Export issues to CSV
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You can export issues from GitLab to a plain-text CSV (comma-separated values) file. The CSV file is attached to an email, and sent to your default notification email address.
CSV files can be used with any plotter or spreadsheet-based program, like Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc, or Google Sheets. Use a CSV list of issues to:
- Create a snapshot of issues for offline analysis, or to share with other teams who might not be in GitLab.
- Create diagrams, graphs, and charts from the CSV data.
- Convert the data to other formats for auditing or sharing.
- Import the issues to a system outside of GitLab.
- Analyze long-term trends with multiple snapshots created over time.
- Use the long-term data to gather relevant feedback given in the issues, and improve your product based on real metrics.
Select issues to export
You can export issues from individual projects, but not groups.
Prerequisites:
- You must have at least the Reporter role.
- On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
- Select Plan > Issues.
- Above the list of issues, select Search or filter results....
- In the dropdown list that appears, select the attributes to filter by. For more information about filter options, see Filter the list of issues.
- In the upper right, select Actions ({ellipsis_v}) > Export as CSV.
- In the dialog, verify that the email address is correct, then select Export issues.
All matching issues are exported, including those not shown on the first page. The exported CSV does not contain attachments from issues.
Format
The CSV file has this format:
- Sort is by title.
- Columns are delimited with commas.
- Fields are quoted with double quotes (
") if needed. - Newline characters separate rows.
Columns
The following columns are included in the CSV file.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Issue title
|
| Description | Issue description
|
| Issue ID | Issue iid
|
| URL | A link to the issue on GitLab |
| State |
Open or Closed
|
| Author | Full name of the issue author |
| Author Username | Username of the author, with the @ symbol omitted |
| Assignee | Full name of the issue assignee |
| Assignee Username | Username of the author, with the @ symbol omitted |
| Confidential |
Yes or No
|
| Locked |
Yes or No
|
| Due Date | Formatted as YYYY-MM-DD
|
| Created At (UTC) | Formatted as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
|
| Updated At (UTC) | Formatted as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
|
| Milestone | Title of the issue milestone |
| Weight | Issue weight |
| Labels | Labels, separated by commas |
| Time Estimate | Time estimate in seconds |
| Time Spent | Time spent in seconds |
| Epic ID | ID of the parent epic |
| Epic Title | Title of the parent epic |
Troubleshooting
When working with exported issues, you might encounter the following issues.
Column order
In GitLab 14.7 and earlier, the first two columns in exported files were Issue ID and URL,
which caused problems importing data back into GitLab. For more information, see
issue 34769.
Size of export
Issues are sent as an email attachment, with a 15 MB export limit to ensure successful delivery across a range of email providers. If you reach the limit, narrow your search before export. For example, consider exporting open and closed issues separately.