> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flipt.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Import/Export

> Importing and exporting data to and from Flipt

<Note>Importing is only supported for database backed Flipt instances.</Note>

Both `flipt import` and `flipt export` support the `--address` and `--token` flags to enable transferring data to and from Flipt instances via the API instead of requiring a direct database connection.

```
flipt import --address http://flipt.my.org --token static-api-token

flipt export --address grpc://flipt.my.org:9000
```

Both `HTTP` and `gRPC` are supported by the `--address` flag.

## Import

To import data into Flipt, use the `flipt import` command. You can either import from a file or from STDIN.

To import from STDIN, Flipt requires the `--stdin` flag:

```yaml theme={null}
cat flipt.yaml | flipt import --stdin
```

If not importing using `--stdin`, Flipt requires the file to be imported as an argument:

```yaml theme={null}
flipt import flipt.yaml
```

<Note>
  Namespaces are inferred from the YAML documents themselves. If a namespace
  your document refers to doesn't exist in the database, it will be created.
</Note>

This command supports the `--drop` flag that will drop all data in your Flipt database tables before importing. This is to ensure that no data collisions occur during the import.

<Warning>
  Be careful when using the `--drop` flag as it will immediately drop all data
  and there is no undo. It's recommended to first backup your database before
  running this command just to be safe.
</Warning>

See the [CLI reference](/v1/cli/commands/import) for more information on the `import` command.

## Export

To export Flipt data, use the `flipt export` command.

By default, `export` will output to STDOUT:

```yaml theme={null}
$ flipt export

flags:
- key: new-contact-page
  name: New Contact Page
  description: Show users our Beta contact page
  enabled: true
  variants:
  - key: blue
    name: Blue
  - key: green
    name: Green
```

You can also export to a file using the `-o filename` or `--output filename`
flags:

```yaml theme={null}
flipt export -o flipt.yaml
```

By default, Flipt will export from the `default` namespace. Use the flag `--namespaces` to export from a different namespace or multiple namespaces.

```yaml theme={null}
flipt export --namespaces production
```

<Tip>
  The `--all-namespaces` flag is a boolean flag that tells export to export all
  namespaces.
</Tip>

By default, Flipt exports resources in the *natural* order of the selected storage type. While the output is typically consistent within the same storage type,
import/export operations can yield varying results across different storage types. To enhance consistency during export, the `--sort-by-key` flag can be used.

```yaml theme={null}
flipt export --sort-by-key --all-namespaces
```

See the [CLI reference](/v1/cli/commands/export) for more information on the `export` command.