Import a JSONL file

Load a JSONL graph file into TuringDB using the LOAD JSONL command

TuringDB natively imports JSONL files through the LOAD JSONL command. The expected format is compatible with Neo4j APOC’s JSON export (produced by apoc.export.json.all with useTypes:true).

If you are migrating from Neo4j, you do not need to write this file by hand — see the Neo4j import guide.

Expected file format

Each line is a self-contained JSON object representing either a node or a relationship:

{"type":"node","id":"0","labels":["Person"],"properties":{"name":"Alice","age":30}}
{"type":"node","id":"1","labels":["Person"],"properties":{"name":"Bob","age":25}}
{"type":"node","id":"2","labels":["Company"],"properties":{"name":"Acme Corp"}}
{"type":"relationship","id":"0","label":"KNOWS","start":{"id":"0"},"end":{"id":"1"},"properties":{"since":2021}}
{"type":"relationship","id":"1","label":"WORKS_AT","start":{"id":"0"},"end":{"id":"2"}}

Nodes ("type": "node"):

Field	Requirement
type	Must be the string "node"
id	Required. Integer or string parseable as integer. Must start at 0 and increment by 1 with no gaps.
labels	Required. Array with at least one label.
properties	Optional. Dictionary with property keys and values.

Relationships ("type": "relationship"):

Field	Requirement
type	Must be the string "relationship"
id	Required. Integer or string parseable as integer. Must start at 0 and increment by 1 with no gaps.
label	Required. Exactly one label.
start / end	Required. Either: - a bare integer (or string parseable as integer) referencing a node id - a dictionary with an id key holding an integer (or string parseable as integer) referencing a node id.
properties	Optional. Dictionary with property keys and values.

Import steps

1. Place your file in the TuringDB data directory

   TuringDB only reads external files from the data subdirectory of its working directory (set by --turing-dir, default $HOME/.turing).

   cp mydata.jsonl ~/.turing/data/
   
2. Load the file into a new graph

   Cypher

   LOAD JSONL 'mydata.jsonl' AS mygraph
   

   Python SDK

   from turingdb import TuringDB
   
   client = TuringDB(host="http://localhost:6666")
   client.query("LOAD JSONL 'mydata.jsonl' AS mygraph")
   

   TuringDB creates a new graph named mygraph and populates it with all nodes and relationships from the file.

3. Set the graph as active and query it

   Cypher

   cd mygraph
   
   MATCH (n) RETURN n
   

   Python SDK

   client.set_graph("mygraph")
   
   df = client.query("MATCH (n) RETURN n")
   print(df)
   

Your JSONL data is now loaded and queryable as a TuringDB graph.

Verify the import

Use procedures to inspect what was imported:

Cypher

CALL db.labels()
CALL db.edgeTypes()
CALL db.propertyTypes()

Python SDK

print(client.query("CALL db.labels()"))
print(client.query("CALL db.edgeTypes()"))
print(client.query("CALL db.propertyTypes()"))