Importing contacts

Import contacts from a CSV file into any contact book that isn't synced with an email provider.

1

Open the contacts panel

Click your avatar at the top of the left sidebar and select Contacts.

2

Start the import

Right-click on the contact book where you want to import and select Import contacts (CSV).

3

Select your file

Choose the CSV file from your computer. The import begins automatically.

4

Wait for completion

A progress indicator shows the import status. Large imports may take a few minutes.

CSV import is not available for contact books synced with Google or Office 365. Use the provider's interface to import contacts instead - they'll sync to Missive automatically.

Supported CSV formats

Missive supports CSV files in Google and Outlook formats. If your contacts come from another source, adapt your file to match one of these formats.

Google format (recommended)

The Google format is more flexible and supports groups and custom fields.

947B

google-format.csv

Open

Supported columns:

Column	Description
Name Prefix	Dr., Mr., Mrs., etc.
Given Name	First name
Family Name	Last name
Name Suffix	Jr., Sr., III, etc.
Nickname	Nickname
Gender	Gender
Notes	Free-text notes
Group Membership	Groups separated by ::: (e.g., VIPs ::: Clients)
E-mail 1 - Type	Label: Work, Home, etc.
E-mail 1 - Value	Email address
E-mail 2 - Type / Value	Additional email
Phone 1 - Type	Label: Work, Mobile, Home, etc.
Phone 1 - Value	Phone number
IM 1 - Type / Value	Instant messaging handle
Organization 1 - Name	Company name
Organization 1 - Title	Job title
Organization 1 - Department	Department
Organization 1 - Location	Office location
Website 1 - Type / Value	Website URL with label
Address 1 - Type	Label: Work, Home, etc.
Address 1 - Street	Street address
Address 1 - Extended Address	Apt, Suite, etc.
Address 1 - PO Box	PO Box
Address 1 - City	City
Address 1 - Region	State/Province
Address 1 - Postal Code	ZIP/Postal code
Address 1 - Country	Country
Custom Field 1 - Type	Custom field label
Custom Field 1 - Value	Custom field value
Photo	URL to contact photo

You can add multiple emails, phones, addresses, and custom fields by incrementing the number (E-mail 2, Phone 2, Custom Field 2, etc.).

Outlook format

848B

outlook-format.csv

Open

Supported columns:

Column	Description
First Name, Middle Name, Last Name	Name parts
Title	Prefix (Dr., Mr., etc.)
Suffix	Jr., Sr., etc.
Nickname	Nickname
E-mail Address, E-mail 2 Address, E-mail 3 Address	Email addresses
Home Phone, Home Phone 2	Home phone numbers
Business Phone, Business Phone 2	Work phone numbers
Mobile Phone	Mobile number
Pager	Pager number
Business Fax, Home Fax	Fax numbers
Job Title	Job title
Department	Department
Company	Company name
Office Location	Office location
Business Street, City, State, Postal Code, Country/Region	Work address
Home Street, City, State, Postal Code, Country/Region	Home address
Web Page	Website URL
Notes	Free-text notes

Exporting contacts for import

From Gmail

1. Open Google Contacts

2. Click Export in the left sidebar

3. Choose which contacts to export (all or a specific label)

4. Select Google CSV format

5. Click Export

From Outlook

1. Open Outlook and go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export

2. Select Export to a file and click Next

3. Choose Comma Separated Values and click Next

4. Select your Contacts folder and click Next

5. Choose a save location and click Finish

Troubleshooting

Import fails or contacts are missing data

• Ensure your CSV uses UTF-8 encoding

• Check that column headers exactly match the supported formats

• Remove any extra columns not in the supported list

Special characters appear incorrectly

Your CSV file may not be UTF-8 encoded. Open it in a text editor and save with UTF-8 encoding, or re-export from the source application with UTF-8 selected.