# Create contacts ## Ways to add contacts to Bird


CSV import	Bulk import new contacts in a CSV file.	/pages/oAYoOmafwukTXe4teCia#bulk-import-new-contacts-from-a-csv
Install an integration	Sync your data by installing an integration.	/pages/ENJN3IdlBzu6cxzwnZZL
Manual contact creation	Create a new contact directly in Bird.	/pages/oAYoOmafwukTXe4teCia#create-an-individual-contact

## Bulk import new contacts from a CSV You can manually import a large number of contacts into Bird by uploading a CSV file. ### Access the Contacts Page 1. Go to **Marketing > Audience > Contacts** 2. You can also go to **CRM > Contacts** 3. On the Contacts page, Click on **the arrow next to Create contact > Import from CSV**

### Format your CSV file To ensure a smooth import, it's important to structure your CSV file correctly. We provide a model file in the CSV importer that you can use as a template to ensure that your file is properly formatted.

{% file src="/files/Wl9cQDM7B8tlEBmW7b9f" %} At a minimum, your CSV file must include one identifier for each contact, such as a phone number or email address. You can also include any other non-identifier attributes you want to add to your contacts. For our system to recognize identifiers, the identifier column names must be written as follows: * **phone** * **email** #### Example CSV file formatting If you format your CSV file like the one below, you will be able to successfully complete your import. Note that not all fields are completed, but each contact has data in either the **phone** or **email** columns.

firstName	lastName	country	phone	email
Jane	Smith	EN	+911234567892	jane-smith@sample.com
Daan	Bakker			daan-bakker@sample.com
Maria	Rodriguez	MX	+911234567891
				fatima-khan@sample.com

### Duplication and Merging Note that any duplicate rows will be ignored and no duplicate contacts will be created. Also, note that since both phone and email are considered as identifiers, if two rows have same email and different phone numbers, they will be merged into one contact. Same applies for two rows with same phone and different emails. ### Adding attribute columns You can also add values for any attributes in the csv upload by referencing to their name in the csv header. For example to add values for City attribute in your csv upload, add the highlighted section in the Name field (not display name) of the attribute after attribute. i.e attributes.***city*** to the csv header. You can find these names under **Contacts > Contact attributes**

| email | phone | country | city | birthday | | ----------------------- | ------------- | ------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------- | | | +911234567891 | US | New York |

2025-07-25T12:00:00Z

| The format for uploading the **date type attribute** is `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ`
## Custom identifiers When uploading custom identifiers and communication attributes, you may not need email or phone as mandatory columns but custom identifier column will be mandatory. If your custom identifier attribute name is **attributes.userId** (not display name), then the column you should use should be **identifier.userId.** For communication attributes for phone or email, you will need to use their name like any other attribute name columns. If your communication attribute is **attributes.phone\_number** and **attributes.email\_address** then the csv import will look like below

identifier.userId	phone_number	email_address	country	city
identifier.userId	phone_number	email_address	country	city
5678	+911234567891		US	New York
1234	+911234567881	a@b.com	US	New York

### Upload your csv file Drag and drop your prepared CSV file into the designated area, or click Browse to select the file from your device. 1. Scroll through the columns to verify accuracy. 2. Once satisfied, click **Continue**. After uploading, review the fields to ensure all data has been correctly mapped.

### Map Columns Under Map Columns section, you will see a mapping where you have your CSV file columns on left side mapped to Contact attributes to the right side. There are two types of columns you can map: * **Identity mapping:** Map your CSV columns to identifiers that will be used to uniquely create or update contacts in your workspace * **Attribute mapping:** Map CSV columns to contact attributes. {% hint style="warning" %} Some of the mapping will be pre-filled for you, you can update it as needed. After updating, click on Save mapping. {% endhint %}

* You can click on the gear icon next to any mapping to see advanced settings for the contact attribute such as * If you want to override the existing value or only set it if it is blank. By default, the import is set to override.

* If you want the value to be required, which means the contact row will not get imported if the value if missing for a required attribute. By default, attributes are not required.

### Provide further configuration Under the **Configuration** step, you can define additional settings such as Subscription, identifiers, lists as well as enabling automations. {% hint style="warning" %} If the CSV file you're uploading contains the [subscription statuses](broken://pages/xbxguFXStPNfvtASraUz#csv-file-formatting) of your contacts, you **do not need to take any action** during this step. Jump ahead to [add the contacts you are importing to a list](#step-three-add-the-contacts-you-are-importing-to-a-list). {% endhint %} * **Identifier mapping:** You can configure and select any identifiers you want to define and map it with the csv file column headers. You can also create new custom identifiers by typing in and selecting from the dropdown.

* **Adding to Lists:** You can select one or more existing lists to add the contacts to. You can also create a new list and add to it. * **Enable automations:** You can configure if you want the automations like journeys and flows to be triggered automatically based on your import when contacts are created or updated. By default, the automations will trigger if they are based on contact creation or updates

* **Subscription Management:** You can define for each platform how you want to set the Subscription attribute values of contacts getting imported. Please note that only Subscribed contacts will show up as estimated recipients in Campaigns.

{% hint style="warning" %} If the contacts in your CSV are **not subscribed** to receive any marketing messages, your new contacts will still be imported, but you will not be able to send them marketing campaigns. {% endhint %} ### Review and Import Review all settings and mappings. 1. Click **Continue** to Import section 2. You can click on **Run Audit** to check your data for any errors before importing 3. If everything is good, click on **Import** to start impoting your contacts

You will be redirected to the **Imports** page, where you can monitor the progress and view details of all imports.

You can also access this page from **Contacts > 3 Dots Menu > All Imports.**

## Create an individual contact Creating a contact manually is useful when you only have a few contacts to add. 1. From Main navigation menu Click **Marketing > Contacts** 2. Click **Create contact**. 3. Provide First name, Last Name, Display Name, Phone, Email or any additional attribute values to create a contact 4. Click **Create contact**.

Once the contact is created you can update it further from the Contacts page list view: **Updating Identifiers:** 1. Under **Identifiers** section, you can add new identifiers by clicking on '+' icon. Select the identifier type from the drop-down menu (either **phonenumber** or **emailaddress**.) and provide a value. Toggle on "Make it an identifier" 2. To remove an identifier, you can delete it. **Updating Attributes:** Under Attributes section, You can fill out the attribute fields inline if you have the information: * First name * Last name * Avatar URL * Country * Locales * Gender * Any Custom attributes ### Common Questions during Import **Why my list has less number of contacts than what was imported** The import view shows the number of all processed rows from your CSV file, however, if your file has duplicate identifiers such as phone or email, the total number of contacts created and added to your list will be less than expected. Note that if you have common identifiers then your contact will be created as one and other identifiers will be added to it. For example, if you have 2 contacts with different email but same phone number, you will get only one contact created with 2 emails and 1 phone number. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.bird.com/applications/audience/contacts/how-to/create-contacts.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.