SFMC Data Loader — VS Code Extension

A lightweight VS Code extension that surfaces the sfmc-dataloader CLI (mcdata) as Command Palette commands.

Requirements

An mcdev project initialised with mcdev (.mcdevrc.json + .mcdev-auth.json in the workspace root)
Node.js on the process PATH when using the bundled CLI (node …/out/mcdata.bundled.cjs) or when sfmcData.mcdataSource is auto and mcdata is resolved from the environment.
Optional: your own sfmc-dataloader install if you want a specific version. The extension bundles a compatible sfmc-dataloader. Use sfmcData.mcdataSource to choose how the extension resolves mcdata:
- bundled (default) — only the minified CLI shipped with the extension (node …/out/mcdata.bundled.cjs).
- auto — workspace node_modules/.bin/mcdata when present, then mcdata on the process PATH, then the bundled CLI (same discovery order as older releases when no custom path was set).
- custom — run the executable at sfmcData.mcdataPath (path is ignored for bundled and auto).

# Optional — global override
npm install -g sfmc-dataloader
# Optional — project-local override
npm install sfmc-dataloader

Commands

Command Palette

Command	Description
`SFMC Data: Export DE Data`	Export one or more Data Extension rows to CSV/TSV/JSON
`SFMC Data: Export DE Data (Multi-BU)`	Export from several BUs in one command
`SFMC Data: Import DE Data`	Import rows from a file or by DE key
`SFMC Data: Import DE Data (Cross-BU)`	Import rows from one BU into multiple target BUs via the SFMC API

These commands open a guided QuickPick workflow:

Select credential (skipped when only one exists)
Select Business Unit (skipped when only one exists)
Enter DE key(s) or select file(s)

Explorer, editor tab, and editor context menus

Right-click any of the following files in the Explorer, on an editor tab, or in the editor background menu to open the SFMC Data Loader submenu:

*.dataExtension-meta.json or *.dataExtension-doc.md under retrieve/<cred>/<bu>/dataExtension/
Export files under data/<cred>/<bu>/ whose names contain .mcdata. (matches mcdata export naming)

You can multi-select files within the same BU and all commands will operate on them together.

Context menu item	retrieve/ files	data/ files
Export Data	`mcdata export <cred/bu> --de <key>...`	same
Export from BUs...	Multi-select source BUs (pre-selects current BU), runs `mcdata export --from ...`	same
Import Data	`mcdata import <cred/bu> --de <key>...` (resolves latest export file)	`mcdata import <cred/bu> --file <path>...`
Import to BU...	Multi-select target BUs, runs `mcdata import --from <src> --to <tgt>... --de <key>...`	Multi-select target BUs, runs `mcdata import --to <tgt>... --file <path>...`

While mcdata runs, the extension shows a cancellable notification. Stdout/stderr stream to the SFMC Data Loader output channel. When the run finishes, a short success or error toast appears; choose More Details to focus that log (same pattern as SFMC DevTools).

Settings

All settings are under the SFMC Data Loader section in VS Code Settings.

Setting	Default	Description
`sfmcData.mcdataSource`	`bundled`	How to resolve `mcdata`: `bundled` (extension CLI only), `auto` (workspace `.bin` → `PATH` → bundled), or `custom` (use `sfmcData.mcdataPath`).
`sfmcData.mcdataPath`	`""`	Path to the `mcdata` executable — only when `mcdataSource` is `custom`. Ignored for `bundled` and `auto` (you may clear a stale path).
`sfmcData.useGitFilenames`	`false`	When `true`, appends `--git` to every `mcdata` invocation so exports use stable `*.mcdata.<ext>` names without a timestamp.
`sfmcData.promptClearBeforeImport`	`false`	When `true`, after you finish the import QuickPick flow, prompts whether to clear the target Data Extension before import (two-step confirmation; maps to `mcdata` clear-before-import flags).
`sfmcData.promptImportMode`	`false`	When `true`, prompts for upsert vs insert after you choose import inputs and before the optional clear-before-import step.
`sfmcData.importMode`	`upsert`	Default row write mode for imports when not prompting: `upsert` or `insert`. Replaces deprecated `sfmcData.defaultMode`.
`sfmcData.defaultMode`	—	Deprecated — use `sfmcData.importMode`. Still read when `importMode` is unset at every scope.
`sfmcData.defaultFormat`	`csv`	Default file format for exports and imports: `csv`, `tsv`, or `json`.

Settings UI after an extension update

Contributed settings come from the extension package.json manifest. After the extension updates, use Restart Extensions when VS Code prompts, or Developer: Reload Window, so the Settings editor picks up new or renamed keys. If you dismiss the restart prompt, the UI can still show an older manifest until the extension host reloads.

How it works

The extension reads .mcdevrc.json to populate credential and BU quick-picks. It then constructs a mcdata export or mcdata import command and runs it as a subprocess with the mcdev project root as the working directory, logging to the SFMC Data Loader output channel.

No SFMC API calls are made by the extension itself — all network activity goes through the mcdata CLI.

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md.

SFMC Data Loader

Jörn Berkefeld