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

# Import overview

> Bringing recipes into Brewgravity from other brewing software.

Brewgravity imports **BeerXML** (`.xml`) and **BeerJSON** (`.json`) — between them,
essentially every homebrewing app can hand you a file Brewgravity will read.

> **[Go to Import](https://brewgravity.com/import)**
>
> The import page lives at **/import** in the app, or press <kbd>⌘</kbd><kbd>K</kbd> and type "import".

## How to import

**1. Export from your current app**

Choose BeerXML if you are offered a choice — it is the format with the
widest support. See [Brewer's Friend](/docs/import/brewers-friend) or
[other tools](/docs/import/other-tools) for the exact menu path.

**2. Unzip, if you got a zip**

Bulk exports usually arrive as a `.zip` archive. Brewgravity reads `.xml` and
`.json` files, not archives, so unzip it first and keep the loose files.

**3. Drop the files on the import page**

Drag them onto the drop zone or use the file picker. Select as many as you
like — a whole folder of recipes imports in one go.

**4. Check the numbers**

Brewgravity lists every recipe it imported. Open a few and confirm the stats
look right — see [what to check](#what-to-check-afterwards) below.

## What comes across

> **Imported**
>
> * Recipe name, style, type (all grain / extract / partial mash)
> * Batch size, boil time, efficiency
> * Fermentables with weight, colour, and yield
> * Hops with weight, alpha acid, time, and use
> * Yeast with type, form, and attenuation
> * Other ingredients with type, use, amount, and time
> * Mash steps with temperature and duration
> * Recipe notes

> **Not imported**
>
> * **Brew history and fermentation logs.** BeerXML has no standard way to
>   carry them, so past batches do not come across. Recipes do.
> * **Water profiles and equipment profiles.** Set these per recipe in Brewgravity.
> * **Photos, tasting notes, and app-specific extras.** Anything outside the
>   BeerXML spec is dropped by definition.

> [!NOTE]
>
> A single BeerXML file can hold many recipes, and Brewgravity imports all of them.
> This is why "export all my recipes" from another app often produces one large
> file rather than fifty small ones — either works.

## What to check afterwards

Import is faithful to the file. The file is not always faithful to your
brewhouse, so three fields are worth a look on anything you plan to brew:

**Efficiency** `most common culprit`

Frequently exported as the original author's number, or as a default. If
imported recipes read consistently high or low on OG, this is why.

**Batch size**

Exports vary on whether this means pre-boil, post-boil, or into-fermenter
volume. Brewgravity treats it as the volume in the fermenter.

**Hop alpha acids**

Carried across from the file, which reflects the crop the author had. Your
packet is a different crop with a different number, and IBU follows the
number.

## Importing everything at once

There is no limit on how many files you select. Brewgravity processes them one at a
time and reports every recipe name it created, so a bulk migration is a single
drag-and-drop rather than an evening.

If you would rather script it — a few hundred recipes, or an ongoing sync — the
[API](/docs/api-reference/introduction) creates recipes and ingredients directly.

## Trouble?

See [Import troubleshooting](/docs/import/troubleshooting).


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