DataStar Quick Start: Importing a CSV File
In this quick start guide we will walk-through importing a CSV file into the Project Sandbox of a DataStar project. The steps involved are:
- Creating a CSV Data Connection
- Adding an Import Task that takes the data from the CSV file and imports it into the Project Sandbox through a Macro
Our example CSV file is one that contains historical shipments from May 2024 through August 2025. There are 42,656 records in this Shipments.csv file, and if you want to follow along with the steps below you can download a zip-file containing it here.
Please note that DataStar is currently in the Early Adopter phase, where only users who participate in the Early Adopter program have access to it. DataStar is rapidly evolving while we work towards the General Availability release later this year. For any questions about DataStar or the Early Adopter program, please feel free to reach out to Optilogic’s support team on support@optilogic.com.
Creating a CSV Data Connection
Open the DataStar application on the Optilogic platform and click on the Create Data Connection button in the toolbar at the top:
In the Create Data Connection form that comes up, enter the name for the data connection, optionally add a description, and select CSV Files from the Connection Type drop-down list:
If your CSV file is not yet on the Optilogic platform, you can drag and drop it onto the “Drag and drop” area of the form to upload it to the /My Files/DataStar folder. If it is already on the Optilogic platform or after uploading it through the drag and drop option, you can select it in the list of CSV files. Note that you can filter this list by typing in the Search box to quickly find the desired file. Once the file is selected, clicking on the Add Connection button will create the CSV connection:
After creating the connection, the Data Connections tab on the DataStar start page will be active, and it shows the newly added CSV connection at the top of the list (note the connections list is shown in list view here; the other option is card view):
Importing a CSV File into the Project Sandbox
You can either go into an existing DataStar project or create a new one to set up a Macro that will import the data from the Historical Shipments CSV connection we just set up. For this example, we create a new project by clicking on the Create Project button in the toolbar at the top when on the start page of DataStar. Enter the name for the project, optionally add a description, change the appearance of the project if desired by clicking on the Edit button, and then click on the Add Project button:
After the project is created, the Projects tab will be shown on the DataStar start page. Click on the newly created project to open it in DataStar. Inside DataStar, you can either click on the Create Macro button in the toolbar at the top or the Create a Macro button in the center part of the application (the Macro Canvas) to create a new macro which will then be listed in the Macros tab in the left-hand side panel. Type the name for the macro into the textbox:
When a macro is created, it automatically gets a Start task added to it. Next, we open the Tasks tab by clicking on the left-most of the three tabs in the panel on the right-hand side of the macro canvas. Click on Import and drag it onto the macro canvas:
The Import task will then be placed on the macro canvas, and automatically the Configuration tab in the right-hand side panel will be opened. Here user can enter the name for the task, select the data connection that is the source for the import (the Historical Shipments CSV connection), and the data connection that is the destination of the import (a new table named “rawshipments” in the Project Sandbox):
Connect the Import Raw Shipments task to the Start task by clicking on the connection point in the middle of the right edge of the Start task, holding the mouse down and dragging the connection line to the connection point in the middle of the left edge of the Import Raw Shipments task. Next, we can test the macro that has been set up so far by running it: either click on the Run button all the way to the right in the toolbar at the top of DataStar or click on the Run button in the Logs tab at the bottom of the macro canvas.
Soon, the Data Connections tab in the left-hand side panel will be available to view Data Connections and their contents. For the moment, we can check the results of the macro by looking at the Project Sandbox connection’s Postgres database in the SQL Editor application on the Optilogic platform. It is named Import Historical Shipments (same as the project name), and the imported data sits under the starburst schema:
Helpful Resources
- The DataStar Early Access Community on the Frogger Pond Community portal; accessible for those who participate in the Early Adopter program
- Getting Started with DataStar help center article
- SQL Editor Overview help center article