> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://brewgravity.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Importing from other tools

> Brewfather, BeerSmith, Brewtarget, and anything else that speaks BeerXML.

If your brewing app can export BeerXML or BeerJSON, Brewgravity can read it. Below
are the paths for the common ones.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Brewfather">
    Brewfather exports both **BeerXML** and **BeerJSON**. Either works — BeerJSON
    is the newer, richer format and is the better choice when offered.

    Export from the recipe list (for several at once) or from an individual
    recipe's menu, then drop the files on Brewgravity's import page.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="BeerSmith">
    BeerSmith's native `.bsmx` format is **not** supported — it is BeerSmith's
    own, not an open standard.

    Export as BeerXML instead: select the recipes in your recipe browser and use
    the export option to write a `.xml` file. BeerSmith happily writes many
    recipes into one file, which Brewgravity imports in full.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Brewtarget">
    Brewtarget uses BeerXML as a first-class format. Export your recipes to
    `.xml` and import them directly.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Anything else">
    Look for "Export", "Backup", or "Download" and choose BeerXML. It has been
    the interchange format for homebrewing software for well over a decade, so
    support is close to universal.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## BeerXML or BeerJSON?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="BeerXML (.xml)" icon="file-code">
    The older standard, and the one supported almost everywhere. Choose it when
    you want the export to work with any tool, including ones you have not
    picked yet.
  </Card>

  <Card title="BeerJSON (.json)" icon="file-lines">
    The modern successor. More precise about units and better at representing
    things BeerXML fudges. Choose it when your app offers it.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Brewgravity reads both, and decides which parser to use from the file extension —
so keep the `.xml` or `.json` extension on the file when you save it.

## Coming from a spreadsheet

If your recipes live in a spreadsheet rather than in brewing software, the
[API](/docs/api-reference/introduction) is the shorter route: create a recipe with
`POST /v1/recipes`, then add its fermentables, hops, and yeast. A script that
walks a CSV and posts each row is a couple of dozen lines.

## Coming from paper

Type it in. The recipe editor is one screen and stats update as you go, so
transcribing a notebook recipe is genuinely faster than converting it into a
file first.