import

Import data from external sources including the local filesystem plus ChatGPT, Notion, Obsidian, and Telegram exports. Each source type has a dedicated adapter that normalizes the data into the Unsterwerx document format.

Usage

bash

unsterwerx import <SUBCOMMAND>

Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
`run`	Import data from any supported source
`backfill`	Backfill missing provenance rows for legacy documents
`status`	Show import status and registered sources
`sources`	List available source adapters
`history`	Show import batch history

import run

Imports data from a source path. The source type is auto-detected from the directory/file structure, or can be specified explicitly.

bash

unsterwerx import run [OPTIONS] <PATH>

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
`PATH`	Yes	Path to source data (directory or export file)

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`--source-type`	string	auto	Source type: `local`, `chatgpt`, `notion`, `obsidian`, `telegram`
`--dry-run`	flag		Show what would be imported without writing to the database
`--weight`	integer		Override the source trust weight
`--scope`	string		Scope path for imported documents (e.g., `acme/sales`)
`--background`	flag		Run in background (returns immediately with job ID)
`--foreground`	flag		Force foreground execution (overrides `background_default` config)
`--resume`	string		Resume a stale/stopped/failed run by job ID or prefix
`--json`	flag		Output as JSON

Example

bash

unsterwerx import run /path/to/documents
unsterwerx import run --source-type chatgpt ~/Downloads/chatgpt-export.zip
unsterwerx import run --dry-run /path/to/documents
unsterwerx import run --scope acme/engineering /path/to/project-docs

import status

Shows registered import sources with item counts and recent batch history.

bash

unsterwerx import status

Import Sources
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  chatgpt      ChatGPT Export            weight=1 items=0
  local        Local Filesystem          weight=2 items=1901
  notion       Notion Export             weight=2 items=0
  obsidian     Obsidian Vault            weight=2 items=0
  telegram     Telegram Export           weight=1 items=0
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Recent Batches
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  [+] 2e96772f local        2873 items (1901 imported, 0 skipped, 32 errors)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

import sources

Lists available import source adapters and their supported formats.

bash

unsterwerx import sources

Available Import Adapters
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  local        Local filesystem directory (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, TXT, CSV, Markdown, SQL)
  chatgpt      ChatGPT data export (ZIP with conversations.json)
  notion       Notion workspace export (ZIP with markdown files)
  obsidian     Obsidian vault directory (markdown with wikilinks)
  telegram     Telegram data export (directory with result.json)
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

import history

Shows import batch history with item counts and outcomes.

bash

unsterwerx import history [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Short	Type	Default	Description
`--source-type`		string		Filter by source type
`--limit`		integer	20	Maximum number of batches to show

bash

unsterwerx import history

Import History
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  2e96772f local        2026-02-25 16:25:52 → 2026-02-25 16:32:59
    (1901 imported, 0 skipped, 32 errors)
    path: /path/to/documents/ (2873 total)
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Notes

The local adapter is the same pipeline used by unsterwerx ingest. Using import run with a local directory is equivalent to ingest.
Source type auto-detection looks for characteristic files: conversations.json (ChatGPT), *.md with wikilinks (Obsidian), result.json (Telegram), or *.zip with Notion export structure.
Each source adapter has a default trust weight (1–5) that can be overridden with --weight.
Import batches track the full lifecycle: start time, end time, items processed, errors, and duplicate counts.
The --scope flag assigns all imported documents to a scope (e.g., acme/sales). Scope assignment is one-way. Re-importing with a different scope produces a conflict error.
See Import Sources Guide for detailed instructions per source type.