--- title: "Bulk import data" --- Large quantities of data can be imported from a [JSONL](https://jsonlines.org) file into Mattermost at the command line using the bulk import feature. This feature is most suitable for migrating data from an existing system, or for pre-populating a new installation with data. You can import the following data types: - Teams - Threaded discussions - Channels (public and private) - Users - Users' team memberships - Users' channel memberships - Users' notification preferences - Users' custom status - Posts (regular, non-reply posts) - Posts' replies - Posts' reactions - Posts' file attachments - Direct message and group message channels - Direct message and group message channels' read/unread status - Direct messages and group messages - Direct messages from a user to themselves - Permissions schemes - Custom emoji - Bot users Importing additional types of posts is not yet supported. ## About the bulk import command **The bulk import command is interruptible and idempotent** If the import is interrupted for any reason, it continues from where it left off the next time you run it. You can run the command repeatedly with the same data file, and the data is imported only once. Posts with matching timestamps to incoming posts will have their attachments replaced by the incoming data. Prior to v5.20 any updates to posts with matching timestamps were appended to older posts. **You can run the bulk import command on a live system** Although you don't need to shut down Mattermost to run the command, changes made by users of the system between runs can be overwritten if the corresponding fields exist in the data file. **Some data fields are optional** Not all fields are mandatory. If an optional field is missing from the object that is being imported, the field's current value in the database is not changed. **The bulk import command is not a synchronization tool** You cannot use the bulk import command to remove any objects or their fields from the Mattermost database. The command only creates or overwrites fields. The bulk import command runs in the mmctl and operates in the security context of the mmctl. This means it has full permissions to access and alter everything in the Mattermost database. ## Bulk import data Before running the bulk import command, you must first create a [JSONL](https://jsonlines.org) file that contains the data that you want to import in your Mattermost directory. The file can have any name, but in this example it's called `data.jsonl`. The format of the file is described in the [data-format](/administration-guide/onboard/bulk-loading-data#data-format) section. Next, zip it by running the `zip -r data.zip data.jsonl` command. ### Using mmctl local mode From Mattermost v9.5, the mmctl bulk import process command in [local mode](/administration-guide/manage/mmctl-command-line-tool#local-mode) supports processing an import file without uploading it to the server. Run `mmctl import process --bypass-upload .zip --local` to start your import and enable the Mattermost server to read from the file directly. ### Not using mmctl local mode If you're not running mmctl commands in local mode: 1. Upload the ZIP file to the database by running the [mmctl import upload](/administration-guide/manage/mmctl-command-line-tool#mmctl-import-upload) command. For example: `mmctl import upload data.zip`. After uploading, two IDs are returned: the first line contains the upload session ID, and the second line contains the filename. 2. Confirm that the file is uploaded and ready for use by running the [mmctl import list available](/administration-guide/manage/mmctl-command-line-tool#mmctl-import-list-available) command. 3. Import your uploaded file by running the [mmctl import process](/administration-guide/manage/mmctl-command-line-tool#mmctl-import-process) command using the upload session ID (not the filename). For example: `mmctl import process _data.zip` where `` is the upload session ID returned from the upload command. ## Data format The input data file must be a valid [JSONL](https://jsonlines.org) file with the following objects, each on its own line in the file. The objects must occur in the file in the order listed. Version Mandatory. The Version object must be the first line in the file, and must occur only once. The version is the version of the bulk import tool, which is currently `1`. Scheme Optional. If present, Scheme objects must occur after the Version object but before any Team objects. Emoji Optional. If present, Emoji objects must occur after the Version objects but before any Team objects. Team Optional. If present, Team objects must occur after any Scheme objects and before any Channel objects. Channel Optional. If present, Channel objects must occur after all Team objects and before any User objects. User Optional. If present, User objects must occur after the Team and Channel objects in the file and before any Post objects. Each User object defines the teams and channels that the user is a member of. If the corresponding teams and channels are not in the data file, then they must exist in the Mattermost database. Post Optional. If present, Post objects must occur after the last User object but before any DirectChannel objects. Each Post object defines the team, the channel, and the username of the user who posted the message. If the corresponding team, channel, or user are not in the data file, then they must exist in the Mattermost database. DirectChannel Optional. If present, DirectChannel objects must occur after all Post objects in the file and before any DirectPost objects. DirectPost Optional. If present, DirectPost objects must occur after all other objects in the file. Each DirectPost object defines the usernames of the channel members and the username of the user who posted the message. If the corresponding usernames are not in the data file, then they must exist in the Mattermost database. With the exception of the Version object, each object has a field or a combination of fields that is used as the unique identifier of that object. The bulk import command uses the unique identifier to determine if the object being imported is a new object or an update to an existing object. The identifiers for each object are listed in the following table:
Objects and their unique identifiers
Object Unique Identifier
Version Not Applicable
Scheme name
Role name
Emoji name
Team name
Channel name, team
User username
UserNotifyProps username
UserTeamMembership team, username
UserChannelMembership team, channel, username
Post channel, message, create_at
Reply post, message, create_at
Reaction post, emoji_name, create_at
Attachment path
DirectChannel members
DirectPost channel_members, user, message, create_at
The following fragment is from a file that imports two teams, each with two channels, many users, and many posts. ``` javascript { "type": "version", ... } { "type": "team", "team": { "name": "TeamA", ...} } { "type": "team", "team": { "name": "TeamB", ...} } { "type": "channel", "channel": { "team": "TeamA", "name": "channel_a1", ...} } { "type": "channel", "channel": { "team": "TeamA", "name": "channel_a2", ...} } { "type": "channel", "channel": { "team": "TeamB", "name": "channel_b1", ...} } { "type": "channel", "channel": { "team": "TeamB", "name": "channel_b2", ...} } { "type": "user", "user": { "username": "user001", ...} } { "type": "user", "user": { "username": "user002", ...} } { "type": "user", "user": { "username": "user003", ...} } { "type": "user", ... } { "type": "user", ... } { "type": "user", ... } . . . { "type": "post", { "team": "TeamA", "name": "channel_a1", "user": "user001", ...} } { "type": "post", { "team": "TeamA", "name": "channel_a1", "user": "user001", ...} } { "type": "post", { "team": "TeamA", "name": "channel_a1", "user": "user001", ...} } . . . ``` ## Version object The Version object must be the first object in the data file, and can appear only once. The version represents the version of the bulk import tool and currently is `1`. ### Example Version object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "version", "version": 1 } ``` ### Fields of the Version object
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
type string Must be the string "version" Yes Yes
version number Must be the number 1. Yes Yes
## Scheme object Scheme objects represent Permissions Schemes in the Mattermost permissions system. If present, Scheme objects must occur after the Version object and before any Team objects. ### Example Scheme object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "scheme", "scheme": { "name": "custom_scheme_name", "display_name": "Custom Scheme Name", "description": "This is a custom override scheme.", "scope": "team", "default_team_admin_role": { "name": "custom_scheme_team_admin_role", "display_name": "Custom Scheme Team Admin Role", "description": "This is the default team admin role for the custom scheme.", "permissions": ["add_user_to_team", "manage_team_roles"], }, "default_team_user_role": { "name": "custom_scheme_team_user_role", "display_name": "Custom Scheme Team User Role", "description": "This is the default team user role for the custom scheme.", "permissions": ["create_public_channel", "create_private_channel"], }, "default_channel_admin_role": { "name": "custom_scheme_channel_admin_role", "display_name": "Custom Scheme Channel Admin Role", "description": "This is the default channel admin role for the custom scheme.", "permissions": ["manage_private_channel_members", "manage_channel_roles"], }, "default_channel_user_role": { "name": "custom_scheme_channel_user_role", "display_name": "Custom Scheme Channel User Role", "description": "This is the default channel user role for the custom scheme.", "permissions": ["manage_public_channel_members", "manage_public_channel_properties"], }, } } ``` ### Fields of the Scheme object
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
name string The scheme name. Must start with and contain only lowercase letters ([a-z0-9]) or _, and must be between 2-64 characters in length. Yes Yes
display_name string The display name for the scheme. Yes Yes
scope string The scope for the scheme. Must be either "team" or "channel". Yes Yes
description string The description of the scheme. Yes No
default_team_admin_role Role object The default role applied to team admins in teams using this scheme. This field is mandatory if the scheme scope is set to "team", otherwise must not be present. Yes No
default_team_user_role Role object The default role applied to Team Users in teams using this scheme. This field is mandatory if the scheme scope is set to "team", otherwise must not be present. Yes No
default_channel_admin_role Role object The default role applied to channel admins in channels using this scheme. This field is mandatory for both "team" and "channel" scope schemes. Yes Yes
default_channel_user_role Role object The default role applied to Channel Users in channels using this scheme. This field is mandatory for both "team" and "channel" scope schemes. Yes Yes
### Fields of the Role object This object is a member of the Scheme object.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
name string The scheme name. Yes Yes
display_name string The display name for the scheme. Yes Yes
description string The description of the scheme. Yes No
permissions array The permissions the role should grant. This is an array of strings where the strings are the names of individual permissions in the Mattermost permissions system. Yes No
## Emoji object Emoji objects represent custom Emoji. If present, Emoji objects must occur after the Version object and before any Team objects. ### Example Emoji object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "emoji", "emoji": { "name": "custom-emoji-troll", "image": "bulkdata/emoji/trollolol.png" } } ``` ### Fields of the Emoji object
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
name string The emoji name. Yes Yes
image string The path (either absolute or relative to the current working directory) to the image file for this emoji. No Yes
## Team object If present, Team objects must occur after the Version object and before any Channel objects. ### Example Team object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "team", "team": { "name": "team-name", "display_name": "Team Display Name", "type": "O", "description": "The Team Description", "allow_open_invite": true } } ``` ### Fields of the Team object
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if no such scheme exists when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
name string The team name. Yes Yes
display_name string The display name for the team. Yes Yes
type string The type of team. Can have one the following values:
O for an open team
I for an invite-only team.		 Yes Yes
description string The team description. Yes No
allow_open_invite bool Whether to allow open invitations. Must have one of the following values:
true
false 		Yes No
scheme string The name of the Scheme that should be applied to this team. No [1] No
## Channel object If present, Channel objects must occur after all Team objects and before any User objects. ### Example Channel object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "channel", "channel": { "team": "team-name", "name": "channel-name", "display_name": "Channel Name", "type": "O", "header": "The Channel Header", "purpose": "The Channel Purpose", } } ``` ### Fields of the Channel object
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if no such team/scheme exists when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
team string The name of the team this channel belongs to. No [1] Yes
name string The name of the channel. Must start with and contain only lowercase letters ([a-z0-9]) or - or _. Yes Yes
display_name string The display name for the channel. Yes yes
type string The type of channel. Can have one the following values:
O for a public channel.
P for a private channel.		 Yes Yes
header string The channel header. Yes No
purpose string The channel purpose. Yes No
scheme string The name of the Scheme that should be applied to this team. No [1] No
## User object If present, User objects must occur after the Team and Channel objects in the file and before any Post objects. ### Example User object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "user", "user": { "profile_image": "profile-picture.png", "username": "username", "email": "email@example.com", "auth_service": "", "password": "passw0rd", "nickname": "bobuser", "first_name": "Bob", "last_name": "User", "position": "Senior Developer", "roles": "system_user", "locale": "pt_BR", "teams": [ { "name": "team-name", "theme": "{ \"awayIndicator\":\"#DBBD4E\", \"buttonBg\":\"#23A1FF\", \"buttonColor\":\"#FFFFFF\", \"centerChannelBg\":\"#ffffff\", \"centerChannelColor\":\"#333333\", \"codeTheme\":\"github\", \"linkColor\":\"#2389d7\", \"mentionBg\":\"#2389d7\", \"mentionColor\":\"#ffffff\", \"mentionHighlightBg\":\"#fff2bb\", \"mentionHighlightLink\":\"#2f81b7\", \"newMessageSeparator\":\"#FF8800\", \"onlineIndicator\":\"#7DBE00\", \"sidebarBg\":\"#fafafa\", \"sidebarHeaderBg\":\"#3481B9\", \"sidebarHeaderTextColor\":\"#ffffff\", \"sidebarText\":\"#333333\", \"sidebarTextActiveBorder\":\"#378FD2\", \"sidebarTextActiveColor\":\"#111111\", \"sidebarTextHoverBg\":\"#e6f2fa\", \"sidebarUnreadText\":\"#333333\", }", "roles": "team_user team_admin", "channels": [ { "name": "channel-name", "roles": "channel_user", "notify_props": { "desktop": "default", "mark_unread": "all" } } ] } ] } } ``` ### Fields of the User object
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
profile_image string The user’s profile image. This must be an existing file path. Yes No
username string The user’s username. This is the unique identifier for the user. Yes Yes
email string The user’s email address. Yes Yes
auth_service string The authentication service to use for this user account. If not provided, it defaults to password-based authentication. Must be one of the following values:
"" or not provided - password authentication.
"gitlab" - GitLab authentication.
"ldap" - LDAP authentication (Enterprise and Professional)
"saml" - Generic SAML based authentication (Enterprise)
"google" - Google OAuth authentication (Enterprise)
"office365" - Microsoft Entra ID OAuth Authentication (Enterprise)		 No No
auth_data string The authentication data if auth_service is used. The value depends on the auth_service that is specified.
The data comes from the following fields for the respective auth_services:
"" or not provided - must be omitted.
"gitlab" - The value of the Id attribute provided in the GitLab auth data.
"ldap" - The value of the LDAP attribute specified as the "ID Attribute" in the Mattermost LDAP configuration.
"saml" - The value of the SAML Email address attribute.
"google" - The value of the OAuth Id attribute.
"office365" - The value of the OAuth Id attribute.		 No No
password string A password for the user. Can be present only when password-based authentication is used. When password-based authentication is used and the password is not present, the bulk import command generates a password. Yes No
nickname string The user’s nickname. Yes No
first_name string The user’s first name. Yes No
last_name string The user’s last name. Yes No
position string The user’s position. Yes No
roles string The user’s roles. Must be one of the following values:
"system_user"
"system_admin system_user"		 Yes No
locale string The user’s locale. This must be a valid locale for which Mattermost has been localised. No No
delete_at int64 Timestamp for when the user was deactivated. No No
teams array The teams which the user will be made a member of. Must be an array of UserTeamMembership objects. Yes No
theme string The user’s theme. Formatted as a Mattermost theme string. No No
military_time string How times should be displayed to this user. Must be one of the following values:
"true" - Use 24 hour clock.
"false" - Use 12 hour clock.		 No No
collapse_previews string Whether to collapse or expand link previews by default. Must be one of the following values:
"true" - Collapsed by default.
"false" - Expanded by default.		 No No
message_display string Which style to use for displayed messages. Must be one of the following values:
"clean" - Use the standard style.
"compact" - Use the compact style.		 No No
channel_display_mode string How to display channel messages. Must be one of the following values:
"full" - Use the full width of the screen.
"centered" - Use a fixed width, centered block.		 No No
tutorial_step string Where to start the user tutorial. Must be one of the following values:
"1", "2" or "3" - Start from the specified tutorial step.
"999" - Skip the user tutorial.		 No No
use_markdown_preview bool Enable preview of message markdown formatting. Can have one the following values:
"True"
"False" 		Yes Yes
use_formatting bool Enable post formatting for links, emoji, text styles and line breaks. Can have one the following values:
"True"
"False" 		Yes Yes
show_unread_section bool Enable showing unread messages at top of channel sidebar. Can have one the following values:
"True"
"False" 		Yes Yes
email_interval string Specify an email batching interval during bulk import. Can have one of the following values:
"immediately" - Emails are sent immediately.
"fifteen" - Emails are batched and sent every 15 minutes.
"hour" - Emails are batched and sent every hour.
 Yes Yes
notify_props UserNotifyProps object The user’s notify preferences, as defined by the UserNotifyProps object. Yes No
### Fields of the UserNotifyProps object This object is a member of the User object.
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if no such team exists when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
desktop string Preference for sending desktop notifications. Must be one of the following values:
"all" - For all activity.
"mention" - Only for mentions.
"none" - Never.		 Yes No
desktop_sound string Preference for whether desktop notification sound is played. Must be one of the following values:
"true" - Sound is played.
"false" - Sound is not played.		 Yes No
email string Preference for email notifications. Must be one of the following values:
"true" - Email notifications are sent based on the email_interval setting
"false" - Email notifications are not sent.		 No No
mobile string Preference for sending mobile push notifications. Must be one of the following values:
"all" - For all activity.
"mention" - Only for mentions.
"none" - Never.		 Yes No
mobile_push_status string Preference for when push notifications are triggered. Must be one of the following values:
"online" - When online, away or offline.
"away" - When away or offline.
"offline" - When offline.		 Yes No
channel string Whether @all, @channel and @here trigger mentions. Must be one of the following values:
"true" - Mentions are triggered.
"false" - Mentions are not triggered.		 Yes No
comments string Preference for reply mention notifications. Must be one of the following values:
"any" - Trigger notifications on messages in reply threads that the user starts or participates in.
"root" - Trigger notifications on messages in threads that the user starts.
"never" - Do not trigger notifications on messages in reply threads unless the user is mentioned.		 Yes No
mention_keys string Preference for custom non-case sensitive words that trigger mentions. Words must be separated by commas. No No
### Fields of the UserTeamMembership object This object is a member of the User object.
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if no such team exists when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
name string The name of the team this user should be a member of. No [1] Yes
theme string The user’s theme for the specified team. Formatted as a Mattermost theme string. Yes No
roles string The roles the user should have within this team. Must be one of the following values:
"team_user"
"team_admin team_user" 		Yes No
channels array The channels within this team that the user should be made a member of. Must be an array of UserChannelMembership objects. Yes No
### Fields of the UserChannelMembership object This object is a member of the TeamMembership object.
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if the parent channel does not exist when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
name string The name of the channel in the parent team that this user should be a member of. No [1] Yes
roles string The roles the user should have within this channel. Must be one of the following values:
"channel_user"
"channel_user channel_admin" 		Yes No
notify_props object The notify preferences for this user in this channel. Must be a ChannelNotifyProps object Yes No
favorite boolean Whether to favorite the channel. Must be one of the following values:
"true" - Yes.
"false" - No.		 No No
### Fields of the ChannelNotifyProps object This object is a member of the ChannelMembership object.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
desktop string Preference for sending desktop notifications. Must be one of the following values:
"default" - Global default.
"all" - For all activity.
"mention" - Only for mentions.
"none" - Never.		 Yes No
mobile string Preference for sending mobile notifications. Must be one of the following values:
"default" - Global default.
"all" - For all activity.
"mention" - Only for mentions.
"none" - Never.		 Yes No
mark_unread string Preference for marking channel as unread. Must be one of the following values:
"all" - For all unread messages.
"mention" - Only for mentions. 		Yes No
## Post object If present, Post objects must occur after the last User object in the file, but before any DirectChannel objects. ### Example Post object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "post", "post": { "team": "team-name", "channel": "channel-name", "user": "username", "message": "The post message", "props": { "attachments": [{ "pretext": "This is the attachment pretext.", "text": "This is the attachment text." }] }, "create_at": 140012340013, "flagged_by": [ "username1", "username2", "username3" ], "replies": [{ "user": "username4", "message": "The reply message", "create_at": 140012352049, "attachments": [{ "path": "/some/valid/file/path/1" }], }, { "user": "username5", "message": "Other reply message", "create_at": 140012353057, }], "reactions": [{ "user": "username6", "emoji_name": "+1", "create_at": 140012356032, }, { "user": "username7", "emoji_name": "heart", "create_at": 140012359034, }], "attachments": [{ "path": "/some/valid/file/path/1" }, { "path": "/some/valid/file/path/2" }] } } ``` ### Fields of the Post object
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if the team does not exist when running in apply mode.
[2] Not validated, but an error occurs if the channel does not exist in the corresponding team when running in apply mode.
[3] Not validated, but an error occurs if the user does not exist when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
team string The name of the team that this post is in. No [1] Yes
channel string The name of the channel that this post is in. No [2] Yes
user string The username of the user for this post. No [3] Yes
message string The message that the post contains. Yes Yes
props object The props for a post. Contains additional formatting information used by integrations and bot posts. For a more detailed explanation see the message attachments documentation. Yes Yes
create_at int The timestamp for the post, in milliseconds since the Unix epoch. Yes Yes
flagged_by array Must contain a list of members who have flagged the post. No No
replies array The posts in reply to this post. Must be an array of Reply objects. Yes No
reactions array The emoji reactions to this post. Must be an array of Reaction objects. Yes No
attachments array File attachments associated with this post. Must be an array of Attachment objects. Yes No
### Fields of the Reply object This object is a member of the Post/DirectPost object.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
user string The username of the user for this reply. No [3] Yes
message string The message that the reply contains. Yes Yes
create_at int The timestamp for the reply, in milliseconds since the Unix epoch. Yes Yes
flagged_by array Must contain a list of members who have flagged the post. No No
reactions array The emoji reactions to this post. Must be an array of Reaction objects. Yes No
attachments array The file attachments to this post. Must be an array of Attachment objects. Yes No
### Fields of the Reaction object This object is a member of the Post/DirectPost object.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
user string The username of the user for this reply. No [3] Yes
emoji_name string The emoji of the reaction. Yes Yes
create_at int The timestamp for the reply, in milliseconds since the Unix epoch. Yes Yes
### Fields of the Attachment object This object is a member of the Post/DirectPost object.
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if the file path is not found or accessible when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
path string The path to the file to be attached to the post. No [1] Yes
## DirectChannel object A direct channel can have from two to eight users as members of the channel. If there are only two members, Mattermost treats it as a Direct Message channel. If there are three or more members, Mattermost treats it as a Group Message channel. ### Example DirectChannel object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "direct_channel", "direct_channel": { "members": [ "username1", "username2", "username3" ], "header": "The Channel Header", "favorited_by": [ "username1", "username2", "username3" ] } } ``` ### Fields of the DirectChannel object
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if one or more of the users don't exist when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
members array Must contain a list of members, with a minimum of two usernames and a maximum of eight usernames. No [1] Yes
header string The channel header. Yes No
favorited_by array Must contain a list of members who have favorited the channel. No No
## DirectPost object DirectPost objects must occur after all other objects in the file. ### Example DirectPost object For clarity, the object is shown using regular JSON formatting, but in the data file it cannot be spread across several lines. It must be all on one line. ``` javascript { "type": "direct_post", "direct_post": { "channel_members": [ "username1", "username2", "username3", ], "user": "username2", "message": "Hello Group Channel", "create_at": 140012340013, "flagged_by": [ "username1", "username2", "username3" ], "replies": [{ "user": "username4", "message": "The reply message", "create_at": 140012352049, }, { "user": "username5", "message": "Other reply message", "create_at": 140012353057, }], "reactions": [{ "user": "username6", "emoji_name": "+1", "create_at": 140012356032, }, { "user": "username7", "emoji_name": "heart", "create_at": 140012359034, }] } } ``` ### Fields of the DirectPost object
[1] Not validated, but an error occurs if no channels contain an identical list when running in apply mode.
[2] Not validated, but an error occurs if the user does not exist when running in apply mode.
Field name Type Description Validated Mandatory
channel_members array Must contain a list of members, with a minimum of two usernames and a maximum of eight usernames. No [1] Yes
user string The username of the user for this post. No [2] Yes
message string The message that the post contains. Yes Yes
create_at int The timestamp for the post, in milliseconds since the Unix epoch. Yes Yes
flagged_by array Must contain a list of members who have flagged the post. No No
replies array The posts in reply to this direct post. Must be an array of Reply objects. Yes No
reactions array The emoji reactions to this direct post. Must be an array of Reaction objects. Yes No
attachments array The attachments to this direct post. Must be an array of Attachment objects. Yes No
## Common issues Run the bulk import command as the *mattermost* user. Running it as *root* or any other user will cause issues with file permissions on imported attachments. Ensure that [file attachments are enabled](/administration-guide/configure/site-configuration-settings#allow-file-sharing), that you have enough free space in your [file storage system](/administration-guide/configure/environment-configuration-settings#file-storage-system) to support the incoming attachments, and that your [maximum file size](/administration-guide/configure/environment-configuration-settings#maximum-file-size) is appropriate. Make sure you have enough free space for logs on the Mattermost server as well as free space on the database server for both the database itself and transaction logs. Disable anti-virus or any other plugins that might interfere with attachment uploading. They could potentially block uploading of attachments and cause the import to fail if configured incorrectly. If you need anti-virus scanning, scan the attachment folder before the import. ## Troubleshooting ### Running the bulk import tool hangs and doesn't complete If you have Bleve search indexing enabled, temporarily disable it in **System Console \> Experimental \> Bleve** and run the command again. Bleve does not support multiple processes opening and manipulating the same index. Therefore, if the Mattermost server is running, an attempt to run the bulk import tool will lock when trying to open the indeces.