> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.callivox.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Import and export
> Bring contacts in from a CSV file with the fixed set of columns, understand how duplicates are handled, and export your list back out.
Import brings an existing contact list into Callivox from a CSV file. Export takes your contacts back out, matching whatever filter you have on screen. Both are buttons at the top of the **Contacts** page.
## Importing contacts
### What the file must look like
Callivox does not ask you to map columns — the header names are fixed, and your file has to use them:
```
display_name,email,phone,country,gender,birth_date
```
The dialog states it plainly:
> Upload a CSV file with columns: `display_name, email, phone, country, gender, birth_date`. Contacts are matched by email — existing ones are skipped.
| Column | Example | Notes |
| -------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| `display_name` | `Jane Doe` | The contact's name. |
| `email` | `jane@example.com` | Also the key used to spot duplicates. |
| `phone` | `+966501234567` | International format. |
| `country` | `SA` | Two-letter country code. |
| `gender` | `Female` | |
| `birth_date` | `1990-04-15` | Year-month-day. |
Click **↓ Download CSV template** to get a file with exactly these headers and a sample row. Filling that in is the surest way to avoid a rejected import — the header spelling has to match.
### How duplicates are handled
Contacts are matched on **email**. If a contact with that email already exists, the row is **skipped** — not merged, not updated.
Import will not update your existing contacts. Re-importing a corrected file leaves the old values in place; edit those contacts by hand instead. Rows with no email cannot be matched at all.
### Running an import
The **Import contacts (CSV)** dialog opens.
Only `.csv` files are accepted.
You will see "Uploading…", then "Processing row X of Y…" with a progress bar as Callivox works through the file.
When it finishes: "Import complete — N of M rows imported." Any row that failed is listed underneath with its row number and what went wrong, for example "Row 7: …". Click **Done** to close.
If the import cannot be checked in time you will see "Import timed out — please check your file size." Split a very large file into a few smaller ones and run them one after another.
### After importing
Imported contacts have names, emails and phone numbers — but **not** channel addresses, and a contact without a channel address cannot be reached by a campaign on that channel. Open the ones you plan to message and add their address, or start a conversation with them so the address is recorded when they reply. See [Managing contacts](/contacts/managing-contacts).
Imported contacts are **Subscribed** by default. If your list contains people who have already opted out of your marketing, mark them before you send anything: filter or select them in the list and use **Opt out** in the bulk toolbar.
## Exporting contacts
Click **Export CSV**. The button reads "Exporting…" while it works, then downloads `contacts.csv`.
The export respects the filters you have on screen. Search for a name, set a country, tick **Opted out only** — whatever the grid is showing is what comes out. To export everything, clear the filters first.
The file contains these columns:
```
id,display_name,phone,email,country,birth_date,opted_out,created_at
```
The export columns are not the same as the import columns. If you plan to re-import an exported file, cut it down to the six import headers first.
## Next steps
Channel addresses, tags and opt-out.
Message the contacts you imported.