Importing Data into I Love Cards

I Love Cards offers two ways to import your existing content: Spreadsheet Paste for quick imports and JSON Upload for content-heavy cards. Both methods use AI-powered field detection to map your data automatically.

When to Use Each Method

Spreadsheet Import (Copy & Paste)

The fastest way to import simple card content:

1. Copy your data from Excel or Google Sheets (Ctrl+C / Cmd+C)
2. Click Import in the deck builder toolbar
3. Paste into the text area
4. Click Next — AI analyzes your columns and suggests field mappings
5. Review the preview, adjust mappings if needed
6. Click Import

Tips for Spreadsheet Import

• Include a header row with column names (Title, Description, Category, etc.)
• The AI detects your language and column types automatically
• You can import into a new deck or add to an existing one

JSON Import (File Upload)

Better for cards with rich, structured content like markdown formatting:

1. Click Import in the deck builder toolbar
2. Click Upload JSON tab
3. Drag & drop your .json file or click to browse
4. The data preview shows your imported rows
5. Click Next — AI maps fields just like spreadsheet import
6. Review and import

JSON Format

Your JSON should be a flat array of card objects:

[
  {
    "title": "Card Title",
    "type": "intro",
    "one_liner": "A short tagline",
    "description": "Detailed content with **markdown** support"
  },
  {
    "title": "Another Card",
    "type": "concept",
    "description": "- Bullet point 1\n- Bullet point 2"
  }
]

Or wrapped with metadata:

{
  "deck_name": "My Deck",
  "cards": [
    { "title": "Card 1", ... },
    { "title": "Card 2", ... }
  ]
}

Why JSON for Content-Heavy Cards?

When your cards contain:

• Markdown formatting (headers, bold, lists)
• Multi-line descriptions with paragraphs
• Bullet points or numbered lists
• Special characters that break in spreadsheets

JSON preserves all of this perfectly. Spreadsheet copy/paste often breaks newlines and special characters. Also, AI is really good at generating this JSON format from a text description, so you can use ChatGPT to generate the JSON for you.

Requirements

• Flat objects only — no nested objects or arrays within cards
• At least one field per card object
• Field names can be anything — AI will map them to card fields

Field Mapping

Both import methods use the same AI-powered mapping:

The AI detects these automatically, but you can always override the suggested mappings before importing.

Importing into Existing Decks

When you import from within a deck you're already editing:

• New cards are added to your existing deck
• Categories with matching names are merged (fuzzy matching handles minor spelling differences)
• You can choose whether to create new categories or add to existing ones

Next Steps

After importing:

1. Review your cards in the deck builder
2. Assign templates to your cards
3. Set up your color palette
4. Generate AI illustrations if needed