Skip to main content

Schedule CSV imports with an AI agent (MCP)

Ask a connected AI agent to create, run, pause or change recurring CSV imports into your 3Dsellers Product Catalog or Listing Tool.

Written by Karolina Santiago

A connected AI agent can now create and manage scheduled CSV imports in 3Dsellers through the 3Dsellers MCP server. You give the AI a file link (https, SFTP or FTP), say what the file should do and how often, and the AI sets up a recurring import into your Product Catalog or the Listing Tool. The schedule is the same one you would create in the app: it runs on the same timer and shows up on your import pages.

💡 Not connected yet? Start with How to connect AI agents to 3Dsellers using MCP.

In this article:


What can the AI do with scheduled imports?

With the 3Dsellers MCP server, an AI agent can do everything with a scheduled CSV import that you can do on the import pages in 3Dsellers:

  • List your scheduled imports, including the ones you created in the app, with their next run, last run and the error from the last run

  • Check a schedule before saving it (a dry run that reads the file and tests the column mapping)

  • Create a recurring import from a file URL

  • Pause and resume a schedule, or change its file, mapping, frequency or start time

  • Run a schedule now, without waiting for its next slot

  • Delete a schedule

  • Review the imports a schedule created, and the rows that failed in each one

Schedules the AI creates appear in 3Dsellers like any other: catalog imports on the Product Catalog import page, and every other type on the Listing Tool import page.


Which imports can be scheduled through MCP?

The 3Dsellers MCP server can schedule seven import types. Each run of the schedule does exactly what the same import does when you upload a CSV by hand.

Import type

What each run does

Where it lives

Product Catalog Import

Creates catalog products from the file. With the "update existing" option on, it also updates products whose SKU already exists instead of skipping them

Product Catalog

Product Catalog Inventory Import

Updates stock on catalog products that already exist, per warehouse and bin location. It does not create products

Product Catalog

Listing Drafts Bulk Upload

Creates listing drafts for review in the Listing Tool. Nothing is published until you publish the drafts

Listing Tool

Update Listing Drafts

Updates existing drafts. Nothing is pushed to the marketplace

Listing Tool

Update Live Listings

Revises listings that are already live (price, quantity, item specifics, policies and more). Every mapped column is pushed to the marketplace

Listing Tool

Inventory Manager Stock Update

Updates stock (and optionally price) for SKUs across your listings

Listing Tool

Replace SKUs

Rewrites the SKU on existing listings, using a column that holds the new SKU

Listing Tool

⚠️ Update Live Listings changes what buyers see on every run. A scheduled Update Live Listings import pushes every mapped column to eBay, Amazon or your other channel each time it runs. Ask the AI for a dry run first, and map only the columns you want updated.

Each row is matched by a key column: the SKU column by default, or an item ID column for the Listing Tool types that support it.


Where can the file come from?

A scheduled import in 3Dsellers re-reads the same file link on every run, so the link must stay valid. The 3Dsellers MCP server accepts three kinds of link:

  • https:// - a direct download link. If the file is private, the link must carry its own access token (for example a signed or shared link). Links with a username and password inside them (https://user:password@...) are not accepted

  • sftp:// - in the form sftp://user:password@host:22/path/file.csv

  • ftp:// - in the form ftp://user:password@host/path/file.csv

Plain http:// links and internal or private network addresses are refused. If an SFTP or FTP password contains special characters, they must be percent-encoded in the link (for example @ becomes %40); the AI can do this for you.

Excel files (.xlsx) work too, as long as you tell the AI which sheet to import. For an https CSV, 3Dsellers reads the file and checks the mapping against its real column names. For SFTP, FTP or Excel, the AI needs the file's header row (the column names) to check the mapping, so paste it into the chat if the AI asks.

⭐ SFTP and FTP passwords are stored with the schedule but never shown back: when the AI reads a schedule, the password is hidden.


How often can a scheduled import run?

A scheduled CSV import created through MCP has the same frequency options as one created in the app:

  • Every 5, 10 or 30 minutes - requires the Dedicated Import Server add-on

  • Every 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 12 hours

  • Daily, weekly or monthly

The start time sets the first run, and every later run is a whole interval after it, so the start time also fixes the time of day. If you do not give one, the schedule starts from now. You can also give an end date, after which the schedule stops running.

If your plan does not include scheduled imports, or you choose a minutes frequency without the Dedicated Import Server add-on, 3Dsellers switches the schedule off with the error "Invalid Plan".


How do I set up a scheduled import with an AI agent?

Setting up a scheduled import with an AI agent takes one conversation. The AI follows the same safe order every time: check, create paused, then turn on.

1. Tell the AI what you want

Give the AI four things: which seller account the import is for, the file link, what the file should do (for example "update stock on my eBay listings" or "add new products to my catalog"), and how often it should run. If you have more than one seller account, ask the AI to "list my sellers" first.

2. Review the dry run

Before saving anything, the AI runs a dry run. It confirms the link can be read, lists the file's columns, and shows which column will fill which 3Dsellers field. Columns whose names already match a 3Dsellers field are mapped automatically; you can ask the AI to map others, skip a column, supply a default value for empty cells, or write a column to a custom attribute. Check the mapping carefully: a column mapped to a field that does not exist for that import type would otherwise be skipped silently.

3. Create the schedule

When the mapping looks right, the AI creates the schedule. New schedules are created paused unless you ask for them to start right away, so nothing runs yet.

4. Turn it on

Tell the AI to activate the schedule. From then on it runs at each interval. If you want to see a first result immediately, ask the AI to run it now.

Example prompts

  • Every day at 6am, import https://supplier.example.com/feed.csv into my Product Catalog for seller 123. Update products that already exist. Do a dry run first

  • Set up an hourly stock update for my eBay listings from sftp://feeds:[email protected]:22/stock.csv. The SKU column is "Item Code" and quantity is "Qty"

  • Show me all my scheduled imports and any errors from their last run

  • Pause the supplier stock schedule until further notice

  • Run my catalog import schedule now and tell me how many rows failed


How do I pause, change, run or delete a schedule?

An AI agent connected to 3Dsellers can manage any scheduled import, including those created in the app.

  • Pause or resume - pausing keeps the whole definition, so you can turn it back on later

  • Change it - point it at a new file, change the frequency, retime it or change the mapping. A new start time re-anchors all future runs; changing only the frequency keeps the original start. A new mapping replaces the old mapping completely. The import type itself cannot be changed: create a new schedule instead

  • Run now - the schedule runs within about a minute and its regular run times do not move. 3Dsellers refuses to run a schedule now if it is paused, if its last run is still importing, or if its first run is still more than one interval away

  • Delete - stops the schedule for good. Imports it already ran are kept. To stop it temporarily, pause it instead

For a schedule created in the app with an import type the MCP server does not list, the AI can still pause, retime or move it, but its column mapping is managed in the app.


Troubleshooting

My scheduled import switched itself off with "Invalid Plan"

3Dsellers switched the scheduled import off because your plan does not include the feature it needs. A minutes frequency (every 5, 10 or 30 minutes) needs the Dedicated Import Server add-on. Ask the AI to change the frequency to hourly or longer, then turn the schedule back on, or contact support about your plan.

The scheduled import ran but nothing changed

Ask the AI to show the imports this schedule created and their failed rows. The usual causes are a SKU column that does not match the SKUs in 3Dsellers, or columns mapped to fields that do not exist for that import type. Ask the AI for a fresh dry run to see the mapping 3Dsellers actually uses.

The schedule shows an error about the file

The scheduled import could not read the file at its link: the link expired, the file was empty, or the SFTP/FTP login failed. Ask the AI to read the schedule's last error, fix the link or credentials, and update the schedule with the new link.

The AI says it cannot run the schedule now

Run now is refused when the schedule is paused, when its previous run is still importing, or when its first run is still more than one interval away. Activate the schedule, wait for the current import to finish, or ask the AI to move the start time earlier.


Frequently asked questions

Will a schedule the AI creates show up in the 3Dsellers app?

Yes. A scheduled import created through the 3Dsellers MCP server is saved exactly like one created in the app. Catalog imports appear on the Product Catalog import page; every other type appears on the Listing Tool import page.

Can the AI change schedules I created in the app?

Yes. The AI can list, pause, resume, retime, run and delete scheduled imports created in the app. It can change their mapping too, except for import types the MCP server does not support, whose mapping stays in the app.

Does a new schedule start running straight away?

No. A scheduled import created through MCP starts paused unless you ask the AI to activate it. This gives you a chance to review it first.

Can the AI schedule a tracking-number upload?

No. Through MCP, the AI can schedule only the seven catalog and Listing Tool import types listed above. Tracking uploads and other import types are still set up in the app.

Can I do a one-off import instead of a schedule?

Yes. The AI can also run a single CSV import from a file link or from CSV text it builds, with the same dry run first. Ask for "a one-off import" instead of a schedule.

Is my FTP or SFTP password safe?

The password is stored with the schedule so that each run can log in, and it is never shown in the AI's responses. Use a dedicated feed account with read-only access to the file where you can.


Related articles

Did this answer your question?