CSV to Database Migration Planner

Infer a relational schema from CSV data and generate create-table plus ALTER migration plans for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, or SQL Server

Paste CSV directly or upload a CSV file. The planner inspects each column, infers likely SQL types, suggests a primary key, calls out possible foreign-key or index hints, and then produces database-specific DDL.

How to use it:

  • CSV Input or CSV File: provide one dataset with a header row
  • Table Name: choose the target table name that should appear in the generated SQL
  • Target Database: switch the output dialect between PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and SQL Server
  • Existing Schema: optional current CREATE TABLE or DDL text used to generate ALTER ADD statements for newly inferred columns
  • Schema Overrides (JSON): optional JSON map for manual fixes, for example {"price":"DECIMAL(14,4)","customer_id":{"type":"BIGINT","index":true}}
  • Generate ALTER Plan: when enabled, the report also lists missing-column ALTER statements when an Existing Schema is supplied

What gets inferred:

  • Text vs integer vs decimal vs boolean vs date vs datetime columns
  • Nullable vs not-null columns
  • Primary-key candidates such as id, *_id, code, or uuid when values are unique
  • Foreign-key hints for columns like userid or productid
  • Index suggestions for high-cardinality lookup columns

Notes:

  • The tool works from one CSV at a time, so foreign keys are advisory hints rather than guaranteed references
  • Overrides let you tighten types or force index/reference suggestions before handing the SQL to an engineer or DBA

Example Results

1 examples

Turn a customer-orders CSV into a starter PostgreSQL schema

Infer field types, primary-key candidates, and index hints so a non-SQL user can hand a credible DDL draft to engineering.

Inferred schema for customer_orders
View input parameters
{ "csvInput": "id,customer_id,email,total,created_at,status\n1,10,[email protected],120.50,2026-04-05,paid\n2,11,[email protected],40.00,2026-04-06,pending", "csvFile": "", "tableName": "customer_orders", "targetDatabase": "postgresql", "existingSchema": "CREATE TABLE customer_orders (\n id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY\n);", "schemaOverrides": "{\"status\":\"VARCHAR(32)\",\"customer_id\":{\"type\":\"BIGINT\",\"index\":true}}", "generateAlterPlan": true }

Click to upload file or drag and drop file here

Maximum file size: 20MB Supported formats: text/csv, text/plain, .csv

Key Facts

Category
Data & Tables
Input Types
textarea, file, text, select, checkbox
Output Type
html
Sample Coverage
4
API Ready
Yes

Overview

The CSV to Database Migration Planner analyzes your CSV data to automatically infer relational schemas and generate database-specific DDL. It detects data types, primary keys, and index hints, producing ready-to-use CREATE TABLE and ALTER statements for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, or SQL Server.

When to Use

  • When you need to quickly bootstrap a new database table from a raw CSV export.
  • When migrating flat files to a relational database and you want to automatically detect optimal data types and constraints.
  • When updating an existing database schema and you need to generate ALTER TABLE statements for newly added CSV columns.

How It Works

  • Provide your dataset by pasting CSV text or uploading a CSV file with a header row.
  • Select your target database dialect and optionally provide your existing schema or JSON overrides to fine-tune data types.
  • The tool inspects column values to infer types, nullability, primary keys, and foreign key hints.
  • Review the generated HTML report containing the inferred schema, CREATE TABLE statements, and any necessary ALTER plans.

Use Cases

Prototyping a new application database by importing mock data or legacy CSV exports.
Generating database migration scripts for data engineering pipelines without manually typing DDL.
Comparing a new data feed against an existing table schema to safely add missing columns.

Examples

1. Bootstrapping a PostgreSQL table from customer orders

Backend Developer
Background
A developer receives a CSV dump of historical customer orders and needs to import it into a new PostgreSQL database.
Problem
Manually writing the CREATE TABLE statement and guessing the correct data types for dozens of columns is tedious and error-prone.
How to Use
Upload the orders CSV, set the Table Name to customer_orders, and select PostgreSQL as the target database.
Example Config
{"status":"VARCHAR(32)","customer_id":{"type":"BIGINT","index":true}}
Outcome
The tool generates a PostgreSQL DDL script with inferred types, a primary key on id, and an index on customer_id.

2. Generating ALTER statements for new CSV columns

Data Engineer
Background
A daily CSV feed has added three new columns, and the existing MySQL database table needs to be updated to accommodate them.
Problem
Identifying the new columns and writing the correct ALTER TABLE ADD statements manually takes time.
How to Use
Paste the new CSV data, select MySQL, paste the current table DDL into the Existing Schema field, and enable Generate ALTER Plan.
Outcome
The planner compares the CSV headers against the existing schema and outputs the exact ALTER TABLE statements needed to add the missing columns.

Try with Samples

json, csv, sql

Related Hubs

FAQ

Which databases are supported?

The tool generates DDL dialects for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and SQL Server.

How does it determine data types?

It inspects the values in each CSV column to infer whether the data is text, integer, decimal, boolean, date, or datetime.

Can it generate ALTER statements for existing tables?

Yes, if you provide your current CREATE TABLE schema and enable the ALTER plan option, it will generate statements for missing columns.

What are schema overrides?

Schema overrides allow you to provide a JSON map to manually force specific data types, indexes, or references before generating the SQL.

Does it guarantee foreign key relationships?

No, because it processes one CSV at a time, foreign keys are provided as advisory hints based on column names like user_id or product_id.

API Documentation

Request Endpoint

POST /en/api/tools/csv-to-database-migration-planner

Request Parameters

Parameter Name Type Required Description
csvInput textarea No -
csvFile file (Upload required) No -
tableName text No -
targetDatabase select No -
existingSchema textarea No -
schemaOverrides textarea No -
generateAlterPlan checkbox No -

File type parameters need to be uploaded first via POST /upload/csv-to-database-migration-planner to get filePath, then pass filePath to the corresponding file field.

Response Format

{
  "result": "
Processed HTML content
", "error": "Error message (optional)", "message": "Notification message (optional)", "metadata": { "key": "value" } }
HTML: HTML

AI MCP Documentation

Add this tool to your MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "elysiatools-csv-to-database-migration-planner": {
      "name": "csv-to-database-migration-planner",
      "description": "Infer a relational schema from CSV data and generate create-table plus ALTER migration plans for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, or SQL Server",
      "baseUrl": "https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=csv-to-database-migration-planner",
      "command": "",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "isActive": true,
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

You can chain multiple tools, e.g.: `https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=png-to-webp,jpg-to-webp,gif-to-webp`, max 20 tools.

Supports URL file links or Base64 encoding for file parameters.

If you encounter any issues, please contact us at [email protected]