How to Import Pipedrive into DenchClaw

You can import your entire Pipedrive CRM — contacts, organizations, deals, activities, and pipeline stages — into DenchClaw in under an hour. Pipedrive has a solid CSV export that covers nearly everything. Here's the complete migration path, including how to recreate your pipeline as a Kanban board in DenchClaw.

What is DenchClaw? — local-first, open-source AI CRM backed by YC S24. Everything runs on your machine in DuckDB. No cloud, no per-seat pricing.

Why leave Pipedrive?#

Pipedrive is a solid sales CRM. But it's expensive as your team grows ($24–$99/user/month), it's cloud-only, and you're locked into their data model. When you want to run custom queries, build your own dashboards, or integrate with tools that Pipedrive doesn't support, you hit walls.

DenchClaw is the alternative for teams and individuals who want:

• All data in DuckDB — queryable with raw SQL
• Kanban, Table, Calendar, Timeline views with no extra cost
• Browser agent for automated enrichment
• Full control over schema and integrations

If you're evaluating the tradeoffs first, read DenchClaw vs Pipedrive.

Step 1: Export your Pipedrive data#

Pipedrive lets you export most objects from Settings → Data Fields → Export Data.

Export each of these separately:

• People (contacts)
• Organizations (companies)
• Deals
• Activities (optional)
• Notes (optional)

Each export produces a CSV. Download all of them before starting the import.

Pro tip: When exporting Deals, make sure "Pipeline", "Stage", and "Owner" columns are included. These drive your Kanban view in DenchClaw.

Step 2: Install DenchClaw#

npx denchclaw

Frontend runs at localhost:3100. DuckDB initializes on first run — takes about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Map Pipedrive fields to DenchClaw#

Here's the standard field mapping:

People (Contacts)#

Organizations (Companies)#

Deals#

Step 4: Create objects in DenchClaw#

Create three objects in order:

1. Organizations (no dependencies)
2. People (depends on Organizations)
3. Deals (depends on both)

For each:

1. Go to localhost:3100 → + New Object
2. Add fields from your mapping
3. For relation fields, select the target object

Step 5: Import CSVs#

Import in dependency order — Organizations first, then People, then Deals.

For each:

1. Open the object in Table view
2. Import → CSV
3. Upload the Pipedrive CSV
4. Map columns to fields
5. Preview and import

After importing People, run this SQL to link them to Organizations:

-- Link people to organizations by organization name
UPDATE entry_fields ef
SET value = (
  SELECT id FROM entries e2
  JOIN entry_fields ef2 ON ef2.entry_id = e2.id
  JOIN fields f ON f.id = ef2.field_id
  WHERE f.key = 'name' AND ef2.value = ef.value
  AND e2.object_id = (SELECT id FROM objects WHERE name = 'Organizations')
  LIMIT 1
)
FROM entries e
JOIN entry_fields org_name ON org_name.entry_id = e.id
JOIN fields f ON f.id = ef.field_id
WHERE f.key = 'organization_id'
AND e.object_id = (SELECT id FROM objects WHERE name = 'People');

Adjust field names to match your actual setup.

Step 6: Set up the Deals Kanban#

This is where DenchClaw really shines for pipeline management. Pipedrive's stages become Kanban columns.

In your Deals object, configure the Kanban view:

1. Open Deals → switch to Kanban view
2. Set Group by = stage field
3. Order stages to match your Pipedrive pipeline

Your pipeline stages from Pipedrive might look like:

• Qualified
• Demo Scheduled
• Proposal Sent
• Negotiation
• Closed Won
• Closed Lost

These map directly to select field options. In DenchClaw, you can drag deals between stages just like Pipedrive.

Step 7: Recreate pipeline stages with Object.yaml (advanced)#

If you want to configure the Kanban with custom colors, ordering, and filters via code:

# deals/Object.yaml
name: Deals
views:
  - type: kanban
    groupBy: stage
    columns:
      - value: qualified
        label: Qualified
        color: "#3B82F6"
      - value: demo_scheduled
        label: Demo Scheduled
        color: "#8B5CF6"
      - value: proposal_sent
        label: Proposal Sent
        color: "#F59E0B"
      - value: closed_won
        label: Closed Won
        color: "#10B981"
      - value: closed_lost
        label: Closed Lost
        color: "#EF4444"

Step 8: Import activities and notes (optional)#

For activities, create an Activities object with fields for type, due date, note text, and relations to People and Deals.

For notes, DenchClaw has a better home: entry documents. Each entry (person, deal, company) gets a markdown document file. Rather than importing Pipedrive notes as separate records, consider appending them to the relevant entry's document file.

# Example: append a note to an entry document
echo "## Imported from Pipedrive\n\n{note content}" >> ~/.denchclaw/entries/deals/42.md

Step 9: Validate#

-- Count check
SELECT 
  'people' as type, COUNT(*) as count FROM v_people
UNION ALL
SELECT 'organizations', COUNT(*) FROM v_organizations  
UNION ALL
SELECT 'deals', COUNT(*) FROM v_deals;
 
-- Check deal stage distribution
SELECT stage, COUNT(*) as deals, SUM(value) as total_value
FROM v_deals
GROUP BY stage
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC;

Also see how to import from HubSpot for similar techniques, and browser automation for CRM if you want to automate future data pulls from Pipedrive.

FAQ#

Can I import Pipedrive's email history? Pipedrive email sync doesn't export cleanly to CSV. Your best bet is to use the browser agent to scrape email summaries from the Pipedrive web interface, or connect DenchClaw directly to your email via the Gmail/Outlook integration.

What about Pipedrive's workflow automations? Pipedrive automations don't migrate. In DenchClaw, recreate them as action fields (buttons on entries that run scripts) or skills. They're more flexible.

I have multiple pipelines in Pipedrive. How do I handle that? Create a pipeline field (select type) in your Deals object, separate from the stage field. Then configure multiple Kanban views filtered by pipeline.

Does DenchClaw support Pipedrive's rotting leads / staleness indicators? Not built-in. But since you have full SQL access, you can add a computed "days since last activity" field and build a DuckDB view that flags stale deals. Show it as a column in Table view.

How long does a full Pipedrive migration take? Most migrations take 45–90 minutes. The bulk of time is field mapping and validation, not the actual import. A 50,000-deal database imports in under 2 minutes.

Ready to try DenchClaw? Install in one command: npx denchclaw. Full setup guide →