# Can I import my sql database to Iginition database?

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/can-i-import-my-sql-database-to-iginition-database/7013>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Created:** [August 9, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/can-i-import-my-sql-database-to-iginition-database/7013 "2013-08-09T22:10:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![hlee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@hlee](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/hlee)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/can-i-import-my-sql-database-to-iginition-database/7013/1 "2013-08-09T22:10:17Z")

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I am trying to replicate HMI we have in Ignition. I need to move the past data in my sql database to Ignition database first. Is this possible?  
Thanks in advance!

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**Author:** ![Colby.Clegg](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/colby.clegg/32/3282_2.png) [@Colby.Clegg](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Colby.Clegg)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/can-i-import-my-sql-database-to-iginition-database/7013/2 "2013-08-12T15:44:25Z")

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Hi,

There isn’t an “Ignition database” so-to-speak, Ignition simply connects to SQL databases. I imagine you perhaps mean the Ignition tag history format, which is simply a defined table structure in the SQL database. In that case, the answer is “maybe”, but instead, you should look at simply connecting Ignition to your existing sql database, and querying directly from that.

Almost anywhere that you can use tag history, you can also use standard sql queries.

If you post with some more details about what you’d like to do, what the existing data looks like, etc, we can give you a few more suggestions.

Regards,