When embedding Flatfile, this plugin should be deployed in a server-side listener. Learn more

@flatfile/plugin-delimiter-extractor

The @flatfile/plugin-delimiter-extractor package is a plugin for parsing delimited files and extracting them into Flatfile. It utilizes various libraries to parse files and retrieve the structured data efficiently.

Event Type:
listener.on('file:created')
Supported delimiters:
;, :, ~, ^, #
Note: \t, |, and , are handled natively in the platform.

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Parameters

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fileExt
string
required
The fileExt parameter is used to specify the file name or extension to listen for.
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options.delimiter
string
required
The delimiter parameter is used to specify the delimiter used in the file.
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options.dynamicTyping
boolean
default:"false"
If true, numeric and boolean data will be converted to their type instead of remaining strings. Numeric data must conform to the definition of a decimal literal. Numerical values greater than 2^53 or less than -2^53 will not be converted to numbers to preserve precision. European-formatted numbers must have commas and dots swapped.
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options.skipEmptyLines
boolean | 'greedy'
If true, lines that are completely empty (those which evaluate to an empty string) will be skipped. If set to greedy, lines that don’t have any content (those which have only whitespace after parsing) will also be skipped.
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options.transform
function
A function to apply on each value. The function receives the value as an argument The return value of the function will replace the value it received. The transform function is applied before dynamicTyping.
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options.chunkSize
number
default:"10_000"
The chunkSize parameter allows you to specify the quantity of records to in each chunk.
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options.parallel
number
default:"1"
The parallel parameter allows you to specify the number of chunks to process in parallel.

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API Calls

  • api.files.download
  • api.files.get
  • api.files.update
  • api.jobs.ack
  • api.jobs.complete
  • api.jobs.create
  • api.jobs.fail
  • api.jobs.update
  • api.records.insert
  • api.workbooks.create

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Imported NPM Packages

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Usage

Listen for an delimited file to be uploaded to Flatfile. The platform will then extract the file automatically. Once complete, the file will be ready for import in the Files area.
install
npm i @flatfile/plugin-delimiter-extractor
import
import { DelimiterExtractor } from "@flatfile/plugin-delimiter-extractor";
listener.js
listener.use(DelimiterExtractor(".txt", { delimiter: ":" }));

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Full Example

In this example, the DelimiterExtractor is initialized for extracting TXT files with optional options, and then registered as middleware with the Flatfile listener. When a TXT file is uploaded, the plugin will extract the structured data and process it using the extractor’s parser. 
import { DelimiterExtractor } from "@flatfile/plugin-delimiter-extractor";

// Define optional options for the extractor (e.g., { dynamicTyping: true })
const options = {
  delimiter: ":",
  dynamicTyping: true,
  skipEmptyLines: true,
  transform: (value) => value.toUpperCase(),
};

// Initialize the TXT extractor
const delimiterExtractor = DelimiterExtractor(".txt", options);

// Register the extractor as a middleware for the Flatfile listener
listener.use(delimiterExtractor);

// When a TXT file is uploaded, the data will be extracted and processed using the extractor's parser.

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See the code

@flatfile/plugin-delimiter-extractor