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Importing from CSV

If you already keep answers somewhere else — a spreadsheet, Notion, or any system you can export from — a CSV import brings them into your knowledge base in one go.

You need write access to your account to import.

The file format

Section titled “The file format”

Your CSV must follow the expected structure. Download the sample file to see every available column with example rows.

Column Required Notes
question Yes The only required column.
answer No See auto-answering below.
explanation No
auto_answer No yes or no — sets sync on the imported item.
framework No Only use this if the items come from that framework.
code No The framework’s own code for the question.

How auto_answer decides what happens

Section titled “How auto_answer decides what happens”
  • If answer is empty and auto_answer is yes, the item is answered automatically after import.
  • If answer is populated, the item is not auto-answered — your wording is kept.
  • If auto_answer is no, the item is not auto-answered.

It accepts yes, true, or 1 for on, and no, false, or 0 for off. Anything else, including an empty cell, is treated as off.

Framework and code

Section titled “Framework and code”

framework accepts NIST-CSF-2.0, HECVAT-3.06, and HECVAT-4.1. Values are matched regardless of case.

code is for the framework’s own question codes, such as GV.OC under NIST CSF 2.0. Supplying codes can improve accuracy when the same framework comes up in a questionnaire, so include them where you have them.

Duplicate rows

Section titled “Duplicate rows”

Rows are skipped when the same question already exists in your knowledge base, and when the same question appears twice in the file you are importing.

Import the file

Section titled “Import the file”

  1. Go to Knowledge Base and select Import / Export, then Import.

  2. Drop your file onto Upload Knowledge Base CSV, or select Choose CSV file.

  3. Set the processing options — see below.

  4. Select Import CSV.

Importing runs in the background, and the import history on the same screen records what happened, including any rows that were skipped.

Processing options

Section titled “Processing options”

Sanitize question and answer text

Section titled “Sanitize question and answer text”

Removes references to specific customers, so an answer written for one customer can be reused for the next.

A question that reads “Is ACME’s data encrypted in transit and at rest?” is imported as “Is the customer’s data encrypted in transit and at rest?”

This is worth switching on whenever your existing answers were written for named customers. It generally does a good job, though it can occasionally struggle to tell a customer name apart from a product or third-party name, so it is worth spot-checking the results.

Auto categorize items

Section titled “Auto categorize items”

Files each imported item into the standard taxonomy, so your knowledge base arrives organised rather than as a flat list. This is on by default. See how items are categorised.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”