Skip to main content
Version: Next version 🚧

Importing Cypher queries (CYPHERL format)

If your data is in the form of Cypher queries (for example, CREATE and MERGE clauses) within a CYPHERL file it can be imported via Memgraph Lab or mgconsole.

The benefit of importing data using the CYPHERL file is that you need only one file to import both nodes and relationships. But it can be tricky to actually write the queries for creating nodes and relationships yourself. If you haven't written any queries yet, check our Cypher manual.

tip

To speed up import time, after queries creating nodes, consider creating indexes on appropriate nodes or node properties.

Importing via Memgraph Lab​

Once you Memgraph instance in running and you've connected to it via Memgraph Lab, go to the Import & Export section. To Import Data select the CYPHERL file or drag and drop it into Memgraph Lab.

You can import up to 1 million nodes and relationships via Memgraph Lab using the CYPHERL file.

Importing via mgconsole​

Once Memgraph is running, Cypher queries are imported by running mgconsole in a non-interactive mode and importing data saved in a CYPHERL file.

You can import queries saved in e.g. queries.cypherl by issuing the following shell command:

mgconsole < queries.cypherl

If you installed and started Memgraph using Docker, you will need to run the client using the following command:

docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --host HOST < queries.cypherl

Remember to replace HOST with valid IP of the container and to define the correct Memgraph Docker image you are using as well as the correct path to the file.

Below, you can find two examples of how to import data within the .cypherl file based on the complexity of your data:

One type of nodes and relationships​

Let's import data from queries.cypherl file with the following content:

CREATE (:Person {id: "100", name: "Daniel", age: 30, city: "London"});
CREATE (:Person {id: "101", name: "Alex", age: 15, city: "Paris"});
CREATE (:Person {id: "102", name: "Sarah", age: 101, city: "London"});
CREATE (:Person {id: "103", name: "Mia", age: 25, city: "Zagreb"});
CREATE (:Person {id: "104", name: "Lucy", age: 21, city: "Paris"});
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "100" AND v.id = "102" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "100" AND v.id = "103" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "101" AND v.id = "104" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "101" AND v.id = "102" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "102" AND v.id = "103" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "103" AND v.id = "101" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "104" AND v.id = "100" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH]->(v);

The first five queries create nodes for people, and the rest of the queries create relationships between these nodes.

If you installed Memgraph using Docker, run the client using the following command, but be careful of four things:

  1. Use the first command in Docker installed on Linux and macOS, but use the second command in Windows because PowerShell doesn't support the < character.

  2. Check the image name you are using is correct:
    • If you downloaded Memgraph Platform, leave the current image name memgraph/memgraph-platform.
    • If you downloaded MemgraphDB, replace the current image name with memgraph/memgraph.
    • If you downloaded MAGE, replace the current image name with memgraph/memgraph-mage.

  3. Remember to replace HOST with a valid IP of the container (see the guide on working with Docker).

  4. Check that the paths of the files you want to import are correct.

Linux and macOS

docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --host HOST < queries.cypherl

Windows PowerShell:

cmd.exe /c "docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --host HOST < queries.cypherl"

For more information about mgconsole options run:

docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --help
This is how the graph should look like in Memgraph after the import:

Multiple types of nodes and relationships​

Let's import data from queries.cypherl file with the following content:

CREATE (p:Person {id: "100", name: "Daniel", age: 30, city: "London"});
CREATE (p:Person {id: "101", name: "Alex", age: 15, city: "Paris"});
CREATE (p:Person {id: "102", name: "Sarah", age: 17, city: "London"});
CREATE (p:Person {id: "103", name: "Mia", age: 25, city: "Zagreb"});
CREATE (p:Person {id: "104", name: "Lucy", age: 21, city: "Paris"});
CREATE (r:Restaurant {id: "200", name: "McDonalds", menu: "Fries BigMac McChicken Apple Pie"});
CREATE (r:Restaurant {id: "201", name: "KFC", menu: "Fried Chicken Fries Chicken Bucket"});
CREATE (r:Restaurant {id: "202", name: "Subway", menu: "Ham Sandwich Turkey Sandwich Foot-long"});
CREATE (r:Restaurant {id: "203", name: "Dominos", menu: "Pepperoni Pizza Double Dish Pizza Cheese filled Crust"});
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "100" AND v.id = "103" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH {met_in: "2014"}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "101" AND v.id = "104" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH {met_in: "2001"}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "102" AND v.id = "100" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH {met_in: "2005"}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "102" AND v.id = "103" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH {met_in: "2017"}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "103" AND v.id = "104" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH {met_in: "2005"}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Person) WHERE u.id = "104" AND v.id = "102" CREATE (u)-[:IS_FRIENDS_WITH {met_in: "2021"}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "100" AND v.id = "200" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: true}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "102" AND v.id = "202" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: false}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "102" AND v.id = "203" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: false}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "102" AND v.id = "200" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: true}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "103" AND v.id = "201" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: true}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "104" AND v.id = "201" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: false}]->(v);
MATCH (u:Person), (v:Restaurant) WHERE u.id = "101" AND v.id = "200" CREATE (u)-[:ATE_AT {liked: true}]->(v);

The first five queries create nodes for people, and the following four queries create nodes for restaurants. The rest of the queries are used to define relationships between nodes. As said before, you can define different types of nodes and relationships in one file.

If you installed Memgraph using Docker, run the client using the following command, but be careful of four things:

  1. Use the first command in Docker installed on Linux and macOS, but use the second command in Windows because PowerShell doesn't support the < character.

  2. Check the image name you are using is correct:
    • If you downloaded Memgraph Platform, leave the current image name memgraph/memgraph-platform.
    • If you downloaded MemgraphDB, replace the current image name with memgraph/memgraph.
    • If you downloaded MAGE, replace the current image name with memgraph/memgraph-mage.

  3. Remember to replace HOST with a valid IP of the container (see the guide on working with Docker).

  4. Check that the paths of the files you want to import are correct.

Linux and macOS

docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --host HOST < queries.cypherl

Windows Powershell

cmd.exe /c "docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --host HOST < queries.cypherl"

For more information about mgconsole options run:

docker run -i --entrypoint=mgconsole memgraph/memgraph-platform --help
This is how the graph should look like in Memgraph after the import: