Introduction

MoEngage allows customers to import users and events through files stored in various sources like S3 Buckets and SFTP servers as well as directly from tables in your data warehouses. MoEngage Dashboard enables you to configure multiple imports directly by defining file locations, configuring one or more than one file import sources, and import methods.

Supported Sources

MoEngage currently supports importing files from:

1. Amazon S3 Buckets
2. SFTP Servers

MoEngage also supports importing from data warehouses:

1. Snowflake Imports

Types of Imports

MoEngage can import the following from your sources:

1. Registered Users: These are users who are already registered on MoEngage. You can also use this type of import to update existing users in bulk.
2. Anonymous Users: These are users who still need to be registered on MoEngage.
3. Events (Standard and User Defined): MoEngage can import standard events like Campaign Interaction Events as well as your own user-defined events.
4. Auxiliary Data: There are user data temporarily ingested into MoEngage for specific business purposes.

Preparing the files

Before configuring the imports on the MoEngage dashboard, make sure that all your files are in the expected format and within the sanctioned limits.

Supported File Types

We only support CSV files (in UTF-8 file encoding) as of now.

Naming Conventions

The file name is made up of two parts: <import type>_<date time format>.csv. The final name will depend on the type of import and the date-time format you pick.

Import Type

• Registered Users
  • File names should start with the prefix registered_user_data_
  • Example: registered_user_data_01311997.csv
• Anonymous Users
  • File names should start with the prefix anonymous_user_data_
  • Example: anonymous_user_data_jan_2022.csv
• Events
  • File names should start with the prefix <event name>_
  • In certain cases, Event Name and Event Display Name can be different. You can manage your events by going to the Data Management page in MoEngage.
  • For example, if the event name is "Purchase Summary": Purchase Summary_31011997.csv
  • For example, if the event name is "Purchase_Transaction": Purchase_Transaction_19970131_1259.csv

Date Time Format

Your file names should end with the suffix <date time format>.csv. This "date-time" represents the day on which the import runs. For example, if the import runs on "7th January 2022", and the selected date-time format is ddmmyyyy, we will look for all the files that end with the suffix 07012022.csv.

We support multiple date-time formats:

You can configure the date time formats for the file names on the MoEngage dashboard while setting up the import.

Valid File Name Examples

Few examples of valid file names:

• Registered Users Import with date time format {yyyymmdd}_{hhmm} will have file names like registered_user_data_20220131_1259.csv
• Anonymous Users Import with date time format {mon_yyyy} will have file names like anonymous_user_data_feb_2022.csv
• "Item Purchased" event import with date time format {ddmmyyyy} will have file names like Item Purchased_31012022.csv

Array Support

• Simple arrays are supported. Nested and Associated arrays are not supported.
• The supported delimiter in the CSV is "|".
• The supported data types are array double (numeric) and array string. You can select these data types in the list under the Map column to attribute column of the Map columns section while executing Step 2: Import configuration and action.
  
  
• All the elements in the array have to be homogenous, which means they must be either integer or string. If they are not homogenous, MoEngage tries to typecast (transform) the element and then store the data. Following is the example of an array in a CSV field: [1|2|3]

• Array Typecasting: If an array has elements [“1” | 2 | “abc”] of multiple datatypes and the defined datatype is Array Integer, then the final array ingested in MoEngage is [ 1, 2 ]. In this case, “abc” was a string that cannot be transformed into integer and hence not ingested into MoEngage in the final array. For more information on typecasting in MoEngage, refer here.

File Structure

We support CSV files only. Here are some rules that your files need to adhere to:

1. The first row of your file needs to be the column names. MoEngage will always treat the first row of your file as the header row.
2. Please ensure there are no duplicate column names in your file. Do note that column names are case-sensitive.
3. Please ensure there are no missing column names.
4. Avoid empty rows (either the row is blank, or all the columns in that row are blank).

MoEngage will recognize the first row of your files as the header file and parse the column names. You can then map them to MoEngage Attributes on the MoEngage Dashboard or choose to upload a manifest file.

For each type of import, we require you to have a column that can be mapped to a mandatory attribute:

1. Registered Users Import: Your files should have a column that can be mapped to the user ID (user identifier to identify User Profile in MoEngage).
2. Anonymous Users Import: Your files should have a column (email, mobile, etc) that can be mapped to an anonymous ID. An anonymous ID such as email, mobile, etc can help you identify users who have used your app/website but have not yet signed up.
3. Event Import: Your files should have a column that can be mapped to Event Time and a column that can be mapped to the user ID (user identifier to identify User Profile in MoEngage).

Here are some sample files:

1. Import Registered Users Sample File
2. Import Anonymous Users Sample File
3. Import Events Sample File
4. Sample Manifest/Mapping File

Manifest Files

Using the MoEngage Dashboard, you can map the columns in your CSV files to attributes inside MoEngage. Or optionally, you can also choose to upload a manifest file.

A manifest file contains mappings between the source column and a MoEngage Attribute. It also contains the data type of the column. This file needs to be in JSON format.

An example of a manifest file is shown below:

{
  "mapping": [
    {
      "column": "ID",
      "moe_attr": "uid",
      "type": "string",
      "is_skipped": false
    },
    {
      "column": "First Name",
      "moe_attr": "u_fn",
      "type": "string",
      "is_skipped": false
    },
    {
      "column": "First Seen",
      "moe_attr": "cr_t",
      "type": "datetime",
      "datetime_format": "YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss",
      "is_skipped": false
    },
    {
      "column": "LTV",
      "moe_attr": "t_rev",
      "type": "double",
      "is_skipped": false
    },
    {
      "column": "Install Status",
      "moe_attr": "installed",
      "type": "bool",
      "is_skipped": false
    }
  ]
}

For each column, you need to mention the following fields:

1. “column”: (required) Represents the column name from the source file. 
2. “moe_attr”: (required) The MoEngage Attribute (attribute name) to which you want to map the source file column. You can view the number of Events, User Attributes, Volume of User and Events  on the Data Management page. Ensure each column is mapped to a unique "moe_attr".
3. “type”:  (optional) This field represents the data type of the column. Refer to the table below for the acceptable "type" formats for attributes. Refer to the Data Management page for more information.
4. “datetime_format”: (optional) This field indicates the date and time format. It is mandatory for DateTime fields only. Refer to the table below for the complete list of supported date-time formats.
5. “is_skipped”: (optional) This field represents whether MoEngage should import the column or not. It is a boolean field, and any attribute marked as true will be skipped during import.

The above sample manifest file consists of 5 standard attributes. You can refer to the below list for more such standard attributes or refer to your Data Management dashboard to get the exhaustive standard attribute list. 

Some other standard user attributes in MoEngage for reference:

Supported User Attribute Types

Supported Datetime Formats

Once you are ready with the files, you need to place them inside a folder.

Folder Structure

Place all files into a folder. You can configure the folder path while setting up the import. Please note that we do not look for files in the root folder or sub-folders.

Setting Up Imports

You can set up the S3/SFTP Imports in the following navigation on the MoEngage Dashboard: Segment -> S3/SFTP Imports. You can also find user-specific imports in the following navigation on the Dashboard: Segment -> Import users.

Amazon S3

In order to properly set up S3 Imports, you need to give MoEngage relevant permissions and ensure all your files are properly accessible to us. Learn how to set up S3 Imports.

SFTP Servers

To learn about the types of authentication methods we support and the steps to configure, see how to set up SFTP Imports.

Imports Dashboard

The S3/SFTP Imports Dashboard contains all the information you need to keep track of your imports. You can view the most important information at a glance:

You can also view the details of each import by clicking on the three-dot actions menu against it and selecting View Details.

Triggering Imports

You can trigger imports using one of the following options:

1. Manually  - Periodic imports can be triggered manually from the imports page by clicking Actions. Triggering an import manually does not change the schedule of the import.

   Note: Triggering an import within five minutes of the scheduled time may lead to an error.

2. API  - Imports can be triggered using the File Imports Trigger API. For more information, refer to File Imports Trigger API.

File Limits

File Size Limit

The maximum file size we support is 200MB per file. In case of a bigger file, the file needs to be split into 200MB file sizes each.

Other Limits

1. Rows: We allow a maximum of 1M rows in a CSV file.
2. Columns/Attributes: We would allow 100 columns (attributes) for users and 100 columns (attributes) per event 
3. File size: The preferred file size should be <200MB  (per CSV)
4. File name prefix: The maximum number of characters in the file name prefix should be 100 chars. These limits apply to S3 and SFTP Imports.
5. Import limits: Please refer to the table below.

You can refer to the Rate limits on the top right corner to check your Daily and Hourly consumed limits/default limits for User, Events, and Auxiliary data, as shown in the following image.

FAQ

1. My imports have failed. How do I check what went wrong?

   Click the ellipsis on the right and click View to look up the Import details. Hover over the Failed Status to learn the reason.

2. What happens when there is an error in fetching the files from the S3/SFTP folder?

   By default, imports are not retried when there is a failure. You can, however, configure to receive an email alert upon failure.
   

3. What if a scheduled import adds the data into a recently archived segment?

   In such cases, the new data will still be added to the archived segment. You can unarchive the segment as required.

4. How does MoEngage pick up new files in a periodic run?In a scheduled run for a given workspace, MoEngage picks up all the new files identified in the S3/ SFTP folder based on file name prefix and processes them. Data import in a given MoEngage workspace uniquely identifies these files with the combination of Folder location and File name. 
5. Will a periodic Data import pick up an earlier processed file?No. A file once processed will not be processed again if the file name remains the same and the in the same folder location. However if the same file is also placed in a different folder location, a new data import setup in MoEngage with the new folder location configured will pick up the file.
6. Can a CSV file contain both User and Event data?No. Data imports in your MoEngage workspace dashboard have to be setup separately for User data and Event data, hence the files should either contain User attribute data or Event data.