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Comma-Separated Values (CSV) File

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Overview

Comma-separated values is the lowest common denominator of enterprise data exchange. Almost every system in an estate can produce it: HR systems export headcount, procurement exports purchase records, facilities exports floor and seat allocations, and any vendor tool without an API will still produce a report as a CSV. This connector is the general-purpose route for all of that.

The connector reads delimited text files and writes them to staging tables. The csv_file.php driver takes the first row as the header, derives the destination columns from it, and loads each subsequent row as a record. Column names are taken from the file, so the shape of the staging table follows the shape of the export. Files are read either from a directory on the ReadyWorks server, including files uploaded through the console, or pulled from an FTP server.

In a ReadyWorks context this is how data that has no connector of its own reaches the data fabric. Joiner and leaver feeds, seat and location registers, application ownership spreadsheets and cost centre mappings typically arrive this way, and once staged they reconcile against device and identity data from the API connectors. Two job settings matter for recurring feeds: Append Files to Same Destination Table combines several files from one path into a single table, and Append New Data to Existing Tables accumulates each run’s rows instead of replacing the table.

The connector is inbound only. It reads files and writes staging tables, and it never writes a file back out.

Connector Properties

Property Value
Identifier CSV
Name Comma-Separated Values (CSV) File
Description Connector for processing comma-separated values (CSV) files.
Job Types Inbound Only
Order 180
Enabled Yes
Locked Yes
Block Update No
Single Authentication No
Windows Only No
Connector Version 2025-03-12
Hooks None
Additional Job Fields None
Image

Authentication Methods

Two methods ship. Both use the same parsing driver and differ only in where the file comes from.

Method Identifier Base Method Script Order Enabled Config Fields
Comma Separated File CSV_file CSV_file csv_file.php 10 Yes 3
FTP Server CSV_ftp CSV_ftp csv_file.php 20 Yes 5

Method 1: Comma Separated File (CSV_file)

No Authentication

Comma Separated File reads from a directory on the ReadyWorks server. Set Server File Path to that directory (the default is storage/etl5), and set Manual File Upload to Yes when operators will attach files through the console. Process Unchanged Files controls whether re-reading a file that has not changed since the last run is treated as an error, which is the setting to relax when a feed is delivered less often than the job runs.

Connection Configuration Fields (3)

Order Label Type Required Default Max Len Tooltip
30 Server File Path text Yes storage/etl5 255 Enter path where the files to process are located or where manually uploaded files are stored (exclude starting and ending backslash)
220 Process Unchanged Files radio No 0 Choose to allow the connection to process unchanged files and not generate an error
230 Manual File Upload radio Yes 0 Choose if file is uploaded manually or processed from the server

No authentication recipe is stored. The driver script authenticates natively using the fields above.

Method 2: FTP Server (CSV_ftp)

Download CSV files from an FTP server

FTP Server downloads files from an FTP host before parsing them. Supply the server name and port (the default is 21), and a temporary working path on the ReadyWorks server where downloaded files are held during processing. Username and Password are optional, which allows anonymous FTP. Use this when the source system can only push files to a drop server.

Connection Configuration Fields (5)

Order Label Type Required Default Max Len Tooltip
10 FTP Server text Yes 255 Enter name of the FTP server
20 FTP Server Port text Yes 21 5 Enter port number of the FTP server
30 Server Temporary Working Path text Yes storage/etl5 255 Enter path where temporary files are stored during data processing (exclude starting and ending backslash)
40 Username text No 1024 Enter username of the FTP connection
50 Password password No 64000 Enter username of the FTP connection

No authentication recipe is stored. The driver script authenticates natively using the fields above.

NOTE: The form has no option for FTPS or SFTP, and no certificate settings. Plain FTP carries credentials and file contents without encryption, so keep the transfer inside a trusted network segment.

NOTE: The Password field’s help text reads “Enter username of the FTP connection”. Enter the password.

Inbound Job Fields Enabled (11)

These are the job-level settings exposed for a CSV import.

Order Label Type Required Default Tooltip
10 Job Description text Yes Enter description of the Job
20 Job Schedule lookup Yes Daily Select frequency Job should run
30 Enabled radio Yes Yes Choose if Job is enabled
60 Allow Empty Table radio Yes Yes Choose if an empty table is allowed
70 Destination Table text Yes Enter name of the destination table
80 Data Identity text No Enter identity of the Job
90 CSV File or Path textarea No Enter CSV filename or path (exclude starting and ending backslash); leave blank to upload all files in the base folder path of the Connection
110 Append Files to Same Destination Table radio No No Choose if multiple files in the same path will append to the same destination table, or will create a new destination table for each file
120 Append New Data to Existing Tables radio No No Choose if new data will append to the existing destination table, or will create a new destination table
130 Fields to Index text No Enter fields to index
560 Order text Yes Enter order of the Job

Inbound Job Templates (1)

One inbound template ships as a worked example. It arrives disabled and points at a placeholder file name, so it is a starting point to copy rather than a job to enable.

# Job Description Destination Table API End Point Enabled What It Pulls
1 CSV File csv_data Not set No A skeleton job that loads a single CSV into the csv_data staging table. Replace the file name, the destination table and the data identity with your own before enabling it.

Job Template Configuration

Settings

Setting Value
Order 10
Enabled No
Job Schedule Daily (15 1 * * *)
Destination Table csv_data
Data Identity csv_data
Allow Empty Table Yes
Append Files to Same Destination Table No
Append New Data to Existing Tables No
Use Unparsed Data No
Convert UUID-Keyed Objects to Rows No
Ignore XML Attributes No
Log Raw API Calls No
Method Type GET
Body Data Sending Method JSON Encoded Data

Job Parameters and Enumeration

CSV File

CSV File or Path: your_csv_file.csv

Outbound Job Templates (0)

This connector ships no outbound templates and does not support outbound jobs.

 

 

To use the FTP Server authentication method the FTP extension if php.ini needs to be uncommented.

extension=ftp

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