Trello spreadsheet imports: separate card titles from a full migration

SOURCE-BASED ANALYSIS · NO HANDS-ON RATING

Choose the import scope first

Trello's current import guide says there is no generic import tool. It documents pasting newline-separated titles, using the API, or considering third-party import Power-Ups. Copying a spreadsheet column creates cards from titles; it is not a documented mapping of every spreadsheet column into card fields.

Choose title-only capture when the source is a simple backlog. Choose a deliberately designed migration process when owners, deadlines, attachments or relationships must survive. Our recommendation is to write the required destination outcome before selecting the mechanism.

A fictional twelve-row backlog

Assume a small agency has twelve source rows, each with a request ID, title, owner and deadline. Three titles are identical because the same service is requested by different clients. Pasting titles alone would make reconciliation ambiguous. For a controlled pilot, include the source ID in each temporary title and use synthetic client names.

This example does not import real records. Twelve is an illustrative row count, not a supported product limit or measured throughput.

Write a migration worksheet

• Source ID: stable reference used to match a row to a resulting card.
• Title: intended visible card name after reconciliation.
• Owner and deadline: fields requiring a separate supported mapping or manual step.
• Destination list: explicit location rather than an assumed default.
• Outcome: created, intentionally skipped or rejected with a reason.

Run a narrow rehearsal

1. Keep an unchanged copy of the source worksheet.
2. Select a controlled destination board with the intended audience.
3. Prepare three synthetic rows, including two similar titles and one missing owner.
4. Paste only the title values using the documented creation flow.
5. Compare the resulting card count and source identifiers against the worksheet.
6. Populate and inspect the remaining required information using a supported process.
7. Record the card references before considering another batch.

Avoid a second accidental batch

Our migration advice is to treat a repeated paste as a new creation attempt unless you have explicitly built and validated an update mechanism. Do not infer duplicate detection from matching display titles. Track completed source IDs outside the paste operation so an interrupted session can resume from known remaining rows.

If richer migration requires an API client or Power-Up, assess its field coverage, authorization and error reporting independently. The existence of an import option does not establish that it handles your particular spreadsheet schema.

Acceptance criteria

Approve the migration only when every in-scope row has a matched card or a documented exception, required owners and dates are checked, and repeated execution has an explicit policy. Stop if a sample cannot be reconciled. Keep the source available until the destination has been reviewed by the person responsible for the backlog. This is a source-based migration procedure, not a completed importer test or a recommendation to purchase an add-on.