🚀 Importing Large CSV Files into MySQL via Command Line

This guide explains how to efficiently import large CSV datasets into MySQL using the command line (mysql CLI).
It’s especially useful when GUI tools (like Workbench) fail or hang due to file size.

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📌 Prerequisites

• MySQL Server 8.0+ installed
• MySQL bin directory added to your PATH (or navigate to it manually)
• CSV file ready (with headers in the first row)
• Database and table already created with proper schema

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⚙️ Step 1: Open MySQL CLI

cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin"
mysql --local-infile=1 -u root -p

• Replace root with your MySQL username.

- ⚙️ Step 2: Select Your Database

SHOW DATABASES;
USE churn;

⚙️ Step 3: Import the CSV File

LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE 'D:\\Games\\Telco-Customer-Churn.csv'
INTO TABLE `telco-customer-churn`
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
ENCLOSED BY '"'
LINES TERMINATED BY '\r\n'
IGNORE 1 ROWS;

✅ LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE Command Breakdown

• This table explains the purpose of each clause used in the bulk CSV import command.

Clause	Purpose	Rationale
LOCAL INFILE	Instructs MySQL to read the file directly from the client's file system (your computer).	Necessary for security and efficiency when importing from a local machine.
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','	Defines the delimiter that separates values into columns.	Standard for CSV (Comma Separated Values) files.
ENCLOSED BY '\"'	Specifies the character that wraps text strings.	Essential for correctly reading data where a column value itself contains the delimiter (e.g., "Smith, John").
LINES TERMINATED BY '\r\n'	Defines the character sequence that marks the end of a row.	This is the standard line ending used by Windows operating systems.
IGNORE 1 ROWS	Tells the server to skip a specified number of rows at the start of the file.	Used to efficiently skip the header row (column names) so it isn't imported as data.

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⚙️ Step 4: Verify Import

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `telco-customer-churn`;

If In case Show An Error

🛠️ Troubleshooting

• local_infile disabled? → Enable it in CLI:

mysql --local-infile=1 -u root -p

Warnings shown?

SHOW WARNINGS LIMIT 10;

.File not found error?

• 👉 Use absolute path with double \ in Windows

📂 Example Output

Query OK, 7043 rows affected, 21140 warnings (0.16 sec)
Records: 7043  Deleted: 0  Skipped: 0  Warnings: 21140

🌟 Pro Tips

• For very large files, consider splitting CSV into smaller chunks

• Use LOAD DATA INFILE (without LOCAL) if the file is already placed in MySQL server’s directory

• Optimize table schema (indexes, datatypes) before loading for speed

💻 Importing CSV into MySQL (Command Line Session)

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.6584]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\sajan>cd C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin

C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\bin>mysql --local-infile=1 -u root -p
Enter password: **********
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 17
Server version: 8.0.43 MySQL Community Server - GPL

Copyright (c) 2000, 2025, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

###🔹 Show Available Databases

mysql> SHOW DATABASES;

Output

+--------------------+
| Database           |
+--------------------+
| churn              |
| gym                |
| information_schema |
| mysql              |
| new_schema         |
| pan_validation     |
| performance_schema |
| sys                |
+--------------------+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)

🔹 Select Database --using Database present in MySql use Your Database Here

mysql> USE Churn;

OUTPUT

Database changed