Laravel 10 Import CSV Data into MySQL Using Laravel Seeder

This tutorial will provide you step-by-step guidance about how to import CSV file records into MySQL by using laravel seeder. We will be using laravel seeder to grab data from csv file. But, before diving into the steps let's have a brief introduction of CSV file format and its usage.

What is CSV (comma-separated values) file?

A CSV (comma-separated values) file is simply a text file in which values are stored separated by comma. CSV file helps us to save data in a tabular form. In CSV file, each line is considered as a data record. There are multiple fields in each record, separated by comma.

What are the usage and advantages of CSV file?

• CSV file is very well-established text file format and recognized by many applications.
• CSV file is frequently used for spreadsheets.
• CSV file represents the data typically found in a database table.
• CSV file is a common format for data interchange because it is simple and compact.
• You can easily open a CSV file into Excel.
• Nearly all databases offer a tool to import data from CSV file.
• You can easily view and edit CSV file in any plain text editor.

How to Import Large Set of Records from CSV into MySQL using Laravel Seeder?

Now, we will go through all the steps one by one to achieve our objective.

Step 1: Create Fresh Laravel Application

Open terminal and install fresh laravel application using below command:

composer create-project laravel/laravel l10seedercsvimport

Next, lets get inside the csvimortapp using below command:

cd l10seedercsvimport

Step 2: Setup Database Configuration

Next, lets update database configuration in .env file as follows:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=l10seedercsvimport
DB_USERNAME=dbusername
DB_PASSWORD=dbpassword

Step 3: Setup CSV File with Large Records

Next, let's create a csv file database/data/employees.csv. Open database/data/employees.csv file and addl following information in it:
Name, Email, Mobile, City, State, Country, PinCode, Salary

You can copy and paste below provided dummy data into database/data/employees.csv file:

name,email,mobile,city,state,country,pincode,salary
Employee_01,'emp01@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_02,'emp02@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_03,'emp03@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_04,'emp04@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_05,'emp05@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_06,'emp06@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_07,'emp07@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_08,'emp08@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_09,'emp09@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_10,'emp10@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_11,'emp11@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_12,'emp12@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_13,'emp13@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_14,'emp14@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_15,'emp15@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_16,'emp16@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_17,'emp17@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_18,'emp18@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_19,'emp19@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00
Employee_20,'emp20@gmail.com',9988776601,'Bangalore','Karnataka','India',560047,10000.00

Step 4: Setup Model and Migration Files

Next, let's create a model app/Models/Employee.php along with migration files using below command:

php artisan make:model Employee -m

Above command will create App/Models/Employee.php model file and database/migrations/create_employees_table.php migration file.

Open the App/Models/Employee.php file and copy the below given code onto it:

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Employee extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;

    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'email',
        'mobile',
        'city',
        'state',
        'country',
        'pincode',
        'salary'
    ];
}

Open the database/migrations/create_employees_table.php file and copy the below given code onto it:

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration
{
    /**
     * Run the migrations.
     */
    public function up(): void
    {
        Schema::create('employees', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();
            $table->string('name');
            $table->string('email');
            $table->string('mobile');
            $table->string('city');
            $table->string('state');
            $table->string('country');
            $table->string('pincode');
            $table->string('salary');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }

    /**
     * Reverse the migrations.
     */
    public function down(): void
    {
        Schema::dropIfExists('employees');
    }
};

Step 5: Setup Laravel Seeder to Import Records

Next, we will be using laravel seeder to seed eployees table with a large csv file. Use below command to create EmployeeSeeder.php

php artisan make:seeder EmployeeSeeder

Open the database/seeders/EmployeeSeeder.php file and copy the below given code onto it:

<?php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Console\Seeds\WithoutModelEvents;
use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use App\Models\Employee;

class EmployeeSeeder extends Seeder
{
    /**
     * Run the database seeds.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function run()
    {
        Employee::truncate();
        $heading = true;
        $input_file = fopen(base_path("database/data/employees.csv"), "r");
        while (($record = fgetcsv($input_file, 1000, ",")) !== FALSE)
        {
            if (!$heading)
            {
                $employee = array(
                    "name" => $record['0'],
                    "email" => $record['1'],
                    "mobile" => $record['2'],
                    "city" => $record['3'],
                    "state" => $record['4'],
                    "country" => $record['5'],
                    "pincode" => $record['6'],
                    "salary" => $record['7']
                );
                Employee::create($employee);    
            }
            $heading = false;
        }
        fclose($input_file);
    }
}

Step 6: Run EmployeeSeeder

Next, run the seeder by invoking below command:

php artisan db:seed --class=EmployeeSeeder

Above command will import all the data from employees.csv file to employees table.

Sample Imported Records Into Database