Data Importer

Data Importer

Import .synnovator/​*.md files (YAML frontmatter + Markdown body) into SQLite database via SQLAlchemy models.

Quick Start

# Import all data
python cli.py import \
  --source .synnovator \
  --db data/​synnovator.db \
  --models backend/​models

# Import specific types only
python cli.py import \
  --source .synnovator \
  --db data/​synnovator.db \
  --models backend/​models \
  --types user,post

# Full import (clear and reimport)
python cli.py import \
  --source .synnovator \
  --db data/​synnovator.db \
  --models backend/​models \
  --mode full

Workflow

1. Validate inputs - Check paths exist and models can be loaded
2. Load models - Dynamically import SQLAlchemy models module
3. Import in order - Follow dependency graph (see import-order.md)
4. Parse files - Extract YAML frontmatter and Markdown body
5. Convert types - Map values to database column types
6. Insert records - Batch insert with error handling
7. Report results - Show imported/​skipped/​failed counts

Import Order

Data must be imported following foreign key dependencies:

1. Phase 1: user, event, rule (independent types)
2. Phase 2: group, post, resource (depend on user)
3. Phase 3: interaction (depends on user and targets)
4. Phase 4: All relations (depend on content types)

See references/​import-order.md for complete dependency graph.

Field Mapping

.md files use YAML frontmatter for structured fields and Markdown content for body text. The importer maps these to SQLAlchemy model columns with automatic type conversion:

• datetime: ISO 8601 strings → datetime objects
• JSON: Lists/​dicts → JSON strings
• enum: Validates against allowed values
• integer/​float: Strings → numbers
• boolean: "true"/"false" → bool

See references/​mapping.md for complete field mappings for all 7 content types and 7 relation types.

Error Handling

• Duplicate IDs: Skips records that already exist (incremental mode)
• Missing fields: Reports validation errors
• Foreign key violations: Reports missing references
• Type errors: Shows conversion failures
• Partial success: Continues importing after individual failures

Testing

Run the test suite:

cd scripts/
python test_importer.py

Tests validate:

• Parsing .md files with YAML frontmatter
• Type conversion logic
• Import order correctness

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• SQLAlchemy
• PyYAML
• SQLite database with tables matching .synnovator schema

Limitations

• Only supports SQLite databases
• Requires SQLAlchemy models to be importable
• Does not generate missing tables (use Alembic migrations first)
• Incremental mode skips duplicates by ID only