Craigslist Listings CSV Upload Requirements

File requirements

Extension: .csv only.
Encoding: UTF-8 (UTF-8 with BOM is also accepted).
Delimiter: comma (,). Tab-separated files are not supported.
Line endings: \n or \r\n.
Max size: 20 MB.
Header row required: first non-empty row must contain column names exactly as listed below (case-sensitive, snake_case).

Quoting & escaping

Wrap any cell containing a comma, double quote, or newline in double quotes ("…"). description_html almost always needs quoting.
Escape literal double quotes by doubling them: "She said ""hello""."
Leave cells empty (not null, not N/A) when a field doesn't apply.
Don't include thousands separators (write 3200, not 3,200) or currency symbols.

Column reference

Column	Required	Notes
`external_reference_id`	Recommended	Your unique ID. Used for deduplication on re-upload.
`listing_type`	Required	`service` \| `real_estate_rent` \| `real_estate_sale`
`title`	Required	5–70 characters.
`description_html`	Required	HTML allowed; quote the cell when it contains commas, quotes, or newlines.
`city`	Required	Physical city of the listing.
`state_region`	Required	State or region code.
`contact_email`	One required	Either email or phone must be present.
`contact_phone`	One required	E.164 or local format.
`canonical_url`	Optional	Must be a valid URL when present.
`service_type`	Conditional	Required when `listing_type = service`.
`price_type`	Conditional	Service: `fixed` \| `hourly` \| `starting_at` \| `quote_required`.
`price_min`	Conditional	Service: required unless `price_type = quote_required`.
`price_max`	Optional	Service: ≥ `price_min`.
`service_area_mode`	Optional	`onsite` \| `remote` \| `mobile` \| `hybrid`.
`service_radius_miles`	Optional	Cannot be set when `service_area_mode = remote`.
`listing_intent`	Conditional	Real estate: `rent` or `sale` (must match `listing_type`).
`property_type`	Conditional	Real estate: apartment, house, condo, etc.
`price`	Conditional	Real estate: > 0 USD.
`deposit`	Optional	Rent: ≥ 0.
`sqft`	Optional	Integer.
`bedrooms`	Optional	Integer (0 = studio).
`bathrooms`	Optional	Allows 0.5 increments.
`available_date`	Optional	YYYY-MM-DD.
`pets_allowed`	Optional	yes / no.
`furnished`	Optional	yes / no.
`city_markets`	Required	Craigslist city slugs separated by `\|`, `;`, or `,` (when the cell is quoted).

city_markets format

The city_markets cell packs all target Craigslist slugs into a single value:

Pipe (recommended): austin|sanantonio|waco
Semicolon: austin;sanantonio;waco
Comma inside quotes: "austin,sanantonio,waco"

One posting intent is generated per slug.

Validation rules

Title: 5–70 characters.
Description: ≥ 20 chars of visible text after HTML is stripped.
Contact: at least one of contact_email or contact_phone.
Service price: price_min required unless price_type = quote_required; price_max ≥ price_min.
Real estate: price > 0; listing_intent must match listing_type.
Dates: available_date must be YYYY-MM-DD.
Deduplication: repeat external_reference_id values are skipped.
Row-level errors: invalid rows skip with a reason; valid rows in the same file still import.

CSV example

external_reference_id,listing_type,title,description_html,city,state_region,contact_email,contact_phone,service_type,price_type,price_min,price_max,service_area_mode,service_radius_miles,listing_intent,property_type,price,bedrooms,bathrooms,available_date,city_markets
SVC-001,service,Eco-Friendly House Cleaning,"<p>Weekly or one-time cleaning with non-toxic products.</p>",Austin,TX,hello@example.com,+15125550142,cleaning,hourly,45,75,onsite,25,,,,,,austin|sanantonio|waco
RNT-2026-014,real_estate_rent,Modern 2BR Loft in Williamsburg,"<p>Bright top-floor loft with skyline views.</p>",Brooklyn,NY,rentals@example.com,,,,,,,,rent,apartment,3200,2,1,2026-06-01,newyork
SAL-A55,real_estate_sale,3BR Craftsman in Ballard,"<p>Restored 1923 craftsman with original woodwork.</p>",Seattle,WA,agent@example.com,,,,,,,,sale,house,875000,3,2,,seattle

Exporting from spreadsheets

Google Sheets: File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv).
Excel: File → Save As → CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv). Avoid the legacy "CSV (Comma delimited)" option.
Numbers (macOS): File → Export To → CSV.