CSV import breaking GitHub connection integration

[Oli]

Using CSV import to update my components seems to have broken the connection to GitHub. I would like to be able to update via CSV and still have the GitHub aspects working.

The steps I took:

1) I imported all repositories from GitHub as components

2) I wanted to bulk update components and see you cannot do this from the UI, so I followed the approach defined here: Update components using a CSV file

3) I ensured that the only columns in my file were

name

type

lifecycle stage

owner team

4) I imported via CSV to the correct names and types, defining the lifecycle stages and owner teams.

5) I got a warning that 20 / 130 repositories failed to import. Log shows:
Failed to import REPOSITORY_NAME: Invariant Violation: 5 (see https://github.com/apollographql/invariant-packages)

6) It seems they all imported successfully as all the metadata I added is visible, but the GitHub connections seem to be lost. No repository URL and GitHub deployments are not showing. 

7) Attempted to reimport from GitHub but met with "Repository already imported'.

[Ali Umut Terzi]

Hi there 👋

I guess this happens because the CSV import process in Compass performs a full metadata overwrite, not a merge.
When you re-import components via CSV, any existing GitHub connection metadata (like links.repository.url) can get wiped out.

Here’s how you can fix or avoid it:

🧩 1️⃣ Restore GitHub connection manually

For each affected component:

• Go to Component → Integrations → GitHub
• Reconnect the repository manually (click “Link repository”)
• Compass will re-sync repo URL, deployments, and insights.

If you have many components, this is tedious — but it’s currently the only fully reliable way to restore connections.

🧩 2️⃣ Prevent future disconnects (best practice)

Before performing bulk CSV imports, include the repository link field in your CSV:

name	type	lifecycle stage	owner team	repository url
component-x	service	GA	backend-team	https://github.com/org/repo

This ensures Compass doesn’t wipe the link on update.

🧩 3️⃣ “Repository already imported” fix

If Compass blocks reimport saying “Repository already imported”:

• Go to Repository settings → Components → Unlink repository,
• Then retry the import or reconnect.

This clears the old association and allows a clean re-link.

If you manage lots of components, you can also use the Compass API for bulk updates instead of CSV.
It supports partial updates without breaking existing integrations.

[Oli]

Hi Ali, thanks for your reply.

1) This is very tedious with 150+ repositories so not really viable

2) This must be a bug as the Update CSV page states:

If you remove a field name and its corresponding values from any component, that information won’t change on the existing component - because it hasn’t been included in the CSV file.

By removing repository url it shouldn't have wiped out the data.

I will start again from scratch, link to GitHub to retrieve the components and retain the URLs this time, but this should be fixed for future users..