Create Table From CSV in MySQL

Last Updated : 23 Mar, 2026

 The CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file is a simple text file format used to store tabular data. Each row represents a record, and each value is separated by a comma. CSV files are widely used because:

  • They are simple and lightweight.
  • Supported by tools like Excel, Google Sheets, etc.
  • Easy to import/export between systems.

Import CSV File

The MySQL Command Line Client allows users to import CSV data into a table using SQL queries. This method is efficient and widely used for database management.

LOAD DATA INFILE 'file_path'INTO TABLE table_nameFIELDS TERMINATED BY ','ENCLOSED BY '"'LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'IGNORE 1 ROWS;
CSV file viewed in Microsoft Excel
 

This CSV file contains 4 columns:

  1. DATE
  2. TOTAL_TIME
  3. HOURS
  4. MINUTES

Creation of Skeleton Table:

STEP 1: First, create a table based on the CSV file structure.

Example CSV Columns:

  • DATE → DATEx
  • TOTAL_TIME → INT
  • HOURS → INT
  • MINUTES → INT

Query:

CREATE TABLE table_name ( csv_column_1 
DATATYPE, csv_column_2 DATATYPE,
 csv_column_3 DATATYPE ....);

The last 2 entries could be extended to the number of columns in the CSV file but in ourr case there are 4 columns each of which has the following data types:

DATE            => Date
TOTAL_TIME      => INT
HOURS           => INT
MINUTES         => INT

So to create a table for the above file, the query would be:

Query:

CREATE TABLE TRANSFER ( DATE DATE, 
TOTAL_TIME INT, HOURS INT, MINUTES INT);

This would create a table. To view the table enter the query:

Query:

SELECT * FROM TRANSFER;
Screenshot-2026-03-23-110319

Which displays an empty table. Since we haven't added any data to it. 

STEP 2: 

Now to add the data from the CSV file to it, run the following:

Query:

LOAD DATA INFILE 'file.csv' 
INTO TABLE TRANSFER
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' 
ENCLOSED BY '"' LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'
IGNORE 1 ROWS;

The  LOAD DATA INFILE statement allows you to read data from a text file and import the file’s data into a database. Upon execution of the above statement we display the table again using:

Query:

SELECT * FROM TRANSFER;

To which the resulting table is:

Screenshot-2026-03-23-110541
  • Loads data from 'file.csv' into the TRANSFERS table.
  • Fields are separated by comma (,) and may be enclosed in double quotes (" "); rows end with \n.
  • The first row is ignored as it contains column names (headers).

Therefore the blueprint for loading the data to a table would be:

Query:

LOAD DATA INFILE '_path_to_csv_' 
INTO TABLE TABLE_NAME
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' 
ENCLOSED BY '"' LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'
IGNORE 1 ROWS;

where,

_path_to_csv_  => path to the csv file
TABLE_NAME     => Name of the table (skel table) 
in which the data is to be copied

If the excel file has different delimiters, that could also be mentioned in the second line. 

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