---
title: "Importing CI Relations"
slug: "import-ci-relations"
description: "This page allows you to easily map CI Relations by importing a CSV list of commands to be applied to your CMDB.To import a list of CIs create a."
tags: ["SysAid Spaces"]
updated: 2026-09-09T11:07:43Z
published: 2026-09-09T11:07:43Z
canonical: "documentation.sysaid.com/import-ci-relations"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.sysaid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Importing CI Relations

CI relations record how the configuration items in your CMDB depend on each other, such as which server hosts which application. Import a CSV to create or remove these relations in bulk, for CIs that already exist in the CMDB.

To learn more about the CMDB, see [Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/configuration-management-database-cmdb-guide).

> [!NOTE]
> Available for:
> 
> Customers using SysAid Spaces. If you're using SysAid Classic, see [Importing CI Relations](https://documentation.sysaid.com/classic/docs/import-ci-relations).

## Before you start

The CIs in your Source and Destination columns must already exist in the CMDB, via [Importing System Items](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/import-system-items) or [Importing CIs from a Delimited File](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/import-cls-from-a-delimited-file), before you import relations between them. If you're using a custom relationship type, it must exist under CI Relation Types first.

**To import a list of CIs:**

1. Go to **Settings** > **Setup & Monitoring** > **CMDB** > **Import CI Relations**.
2. Create a CSV file that details the relations you want to apply to the CIs in your system. Alternatively, you can also export the current CI relations by clicking **Export CI relations** to download the CSV file.
3. If you are creating the file from scratch, create a sheet with four columns: Source, Relationship type, Destination, and Action.
4. In the **Source** column, enter the CI ID of the first CI whose relationship you want to create.
5. In the Relationship type column, enter the ID of the relationship type you want:

| ID | Relationship name | Corresponding relationship |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Consists | Part of |
| 2 | Installed on | Contains SW |
| 6 | Hosts | Hosted on |

Relationship type IDs are specific to your account. To see the relationship types available to you and the ID of each one, go to **Settings** > **Setup & Monitoring** > **CMDB** > **CI Relation Types**.
6. In the Destination column, enter the CI ID you are connecting the source CI to.
7. In the **Action** column, enter the action you want (1= add, 0 = remove, and blank = do not change). See the image below for an example. A CSV file ready for import into SysAid ![ImportCIRelationsfilesCIRelationshipImport.png](https://cdn.document360.io/52d3cb6c-cc81-43c2-b6f7-cbabcb449271/Images/Documentation/ImportCIRelationsfilesCIRelationshipImport.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-12T04%3A00%3A55Z&se=2026-11-12T05%3A00%3A55Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kPlh1rMZtvPyfIzxvY%2F2JoTm070tepaNC2ZegNweTis%3D)
8. Select the CSV you've created by clicking **Choose File**.
9. If your CSV has column headers (like in the picture above) select the **Do not import the head line** check box.
10. Select the field delimiter. If you create the CSV in Excel, this is a comma (,) by default.
11. Click **Submit** to import your CI relations.

You can verify that your CI relations were correctly imported and/or updated by checking CIs in **Asset Manager** > **CI List**.

## Automatically sync SysAid with a CSV file

You can set SysAid to automatically sync its CI information with a CSV file. This means that at the intervals you define, SysAid checks the CSV file for changes. If any changes have been made, SysAid imports the file and overrides the existing CI information with the updated information in the CSV file.

Set up the sync by connecting to the CSV file via the [RDS](/v1/docs/rds). The RDS scans the folder and uploads a copy of the CSV file to the server every 10 minutes. The server processes the updated information based on the selected schedule time.

**To automatically sync your CIs with a CSV file via the RDS**

1. Check the **Schedule** box.
2. In the Start Time field, select a date and time to begin syncing with the file.
3. From the **Rerun Every** drop-down list, select whether the sync should occur every hour, day, or week.
4. Select the **File path** option button.
5. Click **Set scheduled import**.
6. On your system, add a copy of the CSV file to the RDS folder under `WEB-INF/csvCiFiles`.

**Important:**

Do not attempt to permanently store the original CSV file in this location, as the RDS uploads it to the server and removes it from this location.
7. Access the RDS and open the DiscoveryService.properties file.
8. Find the "csv.ci.import" parameter and set its value to "true". If the parameter does not exist in the file, add it manually.
9. Save the file.
10. Restart the RDS service.

![ImportSysAidUsersfilesScheduleSync2.jpg](https://cdn.document360.io/52d3cb6c-cc81-43c2-b6f7-cbabcb449271/Images/Documentation/ImportSysAidUsersfilesScheduleSync.jpg?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-12T04%3A00%3A55Z&se=2026-11-12T05%3A00%3A55Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=kPlh1rMZtvPyfIzxvY%2F2JoTm070tepaNC2ZegNweTis%3D)

## Next steps

- Open the CIs you just related and check the connections you created, in [Managing Configuration Items](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/configuration-items-list).