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renetapopova merged 5 commits into from
Jun 3, 2026
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Add reference to ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE support in importer #3049

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Add reference to ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE support in importer
mnssn May 7, 2026
7b35a0b
cypher syntax fix
mnssn May 29, 2026
97e82f1
editorial review
renetapopova Jun 1, 2026
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renetapopova Jun 3, 2026
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renetapopova Jun 3, 2026
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137 changes: 119 additions & 18 deletions modules/ROOT/pages/import.adoc
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Expand Up @@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Indexes and constraints are not created during the import.
Instead, you have to add these afterward (see link:{neo4j-docs-base-uri}/cypher-manual/current/indexes/semantic-indexes/full-text-indexes/[Cypher Manual -> Indexes]).

You can use the `--schema` option to create and populate indexes and constraints during the import process.
The option is available in the Enterprise Edition and works only for the `block` format.
The option is available in the Enterprise Edition and works only with `block` format.
See <<indexes-constraints-import, Provide indexes and constraints during import>> for more information.

Vector indexes can take advantage of the incubated Java Vector API for noticeable speed improvements.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2208,57 +2208,128 @@ actors-header.csv actors.csv.zip movies-header.csv movies.csv.gz roles-heade

[source, sh]
----
bin/neo4j-admin database import --nodes import/movies-header.csv,import/movies.csv.gz --nodes import/actors-header.csv,import/actors.csv.zip --relationships import/roles-header.csv,import/roles.csv.gz
bin/neo4j-admin database import full --nodes import/movies-header.csv,import/movies.csv.gz --nodes import/actors-header.csv,import/actors.csv.zip --relationships import/roles-header.csv,import/roles.csv.gz
----
====

[role=label--enterprise-edition]
[[indexes-constraints-import]]
== Create/Drop indexes and constraints during import

You can use the `--schema` option to create and populate indexes/constraints during full and incremental import by providing a Cypher script containing `CREATE INDEX|CONSTRAINT` commands.
During an incremental import, you can also use the same option to drop indexes/constraints, provided that the Cypher script contains `DROP INDEX|CONSTRAINT` commands.
[NOTE]
====
Creating and dropping indexes and constraints during the import process is supported only by `block` format.
====

You can use the `--schema` option to create, populate, drop, or change the graph type during import by providing a Cypher script containing the respective Cypher commands, which will be parsed and executed during the import process.
You can specify individual constraint statements, or starting with 2026.05, you can specify a graph type using an `ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE` statement.
For more information on graph types, see link:{neo4j-docs-base-uri}/cypher-manual/current/schema/graph-types/[CypherManual -> `Graph types (Preview)`].

The following table summarizes the supported commands and their availability per import type and version:

The `--schema` option works only for `block` store format.
For incremental import, creating and dropping indexes and constraints are available from 2025.02.
.Supported schema operations per import type and Neo4j and Cypher version
[options="header", width="100%", cols="1,3,2,2"]
|===
| Import type
| Supported commands
| Neo4j version
| Cypher version
.2+| Full import
| `CREATE INDEX\|CONSTRAINT` | 5.24 and later | Cypher 5 & Cypher 25
| `ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE` (only `SET`) | 2026.05 and later | Cypher 25
.3+| Incremental import
| `CREATE INDEX\|CONSTRAINT` | 2025.02 and later | Cypher 5 & Cypher 25
| `DROP INDEX\|CONSTRAINT` | 2025.02 and later | Cypher 5 & Cypher 25
// | `ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE` (`SET`, `ADD`, `DROP`, `ALTER`) | 2026.06 and later | Cypher 25
|===

// TODO: As of 2026.06: For incremental import the option becomes available as of 2026.06, limited to operations ADD, DROP, ALTER. Here you are allowed multiples of these operations.
=== Supported index and constraint types

The import tool supports the following indexes and constraints:
The import tool supports the following index and constraint types:

Supported index types::
* RANGE
* LOOKUP
* POINT
* TEXT
* FULL-TEXT
* VECTOR
+
For more information on these index types, see link:{neo4j-docs-base-uri}/current/indexes/[Cypher Manual -> Indexes].
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Supported constraint types::
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* *Property uniqueness constraints*: ensure that the combined property values are unique for all nodes with a specific label or all relationships with a specific type.
* *Property existence constraints*: ensure that a property exists either for all nodes with a specific label or for all relationships with a specific type.
* *Property type constraints*: ensure that a property has the required property type for all nodes with a specific label or for all relationships with a specific type.
* *Key constraints*: ensure that all properties exist and that the combined property values are unique for all nodes with a specific label or all relationships with a specific type.

Supported constraint types via graph types::
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* *Node label existence*: ensure that a particular label exists on a node.
* *Relationship source and target label constraints*: ensure that specific relationship types have target and source nodes with specific labels.

For more information on the constraint types, see link:{neo4j-docs-base-uri}/cypher-manual/current/schema/graph-types/set-graph-types/#constraint-types-explained[Cypher Manual -> Constraint types explained].


[[create-drop-indexes-constraints-full]]
=== Create indexes and constraints during full import

You can use the `--schema` option to create and populate indexes/constraints during full import by providing a Cypher script containing `CREATE INDEX|CONSTRAINT` commands to be parsed and executed.

Starting with 2026.05, you can also specify a graph type using an `ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE` statement.
For more information on graph types, see link:{neo4j-docs-base-uri}/cypher-manual/current/schema/graph-types/[CypherManual -> `Graph types (Preview)`].

[NOTE]
====
Full import does not support dropping indexes and constraints.
For graph type it supports only `SET` operations.
====

For example:

[.tabbed-example]
=====
[role=include-with-constraint-statements]
======

._schema.cypher_ script
[source, cypher, role=nocopy]
----
CREATE INDEX PersonNameIndex IF NOT EXISTS FOR (p:Person) ON (p.name);
CREATE CONSTRAINT PersonAgeConstraint IF NOT EXISTS FOR (c:Person) REQUIRE c.age IS :: INTEGER;
CREATE CONSTRAINT PersonAgeRequiredConstraint IF NOT EXISTS FOR (c:Person) REQUIRE c.age IS NOT NULL;
----
This file uses `;` as a separator.
======
[role=include-with-graph-type-statement]
======
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label:new[Introduced in 2026.05] label:cypher[Cypher 25]

._schema.cypher_ script
[source, cypher, role=nocopy]
----
CYPHER 25
CREATE INDEX PersonNameIndex IF NOT EXISTS FOR (p:Person) ON (p.name);
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ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE SET {
(p: person => { age :: INTEGER NOT NULL })
};
----

This file uses ';' as a separator.
This file uses `;` as a separator.
Only `SET` is supported by the full importer.

Then use the following example commands to run the import:
======
=====

Then, use the following example commands to run the import:

[source, shell, role=noplay]
----
bin/neo4j-admin database import full neo4j --nodes=import/movies.csv --nodes=import/actors.csv --relationships=import/roles.csv --schema=import/schema.cypher
----

[role=label--new-2025.02]
[role=label--new-2026.02]
[[create-drop-indexes-constraints-incremental]]
=== Create and drop indexes and constraints during incremental import

You can use the `--schema` option to create and populate, and drop indexes/constraints during an incremental import by providing a Cypher script containing `CREATE INDEX|CONSTRAINT` and `DROP INDEX|CONSTRAINT` commands to be parsed and executed.
Expand All @@ -2272,6 +2343,7 @@ If you cannot afford a full downtime of your database, split the operation into
See <<incremental-import-stages>> for details.
====


For example:

._schema.cypher_ script
Expand All @@ -2282,10 +2354,44 @@ CREATE CONSTRAINT person_name IF NOT EXISTS FOR (p:Person) REQUIRE p.name IS UNI
DROP CONSTRAINT PersonAgeConstraint IF EXISTS;
CREATE CONSTRAINT movie_title IF NOT EXISTS FOR (m:Movie) REQUIRE m.title IS UNIQUE;
----

This file uses ';' as a separator.

Then use the following example commands to run the import:
// TODO: As of 2026.06:
// [.tabbed-example]
// =====
// [role=include-with-constraint-statements]
// ======
//
// ._schema.cypher_ script
// [source, cypher, role=nocopy]
// ----
// DROP INDEX PersonNameIndex IF EXISTS;
// CREATE CONSTRAINT person_name IF NOT EXISTS FOR (p:Person) REQUIRE p.name IS UNIQUE;
// DROP CONSTRAINT PersonAgeConstraint IF EXISTS;
// CREATE CONSTRAINT movie_title IF NOT EXISTS FOR (m:Movie) REQUIRE m.title IS UNIQUE;
// ----
// This file uses `;` as a separator.
// ======
// [role=include-with-graph-type-statement]
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// ======
// label:new[Introduced in 2026.05] label:cypher[Cypher 25]
//
// ._schema.cypher_ script
// [source, cypher, role=nocopy]
// ----
// CYPHER 25
// DROP INDEX PersonNameIndex IF EXISTS;
// ALTER CURRENT GRAPH TYPE DROP {
// (p: person => {age :: INTEGER NOT NULL}
// }
// ----
// This file uses `;` as a separator.
// Only `ADD`, `DROP`, `ALTER` is supported by the incremental importer.
//
// ======
// =====

Then, use the following example commands to run the import:

[source, shell, role=noplay]
----
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2347,9 +2453,4 @@ Violations are reported as JSON object entries, one per line, in `report.json.lo
The import CLI supports the `--report-file` option to override the default output path.
When provided, violations are written to the specified location in the same JSON format.

Each JSON entry includes a `message` field equivalent to the pre-2026.03 format, along with additional fields that provide more detailed information.





Each JSON entry includes a `message` field equivalent to the pre-2026.03 format, along with additional fields that provide more detailed information.