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How to do automated imports

Preparation

First, do this:

  1. How to install the Data Importer
  2. How to import using the CLI
  3. How to import using HTTP POST

Configuration

Then, in the .importer.env-file:

  • Add IMPORT_DIR_ALLOWLIST=/import
  • Add a value for FIREFLY_III_ACCESS_TOKEN
  • Add NORDIGEN or SPECTRE credentials (NORDIGEN is used for GoCardless).
  • Set CAN_POST_AUTOIMPORT=true
  • Set CAN_POST_FILES=true
  • Set AUTO_IMPORT_SECRET using a random string of at least 16 characters. This is used to secure the auto-import endpoint. Visit this page on random.org for inspiration.

And in the Docker Compose file from the installer, mount a local directory to /import in the container:

volumes:
  - ./import:/import

Run the import once

In the Data Importer, run through the import and download the configuration file. Put the JSON-file in the import folder you created and bound to the container. Be sure to name it config.json. The name can be anything though.

Run another import, automatically

Run the following command:

docker exec firefly_iii_importer php artisan importer:import /import/config.json

Where firefly_iii_importer is the container ID, and where config.json is the configuration file from the previous step. This should run the import again.

Make it a cron job

To make this a cron job, run crontab -e and add the following line:

0 22 * * * docker exec firefly_iii_importer php artisan importer:import /import/config.json

This particular cron job will run on the host system. To make the cron job for the data importer a part of the docker-compose.yml file as well, you'll need to do something more complex.

  1. Specify the AUTO_IMPORT_SECRET in your .importer.env file. This value must be at least 16 characters. Visit this page on random.org for inspiration.
  2. In the code below, replace [AUTO_IMPORT_SECRET] with the same value.
  3. In the code below, replace [STATIC_CRON_TOKEN] with STATIC_CRON_TOKEN value from your .env file.
  4. Replace the firefly_iii_cron-container entry in your compose file with the resulting code: 
  cron_importer:
    image: alpine
    container_name: firefly_iii_cron
    restart: always
    command: sh -c "
      apk add tzdata
      && ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/${TZ} /etc/localtime
      && echo \"0 3 * * * wget -qO- http://app:8080/api/v1/cron/STATIC_CRON_TOKEN;echo\" > /tmp/crontab_tmp 
      && echo -e \"40 2 * * * wget -qO - --post-data '' --header 'Accept":" application/json' 'http://importer:8080/autoimport?directory=/import&secret=[AUTO_IMPORT_SECRET]'\" >> /tmp/crontab_tmp 
      && crontab /tmp/crontab_tmp
      && rm /tmp/crontab_tmp
      && crond -f -L /dev/stdout"
    networks:
      - firefly_iii

Portainer uses may also use the following lines. This will make Portainer do the replacement automatically. This will not work on other systems.

&& echo \"0 3 * * * wget -qO- http://app:8080/api/v1/cron/$STATIC_CRON_TOKEN;echo\" > /tmp/crontab_tmp 
&& echo -e \"40 2 * * * wget -qO - --post-data '' --header 'Accept":" application/json' 'http://importer:8080/autoimport?directory=/import&secret=$AUTO_IMPORT_SECRET'\" >> /tmp/crontab_tmp