Skip to content

Import Command

The import command reads a CSV file of artists and adds them to Lidarr.

Basic Usage

Import all artists from a CSV file:

artistscraper import artists.csv

Command Options

Arguments:
  CSV_FILE              Path to CSV file containing artists (required)

Options:
  --config, -c PATH     Path to configuration file (default: config.json)
  --min-plays INTEGER   Only import artists with at least this many plays
  --verbose, -v         Enable verbose output
  --help                Show this message and exit

Examples

Import All Artists

artistscraper import artists.csv

Filter by Play Count

Import only artists with at least 10 plays:

artistscraper import artists.csv --min-plays 10

Import only artists with at least 50 plays:

artistscraper import artists.csv --min-plays 50

Verbose Output

See detailed information about each artist:

artistscraper import artists.csv --verbose

Or short form:

artistscraper import artists.csv -v

Combining Options

# Import artists with 20+ plays, verbose output
artistscraper import artists.csv --min-plays 20 --verbose

# Short form
artistscraper import artists.csv --min-plays 20 -v

Custom Config File

artistscraper import artists.csv --config /path/to/config.json

CSV File Format

The CSV file must have these columns:

  • Artist Name - The artist's name
  • MusicBrainz ID - The MusicBrainz ID (format: lidarr:ID or just ID)
  • Source (optional) - Where the artist was found
  • Play Count (optional, required for --min-plays) - Number of tracks

Example CSV:

Artist Name,MusicBrainz ID,Source,Play Count
Taylor Swift,lidarr:20244d07-534f-4eff-b4d4-930878889970,Spotify,45
The Beatles,lidarr:b10bbbfc-cf9e-42e0-be17-e2c3e1d2600d,"Spotify, YouTube Music",23
Radiohead,lidarr:a74b1b7f-71a5-4011-9441-d0b5e4122711,YouTube Music,12

How It Works

Step 1: Read CSV

  • Opens and validates the CSV file
  • Checks for required columns (Artist Name, MusicBrainz ID)
  • If --min-plays is used, checks for Play Count column

Step 2: Filter (Optional)

If --min-plays is specified:

  • Filters out artists with fewer plays than the threshold
  • Shows count of filtered artists

Step 3: Connect to Lidarr

  • Tests connection to Lidarr
  • Retrieves Lidarr configuration (root folders, profiles)

Step 4: Import Artists

For each artist:

  1. Checks if artist already exists in Lidarr
  2. If exists: Skip (counted as "already exists")
  3. If not exists:
    • Search Lidarr's database with MusicBrainz ID
    • Add artist with default settings:
      • Monitored: Yes
      • Search for missing: No
      • Root folder: Default
      • Quality profile: Default
      • Metadata profile: Default
  4. Count successes and failures

Step 5: Summary

Shows a summary table with:

  • Total artists in CSV
  • Filtered out (if --min-plays used)
  • Added to Lidarr
  • Already in Lidarr
  • Failed to add

Use Cases

Two-Stage Workflow

Separate scraping from importing:

# Stage 1: Scrape and export (no Lidarr)
artistscraper scrape

# Stage 2: Review CSV, then import
artistscraper import artists.csv

Curated Imports

  1. Scrape all artists: 

    artistscraper scrape

  2. Edit the CSV to remove unwanted artists

  3. Import the curated list: 

    artistscraper import artists.csv

Selective Imports by Play Count

Only import artists you listen to frequently:

# Get all artists
artistscraper scrape

# Import only those with 20+ plays
artistscraper import artists.csv --min-plays 20

Re-import After Lidarr Reset

If you reset your Lidarr database, re-import from CSV:

artistscraper import artists.csv

This is faster than re-scraping since MusicBrainz lookups are already done.

Performance

Import speed:

  • Connection test: <1 second
  • Per artist: 1-5 seconds
    • Check if exists: ~0.5 seconds
    • Search and add: ~2-4 seconds

For 100 artists: ~3-8 minutes

Error Handling

The import command handles errors gracefully:

  • Artist already exists: Skipped, counted separately
  • Artist not found in Lidarr: Logged, counted as failed
  • Network errors: Retried, then logged as failed
  • Invalid MusicBrainz ID: Skipped, counted as failed

Use --verbose to see detailed error messages.

From Source Installation

If installed from source with Poetry:

poetry run artistscraper import artists.csv [options]

Next Steps