Importing Participants via CSV

When you already have a list of people you want to interview, importing them from a CSV file is the fastest way to get started. Upload the file with Import CSV on the Participants table of your study's Self-recruit tab, and every person in it gets their own private invite link. You can see who has started, who has finished and who still needs a nudge. CSV import is available on the Interviews and Enterprise plans.

When to Use CSV Import

CSV import is ideal when you:

• Have an existing list of customers, users, or prospects in a spreadsheet or CRM export
• Want to know exactly which people responded and which did not
• Want to skip the lead form for people you already know, so they go straight to the interview
• Are running a targeted study where you know exactly who should participate

CSV import is one of two ways to reach your own people. The other is the generic study link: one URL for everyone, and with the lead form left off, responses stay anonymous. Choose per study. Import a list, from a CSV here or over the AI-assistant (MCP) connection, when you want to see who responded and keep the columns you import (company, role, segment) next to every response, so the Export can be sliced by segment in a spreadsheet. Share the generic link when candor matters more than tracking: an exit interview, an engagement pulse, a sensitive topic. Both land in the same study, next to anyone you reach by embed or phone and anyone Koji recruits for you through Panel recruit.

How It Works

1. Prepare your file: a CSV with one person per row, or simply a list of email addresses.
2. Import it with Import CSV on the Participants table of the study's Self-recruit tab.
3. Koji creates a respondent for each person, each with a private invite link.
4. Send the links by email, Slack, your CRM, or any other channel.
5. Track responses: people who have not opened their link show as Not started until they do.

When someone opens their invite link, they see your normal landing page, including the choice between a text and a voice interview. The only difference is that their interview is attached to their record, so you know who responded without asking them to fill in their details again.

Preparing Your File

Columns Koji Recognizes

There are no strictly required columns. Koji keeps whatever you provide and recognizes common spellings of the usual ones:

Every other column (such as company, role, segment, or custom attributes) is kept with the person and comes back out unchanged in your downloads.

Format Requirements

• Separators: comma, semicolon and tab-separated files all work. Koji picks the separator from the first line, so a file saved from a European-locale spreadsheet imports as is.
• Header row: recommended. A plain list of email addresses also works, with or without an email header.
• Encoding: UTF-8 is recommended so names in any language come through intact.
• Limits per upload: up to 500 rows, 50 columns, and 1,000 characters in any single cell.
• Duplicates: if the same person (same ID, or same email when there is no ID) appears twice in one file, the repeated row shares the first row's link.

Here is an example file, matching the template you can download from the import dialog:

email,name,external_id,company
[email protected],Jane Smith,user-001,Acme Corp
[email protected],Bob Johnson,user-002,Widgets Inc
[email protected],Li Wei,user-003,StartupCo

Importing Your File

1. Open your study and go to its Interviews page.
2. Stay on the Self-recruit tab and find the Participants table.
3. Click Import CSV.
4. Drop your file into the dialog, or click Select File. Need a starting point? Click Download next to "Need a template?".
5. Koji checks the file and creates the links. If something is wrong (too many rows, an over-long cell), the dialog tells you which row and column to fix.

When the import finishes, the dialog shows how many personal interview links were created, plus how many people were already invited (they keep their existing link) and how many repeated rows share a link. If the study is still a draft, you will see a note that the links open once you publish it.

Personal Invite Links

Each imported person gets a link that looks like this:

https://www.koji.so/i/your-study?invite=8f14e45f-ceea-467a-9575-2c5b0e2d1a3c

The invite value is random, so nobody can guess another person's link from their own. When the person opens it:

• They see the same landing page as everyone else, with the choice of text or voice
• They skip the lead form, because you already know who they are
• The Anonymous badge is not shown, since their answers are tied to their name
• Their interview is attached to their respondent record in your results

Re-uploading is safe. If you upload the same people again (for example, an updated list with a few new rows), people who were already invited keep their existing link and only the new rows get new ones.

Links from older imports keep working. People imported before personal invite links were introduced still have their original links, so any you have already sent are unaffected.

Pre-Filled Details and the Lead Form

If your study has a lead form, invited people skip it entirely: the name, email and other columns you imported are already on their record. Everyone else who arrives through the generic link still sees the lead form as normal.

Getting the Links Out

You have three ways to collect the links:

• Download CSV in the import dialog returns the file you uploaded, every row in its original order, with an Interview link column added at the end. Paste it into your email tool or CRM for a mail merge.
• Copy All URLs in the import dialog copies every person's name (or email) and link to your clipboard.
• Invite links on the Participants table downloads everyone you have ever imported into the study, in the columns you uploaded, with their link, response status, and start and completion times (UTC). Use it any time, not just straight after an upload.

From each person's row menu you can also Copy invite link, and for someone who has not started, Remove invite to withdraw it.

Monitoring Progress

The Participants table updates as people respond:

• Not started: imported people who have not opened their link yet. They have their own filter, so you can export or chase exactly the people who still need a reminder.
• In progress, Partial, Completed: the interview's state once they begin.
• Quality score: the score each completed interview receives. See Understanding Quality Scores.
• Conversation details: click any row to read the transcript and analysis.

People who have not started do not count as responses in your study totals.

Structured Questions and CSV Imports

If your study includes structured questions (scales, multiple choice, ranking, yes/no and more), invited people see the same interactive question widgets as anyone else. Their answers are linked to their respondent record, and the Participants table's Export includes the columns you imported, so you can break results down by segment in a spreadsheet.

Plan Availability

CSV import is available on the Interviews and Enterprise plans. If you are on Free or Insights, you can still share your study's generic link, or upgrade on the pricing page to import your own lists.

Tips for a Smooth Import

1. Clean your data first. Fix obvious typos in email addresses before uploading.
2. Use clear headers. "Email", "Name" and "ID" are recognized in most spellings, but clear headers save surprises.
3. Stay within the limits. Up to 500 rows per upload; split larger lists into several files. Re-uploading never duplicates people.
4. Test with a small batch. Import five to ten rows first and open one link yourself before importing the full list.
5. Publish before you send. Links only open once the study is live.
6. Use the Not started filter for reminders. Download that group with Invite links and send a single follow-up a few days later.

Related Resources

• Personalized Interview Links — how personal links work and when to use them
• Managing Research Participants — track everyone across your studies
• Sharing Your Interview Link — other ways to distribute your interview
• Structured Questions Guide — add interactive question types to your study
• Panel Recruitment — let Koji find participants for you

Further reading on the blog

• How to Recruit User Research Participants: The Complete Guide (2026) — Recruiting the wrong participants is more expensive than recruiting none at all. Here's the complete playbook: screeners, channels, incentiv

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