Importing a CSV into TCG PowerTools

How PowerTools recognises the cards

PowerTools matches a row by one of four identifiers: name, set and collector number together, the Cardmarket ID, the TCGplayer ID or the Scryfall ID. The file from CardEntry carries the Cardmarket ID and, in addition, name, set and collector number of every card. Where the Cardmarket ID is present, PowerTools prefers it. Name, set and number are the fallback for cards CardEntry has no ID for.

What PowerTools insists on

Two things are mandatory per row: the quantity and at least one of the identifiers above. And then there is the trap: if language and condition are missing from the file, PowerTools sets them to English and Near Mint. On a German stack that makes every row wrong without a single error message. This is exactly why CardEntry writes both into every row, alongside the Cardmarket ID.

One file per card game

Incoming stock is rarely all one game. The import in PowerTools runs per card game, though, so a mixed stack is split on export: each card game gets its own file. If a session holds Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon cards, you get one CSV with all Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and one with all Pokémon cards. You import them one after another, not together.

The thirteen columns

This is the order and these are the headers the file leaves CardEntry with. It matches the format PowerTools offers as its example file, so the mapping in step three usually already reads correctly. Looking anyway is worth it. This is what a row looks like:

The name is an identifier, not a label

On import, the card name is used alongside the Cardmarket identifier. A typo or a translated name is therefore not a cosmetic issue: it can push the row onto a different card. What comes out of CardEntry is the English name of the matched version, not the text the camera read.

Condition, language, foil and edition

These four come on top of the identifiers. They decide the price and can only be corrected one by one afterwards. They belong in the file, not in the shop.

• The language is detected automatically from the image by default. Foil or reverse holo stays empty at first, because detecting it from the photo was too unreliable. Under “AI detection” in the account settings you can switch either on or off or set a fixed value, and override it again per session.
• The condition is set per card, as a code: MT, NM, EX, GD, LP, PL, PO. Cards without their own value get the fallback condition you choose in the export dialog.
• Language written out the way Cardmarket lists it: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, S-Chinese, Korean.
• isFirstEd, isReverseHolo, isSigned and isPlayset carry true or false. Empty does not mean false, it means undetermined. First edition only matters for Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon.

Identical cards appear once

Three copies of the same card in the same condition, language and edition make one row with quantity 3. If any of those differ, or a card carries its own comment, it becomes its own row. That is not a detail: merged rows with mixed conditions would be mispriced in the shop.

Character encoding

The file is UTF-8 with a leading byte order mark, which lets Excel and PowerTools read it correctly. Without it Excel misreads accented characters, and the first time you open the file the names turn to garbage that nobody untangles again.

Storage locations and the extra column

A storage location per card can be assigned from a template, for example AB-C{index} for running numbers in scan order. It can be written into the comment column or into a separate location column, which PowerTools stores as “Location”. Only PowerTools V2 knows the separate column, and whether older versions load a file with an extra column is untested, which is why it is off by default. If you switch it on with an older version, test with a small batch first.

When rows are rejected

An import is rarely all or nothing. If individual rows do not go through, PowerTools creates a CSV holding exactly those rows. Its last column gives the reason (“Error”). The most common one: CardEntry had no Cardmarket ID for a recognised card. For a few cards, the “Single card” route in PowerTools is usually the fastest fix. The rest of your stack is already in by then and does not need uploading again. If many cards are affected or the reason is unclear, reach us on Discord or by email, both in the footer.

What you need outside CardEntry

Building and downloading the file costs you no third-party subscription. Importing and publishing works in TCG PowerTools without paying either: the free version reads files in and publishes up to 50 new changes a day. If you list more than that in a day, or want automatic pricing, you need a paid subscription there. That is a third-party product and not included in CardEntry credits.