# Import methods You can import datasets into MINT using three different methods. This section describes the methods in more detail. The most common methods are: * HTTP upload - for small datasets exported from native systems in XML, CSV or TXT formats * OAI-PMH harvest - for larger datasets where an OAI-PMH repository has been establlished **HTTP upload** To upload your datasets using this method, you will first make an export from your home system. Here are a few points to bear in mind as you prepare your file for upload: * XML is the preferred format especially if your metadata is written in a language that uses an extended character set. * CSV file uploads are accepted but you should take care to choose UTF-8 encoding to preserve accents and special characters in your national language * When preparing XML for upload * export each metadata record as a separate XML file and then create a zip archive containing all the individual records. * When uploading a CSV file you will need to specify: * the delimiter or field separator used in the file * the escape character if any **Remote FTP/HTTP upload** You can upload a file from a remote location using either FTP or HTTP. The general recommendations on preparing XML and CSV files (above) apply to this method. **OAI-PMH** If you have established an OAI-PMH repository on your system, MINT can use this to harvest your metadata. Before starting the harvest you will need to contact the CARARE support team () to ask for your OAI URL to be [white-listed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitelisting) on MINT. When you specify the import on MINT, you enter the base URL of the OAI-PMH repository, and then click on the magnifying glass icon to check its validity. If the base URL has not yet been white-listed this process will return an error. Once the base URL has been validated you can fetch data from the repository based on: * OAI Set * Namespace prefix or * a specific date intervals by specifying the *From date* and *To date*