octobercms/october · error · ApplicationException

Importing as CSV requires column matches definition

Error message

Importing as CSV requires column matches definition

What it means

Error "Importing as CSV requires column matches definition" thrown in octobercms/october.

Source

Thrown at modules/backend/models/ImportModel.php:118

     *   [0 => [first_name], 1 => [last_name]]
     *
     * Will return:
     *
     *   [first_name => Joe, last_name => Blogs],
     *   [first_name => Harry, last_name => Potter],
     *   [...]
     *
     * @return array
     */
    protected function processImportData($filePath, $matches, $options)
    {
        // Prepare output
        if ($this->file_format === 'json') {
            $result = $this->processImportDataAsJson($filePath, $matches, $options);
        }
        else {
            if (!$matches) {
                throw new ApplicationException('Importing as CSV requires column matches definition');
            }

            $result = $this->processImportDataAsCsv($filePath, $matches, $options);
        }

        return $result;
    }

    /**
     * decodeArrayValue prepares an array object for the file type.
     * @return array
     */
    protected function decodeArrayValue($value, $delimiter = '|')
    {
        if ($this->file_format === 'json') {
            return $this->decodeArrayValueForJson($value);
        }
        else {

View on GitHub (pinned to b608633a7e)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at modules/backend/models/ImportModel.php:118 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of octobercms/october@b608633a7e (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e00005b3fefb946c. Report an issue: GitHub.