# Data import and export

> Bring existing data in from a CSV or spreadsheet, and take any table, your queries, or your whole codebase back out.

Your data was somewhere before Vaulter, and it should never feel trapped inside it. This page covers both directions: getting existing data in, and getting your data and code out.

## Getting data in

### Import a CSV as a table

In **Vault → Database → Tables**, use **Import CSV**: choose the file, name the table, say whether the first row is headers, and pick the [privacy class](/docs/data/data-privacy) for the new table. The rows land as a real table your app can build on.

One deliberate simplification: imported columns arrive as text, with no guessing about types. If a column should behave as numbers or dates ("sort products by price"), ask the agent after the import and it converts the column properly.

### Attach a spreadsheet in chat

For "build me something around this data", [attach the CSV or Excel file to a chat message](/docs/data/files-and-storage) instead. The agent reads the columns and sample rows and designs around them, which is the fastest path from spreadsheet to working app.

### Ask for sample data

Nothing to import yet? "Add ten realistic sample products" gives you data to design against, and "delete the sample data" cleans it up before launch.

### Read live from Supabase

If your data lives in a Supabase project you own, [connect it](/docs/data/connecting-supabase) instead of importing. Nothing is copied; your app reads the live rows.

## Getting data out

- **Any table, as CSV.** Every table in **Vault → Database → Tables** with rows in it has a download button, and it respects the filters and sorting you have applied, so "just the orders from March" exports exactly that.
- **Your own queries.** The SQL Editor lets you shape data your own way before taking it out.
- **Your code, as a zip.** The project owner can [export the full source](/docs/your-app/github-and-export), or connect GitHub sync so every publish is archived automatically.

## What deletion means

Deleting a project is permanent: the app, its code, its database, and its files go with it, and unpublishing happens as part of it. Export anything you want to keep first; the CSV download plus the code zip together are the complete backup.

## Frequently asked

#### My CSV import was rejected

Check the extension first: the file must actually end in `.csv`. Exports from some tools use semicolons or unusual encodings; opening the file in your spreadsheet app and re-saving as plain CSV fixes most refusals.

#### How big can an import be?

Chat attachments cap at 8 MB per file. For the Import CSV flow, if a very large file gives you trouble, split it and import in parts, or tell the agent what you are importing; it can build an in-app importer suited to your data.

#### Can I export my users?

Your app's registered users are managed in **Vault → Auth**. User accounts themselves live in Vaulter's managed sign-in system rather than a table you export, but any data your app stores about them (profiles, orders, bookings) is in ordinary tables and exports like everything else.