Import contacts

Use contact import to create new contacts and update existing contacts in one reviewed operation. Gomobile uses the primary phone number to match rows to contacts.

Before you begin

Put one contact on each row.
A header row with clear column names helps mapping, but is optional. Indicate whether your file has one.
Include a phone-number column. It must be mapped to Phone number.
Create any custom attributes you intend to map before starting the import.
If you want to add the imported contacts to an audience, create a static audience first. Live audience membership is controlled by rules.

A row with the same primary phone number as an existing contact updates that contact. Review rows marked as updates before you import.

This import workflow validates Moroccan phone numbers. For a first test, prepare a CSV with the columns below and replace the synthetic phone with a Moroccan test number you control:

firstName,lastName,primaryPhone
Sara,Test,+212600000000

Import the file

Open the import wizard

In Contacts, choose the import action to open the contact-import wizard.

Choose an optional audience

To add successfully imported contacts to a static audience, select it before uploading the file. Leave this empty when you do not want to change audience membership.

Upload your customer list

Drop a .csv, .xlsx, or .xls file into the upload area, or browse for it. Indicate whether the first row contains column names when the wizard asks.

Map columns

Match each source column to a standard contact field or custom attribute. Choose Ignore this column for data that should not enter Gomobile. Map exactly one source column to Phone number.

Review the preview

Use the filters to review new, existing, and invalid rows. Return to the mapping step if a column was matched incorrectly.

Import valid rows

Start the import. Gomobile creates valid new contacts, updates valid matches, and skips invalid rows.

Review the result

Check the created, updated, and failed counts. If rows failed, download the failed-row file, correct the data, and import those rows again.

Expected result

Valid rows appear in Contacts. Existing contacts matched by primary phone contain the imported updates. After import, review the contact results and separately check membership in the selected static audience. Contacts can import successfully even if audience linking fails.

Common validation problems

Problem	Resolution
Primary phone is missing	Supply a phone number and ensure its column maps to Phone number
Phone number is invalid	Use an accepted Moroccan `+212` or local format and remove unintended text; confirm support before importing international numbers
Duplicate phone appears in the same file	Keep one intended row for that number; duplicates within one upload are validation errors
Email is invalid	Correct or remove the email value
Date is invalid	Use `DD/MM/YYYY` or `YYYY-MM-DD`, such as `15/01/2026`
Boolean is invalid	Use `true`/`false`, `yes`/`no`, or `1`/`0`
Enum value is not allowed	Use one of the values configured on the custom attribute
Session expired	Upload the file again and repeat validation; sessions expire after 30 minutes of inactivity

The upload control accepts CSV, XLSX, and XLS files up to 50 MiB, containing at most 100,000 rows (including a header row if present). Some interface text may still refer only to CSV.

Build your first flow

Create the automation that will run for contacts in your audience.

Quickstarts

Guides

Before you begin

Import the file

Expected result

Common validation problems

Build your first flow

​Before you begin

​Import the file

​Expected result

​Common validation problems

Build your first flow

Before you begin

Import the file

Expected result

Common validation problems