---
title: LOAD CSV
url: https://nexyron.tech/docs/cypher/clauses/procedural/load-csv
description: Load rows from a local CSV file into a Cypher pipeline.
---

# LOAD CSV

## Generic Description

Load rows from a local CSV file into a Cypher pipeline.

Simple example:

```cypher
LOAD CSV WITH HEADERS FROM 'people.csv' AS row CREATE (:Person {name: row.name})
```

## Consumer-Level Explanation

Use `LOAD CSV` when the query must load rows from a local CSV file into a Cypher pipeline and the planner needs to see that operation as part of the Cypher row pipeline. Keep the clause explicit because it controls row grain, variable scope, and what later clauses are allowed to reference.

## More Detailed Explanation

LOAD CSV is Nexyron's lightweight file-ingestion clause. It is not a full ingestion platform; it is a pragmatic path for controlled CSV imports where the query itself shapes how the rows become graph data.

What this clause is really for:

-   it defines one concrete stage in the Cypher row pipeline, so variables available before and after `LOAD CSV` must be clear
-   it should make graph structure, temporal filters, document payload shaping, or procedure output explicit instead of relying on client-side interpretation
-   planner tooling depends on this clause boundary to know row grain, variable scope, and whether later expressions are reads, writes, schema operations, or projections

## Advanced Example

This example keeps `LOAD CSV` inside a complete query pipeline so the clause boundary, visible variables, and returned row shape are clear to planner tooling.

```cypher
CALL nexyron.pagerank() YIELD node_id, score
RETURN node_id, score
ORDER BY score DESC
LIMIT 10
```

## Real Use Cases

-   one-off dataset loading
-   repeatable local import jobs
-   feeding graph entities from tabular exports

## Real Limitations And Tradeoffs

-   local-file oriented and operationally controlled
-   not a replacement for a full ETL orchestration system
-   row-shaping logic can become messy without careful WITH staging