If your collection lives on Discogs, you can connect your account and pull the whole thing into Dead Format automatically - collection and want list both. It's the fastest way to get set up, and you can come back and refresh anytime you've made changes on Discogs.
Connecting your account
Open your Collection tab, tap the menu, and choose Import from Discogs (if your collection is empty, you'll also see it as an option right on the screen). Tap Connect to Discogs and sign in with your Discogs account - the sign-in happens on Discogs, and we never see your password.
Import settings
Before anything is imported you'll see a summary of what we found, along with your import settings. Tap Change to adjust:
- What to import - your collection, your want list, or both, and which category the records land in. You can also turn on Use my Discogs folders, which turns your Discogs folders into categories here and keeps records following your folder moves.
- Existing records - on repeat imports, choose whether we only add new records, update record info while keeping your notes, conditions, and rating, or replace everything with the Discogs data.
- Deleted records - if you've deleted records on Discogs, choose whether we show you the list so you decide what to delete here, or delete them automatically.
- Cover art - cover art doesn't come over from Discogs, but we can search various databases and add the best match automatically after your records are imported. You can always swap in your own photos later.
Running the import
Tap Start import and you're done - the import runs in the background, so feel free to leave the screen and keep using the app. A progress banner on your Collection tab keeps you posted, and when it finishes you'll see a summary of what was added, updated, and skipped. Non-vinyl items (CDs, cassettes, etc.) are skipped automatically.
Keeping things in sync
Whenever you add records on Discogs, just come back to the import screen and run it again. Anything already imported is detected and handled according to your settings, so it's always safe to re-run.
If records were deleted on Discogs since your last import, we'll show you the list and let you pick which ones to delete here too - anything you keep stays in your collection for good, and future imports won't ask about it again.
Adding records without re-importing
If you keep your collection on Discogs, this might be an easier way to manage it. Tap + on your Collection tab, scan the barcode or search for the record, and tick Add to Discogs collection (or Add to Discogs want list) when you add it. The update gets handled in both places, so there's nothing to import afterwards. Records you've already imported can be upgraded too: open one, tap Change version, choose the exact pressing, and the release details fill in while your condition, rating and notes stay exactly as they are. See Managing items in your collection for the whole flow.
Disconnecting
You can disconnect your Discogs account anytime from the import screen. Your imported records stay right where they are.
Prefer a spreadsheet?
You can also import from a CSV file - choose Import .csv file from the Collection menu. Discogs users should use the direct connection above instead, it's much easier.