
  
  
 
  

 
  
  

    

      
PostgreSQL SQL generated
in your browser. No upload.

      
CSVShift generates COPY and INSERT syntax entirely in JavaScript in your browser. Your CSV never leaves your device. The standard SQL string escaping (doubling single quotes, no backslash escaping) follows ANSI SQL and PostgreSQL standards — producing output that runs without modification in any PostgreSQL version.

    

    

      

        
TIMESTAMPTZ detection

        
ISO 8601 datetime strings become TIMESTAMPTZ — the timezone-aware PostgreSQL type, not the naive TIMESTAMP.

      

      

        
COPY FROM STDIN

        
The fastest PostgreSQL import method — works with remote cloud databases via psql without server file access.

      

      

        
ON CONFLICT with EXCLUDED

        
Full upsert syntax with EXCLUDED.col references — standard PostgreSQL 9.5+ ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE pattern.

      

      

        
Free, no conditions

        
No row limit, no file size cap, no watermark. Funded by display advertising only.

      

    

  

 
  
  

    
Frequently asked questions

    
Common questions about importing CSV files into PostgreSQL.

 
    

      
How do I import a CSV file into PostgreSQL?

      
Three options: 1) In psql: \copy table FROM 'file.csv' CSV HEADER; — works with any database including cloud. 2) Generate INSERT statements here and run with psql -U user -d db < file.sql. 3) Use pgAdmin's Import/Export tool via the table context menu.

    

 
    

      
What is the difference between COPY and INSERT in PostgreSQL?

      
COPY reads data as a stream and bypasses row-level SQL parsing — typically 5–10x faster than INSERT for large datasets. INSERT is standard SQL, supports ON CONFLICT upsert, works in any client, and is easier to debug row by row. Use COPY for bulk loads, INSERT for incremental imports with conflict handling.

    

 
    

      
How do I use \copy in psql to import CSV?

      
Connect with psql and run: \copy your_table FROM '/local/path/file.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER true); — the backslash prefix means psql reads the file from your local machine, not the server. This works with all cloud PostgreSQL providers (RDS, Supabase, Neon, Render).

    

 
    

      
How does ON CONFLICT work for CSV imports in PostgreSQL?

      
ON CONFLICT (PostgreSQL 9.5+) handles duplicate key violations during INSERT. ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING silently skips duplicates. ON CONFLICT (id) DO UPDATE SET col = EXCLUDED.col updates existing rows with the new values. CSVShift generates the full ON CONFLICT clause with EXCLUDED references for all non-key columns.

    

 
    

      
Is my data safe when generating PostgreSQL SQL online?

      
Yes. The entire SQL generation runs in your browser in JavaScript. Your CSV data is never uploaded to any server. Open the Network inspector during conversion — zero outbound data requests are made.