Migrate from Canny
Move your feature requests to IdeaLift
Migration Overview
Migrating from Canny to IdeaLift is straightforward. Export your data from Canny as CSV, then import it into IdeaLift. The entire process takes about 10-15 minutes.
Export from Canny
Download your posts as CSV
Map Columns
Match Canny fields to IdeaLift
Import to IdeaLift
Upload and verify your data
What Gets Migrated
✓ Will Migrate
- •Post titles (become idea titles)
- •Post descriptions (become idea summaries)
- •Categories/boards (become categories)
- •Post status (mapped to IdeaLift status)
- •Author names (become sourceUserName)
- •Creation dates (preserved)
- •Post URLs (preserved as reference)
✗ Won't Migrate
- •Vote counts (IdeaLift uses different prioritization)
- •Individual voter identities
- •Comments and discussions
- •Custom fields specific to Canny
- •Roadmap configurations
- •Changelog entries
Step 1: Export from Canny
- 1
Log in to your Canny admin dashboard
Go to your-company.canny.io/admin
- 2
Navigate to Settings → Data Export
Or click the gear icon in the sidebar
- 3
Select "Posts" for export
Choose CSV format and include all boards
- 4
Click "Export" and wait for the download
Canny may email you a download link for large exports
Note: If you don't see the Data Export option, you may need to contact Canny support or have admin permissions enabled.
Step 2: Prepare Your CSV
IdeaLift's importer will auto-detect most Canny columns. Here's how they map:
| Canny Column | IdeaLift Field | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Title | Required |
| Details / Description | Summary | Full post content |
| Board | Category | Feature, Bug, etc. |
| Status | Status | See status mapping below |
| Author Name / Created By | Author | Who submitted it |
| Created At | Created Date | Preserves original date |
| URL / Link | URL | Reference to original post |
Status Mapping
Canny statuses will be mapped to IdeaLift statuses during import:
Canny → IdeaLift
- Open→Captured
- Under Review→Inbox
- Planned→Approved
- In Progress→Approved
- Complete→Shipped
- Closed→Rejected
IdeaLift Statuses
- Inbox - New, needs triage
- Captured - Acknowledged, not yet reviewed
- Approved - Ready to become an issue
- Shipped - Completed/released
- Rejected - Won't do
Step 3: Import to IdeaLift
- 1
Log in to IdeaLift and go to Dashboard
- 2
Navigate to Import
Click "Import" in the sidebar or go to Dashboard → Import
- 3
Select "CSV File" as import source
Upload your Canny export file
- 4
Review column mapping
IdeaLift will auto-detect columns. Verify the mapping is correct and adjust if needed.
- 5
Configure import options
Enable "Skip duplicates" to avoid importing the same idea twice. Choose a default status for items without status.
- 6
Preview and import
Review the preview, then click "Import" to complete the migration.
After Migration
- 1.
Review imported ideas
Go to Dashboard → Search to see all imported ideas. Filter by status to triage them.
- 2.
Connect your issue tracker
Set up GitHub, Linear, or Jira integration so you can push approved ideas as issues.
- 3.
Set up chat capture
Connect Slack, Discord, or Teams to start capturing new ideas from your team conversations.
- 4.
Consider running both tools temporarily
If you have a public Canny board with customer voters, you may want to run both tools during transition. IdeaLift can capture new internal ideas while Canny handles public voting.
Feature Differences
IdeaLift and Canny have different strengths. Here's what to expect:
IdeaLift Adds
- +Emoji reaction capture in Slack/Discord/Teams
- +Email forwarding capture
- +Inbox triage workflow
- +AI-powered formatting and deduplication
- +One-click push to GitHub/Linear/Jira
You'll Miss
- -Public voting on features
- -Customer accounts with feedback history
- -Public roadmap display
- -Vote-based prioritization
Pro tip: Some teams use both tools - Canny for public customer voting and IdeaLift for internal idea capture. Ideas from IdeaLift can be manually promoted to Canny if they warrant public voting.
Need Help?
If you run into any issues during migration:
Ready to Migrate?
Create your IdeaLift account and import your Canny data in minutes.