Importing a CSV File

If your old password manager is not one mSecure imports directly, export it to a CSV file and reformat it to match mSecure's layout. This guide covers that layout. 

For the list of apps mSecure imports without any reformatting, see Import Data into mSecure. 

The first line of the file

Your CSV must begin with this exact line, on its own:

mSecure6 CSV export file

Without it, mSecure will not read the file and nothing will import. This applies to the current version of mSecure – the "6" in the line is part of the format name, not a version requirement. 

How each row is laid out

Every row after the first line is one record, in this order:

Title, Template, Tags, Note, then one entry per field. 

Each field entry has three parts separated by pipe characters: the field label, the field type, and the data. 

Label|type|data

A row for a login record looks like this:

Netflix,Login,"entertainment,family",Signed up last year,Website|2|https://www.netflix.com,Username|7|name@example.com,Password|8|examplepassword

Which mSecure reads as: 

Title: Netflix

Template: Login

Tags: entertainment, family

Note: Signed up last year

Website: https://www.netflix.com

Username: name@example.com

Password: examplepassword 

Things to get right

Tags

Multiple tags go inside one set of quotation marks, separated by commas. 

Field types

The number in the middle of each field entry tells mSecure what kind of field it is. The common ones are 2 for a URL, 7 for a username, 8 for a password, and 0 for plain text. 

Templates and tags must already exist

Create any record type or tag you need in mSecure before importing. Rows referring to one that does not exist will fail. 

Leave the record ID out

A file exported from mSecure has an ID after the title, like Netflix|471579544. That ID exists to prevent duplicates when re-importing your own data. When you are importing new records from another app, include only the title. 

Importing the file

iPhone and iPad

1. Open and unlock mSecure.
2. Tap the menu icon in the top left.
3. Tap Settings at the bottom of the menu. 
4. Tap Import under Sync & Backup.
5. Tap CSV and select your file. 

Mac

1. Open and unlock mSecure. 
2. Click File in the menu bar. 
3. Hover over Import.
4. Click CSV and select your file. 

Work in batches

Import your logins first, on their own, and confirm they came across correctly before importing cards, notes and identities. A hundred rows that fail are far easier to diagnose than a thousand. 

After importing

Check the record count against your old app, then open a few records and confirm each field holds what it should. A shifted column will put a password in the website field, and that is not obvious until you look. 

Your CSV holds your passwords in plain text. Delete it once the import is confirmed, and empty your Trash. 

Click here to download a CSV file that has one field of every type, so you can see the formatting you would use for each of them. For example, the URL field type ID is 2, Username type is 7, Password type is 8, and so on.

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