How Do I Bulk Import Dictionary Items and Snippets?

Available on: Mac, Windows. Bulk import is desktop-only.

Bulk import adds dictionary words, corrections, and snippets from files instead of one entry at a time.

How to enable bulk import

Note: Experimental appears only with an active paid personal subscription, a personal trial with days remaining, a past-due personal subscription (payment failed but not canceled), or membership in an organization with an active, trialing, or past-due enterprise subscription. Expired personal trials do not qualify.

Bulk import is off by default; no Import button appears until you enable it.

Open the Flow app.
Go to Settings → Experimental.
Toggle on Bulk import ("Import snippets and dictionary items from files").

After enabling, Import appears on Dictionary and Snippets unless dictation access is locked.

Prepare your file

Dictionary uses .csv; Snippets uses .json. Each file can be up to 3 MB. The 1,000-entry limit counts valid, non-duplicate items after existing-library duplicates are removed—not raw rows. The upload screen links to file-format help.

Dictionary items (CSV)

Use one column for vocabulary Flow should recognize, or two columns for misspelling,correction.

Limits: The first field allows 60 characters; the correction allows 4,000. Rows exceeding either limit are skipped.
Rows: No header is required. Blank lines are ignored without counting as skipped; rows with only empty fields are skipped. Trailing commas are harmless: hello,world, imports as hello → world; word, imports as word.
Quoting: Double-quote fields containing commas and double any literal quote. Use "Whisper Flow","Wispr Flow" or Whisper Flow,Wispr Flow; a space before a quoted second field preserves its surrounding quotes.
Invalid rows: CSV rows with more than two nonempty columns or unterminated quotes are skipped.
Text: Unix and Windows line endings are supported; surrounding field whitespace is trimmed. Unicode, accented characters, CJK, emoji, and symbols are accepted.

Snippets (JSON)

File format: JSON array of objects with name and text fields.

Trigger name: up to 60 characters.
Expansion text: up to 4,000 characters, plain text only.
Type: both fields must be strings. Entries with non-string, whitespace-only, or over-limit values are skipped; fields other than name and text are ignored.

How to import

Note: All and Personal default to your personal library; Shared with team defaults to your team library. Share with team on the upload screen changes this destination. Without team features, Import and Add new are disabled on Shared with team, but remain enabled on All/Personal. The sharing toggle is also disabled, directs you to settings to set up a team, and the import targets your personal library. Only users outside an organization see the Join/Invite banner instead of the team list.

Open Dictionary or Snippets on your chosen tab.
Click Import in the top-right corner, next to Add new.
Enable Share with team before selecting the file for a team library; leave it off for personal imports.
Click the upload zone to browse, or drag and drop your file onto it.
Review the previewed items and the duplicate count marked as skipped.
Click Import [N] items for Dictionary or Import [N] snippets for Snippets.
Click Done! after success shows the number of items or snippets added.

The list refreshes automatically. Successful personal imports report the full previewed count; a team import's added count can differ.

Why items are skipped

Existing phrases are skipped case-insensitively: "Flow" and "flow" match. Personal imports check both dictionary items and snippets in your personal library; team imports check only the team library.

A personal word does not block the same phrase in a team import; a phrase can be a personal dictionary word and a team snippet. For matching corrections or snippet expansions, your personal entry takes precedence during dictation; vocabulary without corrections can be used from both libraries.

Within a CSV, only the first occurrence of a phrase is kept, regardless of case. Default entries already in your library also count as duplicates.

If every item already exists, the preview says "All [N] items already exist in your dictionary" (or snippets/team library). Only Done is offered; nothing is imported.

If import fails

Error	Meaning or action
Incorrect file type. Please upload a .csv file	Use the required extension; Snippets requests .json instead.
File is too large (max 3MB)	Split the file into smaller files.
Cannot import more than 1,000 entries. Please try again.	Split the entries across separate imports.
Incorrect file format	Check the file structure; a CSV with no valid rows also triggers this.
Failed to parse file / Failed to read file	Flow could not parse or read the file.
No dictionary items found in file / No snippets found in file	The file is empty.
Failed to import items / Failed to import snippets	Flow returns to Upload and clears the previous preview.

Format and size errors include a "Learn more →" link. To retry, correct any file errors, then repeat steps 4–7 under How to import: select the file again, review it, and confirm the import. You can select the same file again.

After importing

Imported dictionary items and snippets have an upload badge with the tooltip "Imported from file". The ✨ tooltip reads "Flow learned this word automatically ✨" for words learned from edits, app context, meeting summaries, or meeting transcripts. Manually added and default entries have no badge.

Successful personal imports sync in the background to your other devices. On desktop, use Refresh/Sync in the Dictionary or Snippets toolbar to pull the latest items; hover for the team's last-sync time.

Note: On desktop, sync can be blocked by an organization disabling Cloud Sync, an enterprise zero-data-retention lock, or a signed HIPAA BAA (personal or organization-level). These restrictions have no self-enable toggle.

When Flow shows a policy restriction, non-admins get Request access to contact their admin; admins get an admin-portal link or an enable-for-org action. Individuals with a signed BAA get View signed BAA / Revoke BAA. If you turned Cloud Sync off yourself and no policy lock applies, you can turn it back on.

Warning: Bulk Share with team requires team features and a selected personal item. It moves entries out of your personal library rather than copying them; team rows and phrases already in the team library are skipped. Bulk delete asks for confirmation before removing entries.

Still need help?

Contact support if a correctly formatted file still won't import, or items are missing or incorrect after a successful import. Include your platform (Mac or Windows), the file you tried to import, and what happened.