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

# Importing data

> How to pull your CPAP SD card and upload it to Apnealytics, what gets read, how long it takes, re-importing, supported hardware, and fixing common import problems.

An **import** is one upload of a data card — it can contain many nights of files.
Apnealytics reads those files and turns each calendar day of therapy into a
**night** you can explore.

## Supported hardware

> [!NOTE]
>
> Today Apnealytics reads cards from **ResMed AirSense and AirCurve** machines
> (AirSense 10/11, AirCurve bilevel). Support for other brands (such as Philips
> DreamStation) is in active testing but **not yet available** — those parsers are
> turned off until they're calibrated against real cards, so don't rely on them yet.

## Pulling the SD card

**1. Power down and eject**

Turn the machine off and remove the SD card from the slot on the side of the
unit. (On ResMed machines it's a standard SD card behind a small cover.)

**2. Insert it into a reader**

Put the card into an SD reader connected to your phone, tablet, or computer.

**3. Select the whole card**

In **Imports**, choose the card's top-level folder. Apnealytics picks up the
folder structure (the `DATALOG` folder of nightly files and the summary file)
in one go — you don't need to hunt for individual files.

## What gets read

Your browser uploads the card's files **directly to secure cloud storage**. The
files never pass through a size-limited server step, which is why large cards
upload reliably.

* **At import time**, Apnealytics parses only the card's small **nightly summary
  file** (ResMed's `STR.edf`, around 120 KB). That's what populates your nightly
  rows — AHI, usage, leak, pressure, event composition, and settings — and powers
  the whole dashboard.
* **Per-night waveform files** (the detailed flow, pressure, and event traces,
  which can be tens of megabytes each) are read **only when you open that specific
  night**. This keeps imports fast no matter how big the card is.

## How long it takes

Upload time depends on your internet upload speed and how full the card is — the
files themselves can total several gigabytes, so a fully loaded card over a slow
connection can take a while. **Processing** into nightly rows, by contrast, is
quick because only the small summary file is parsed. The Imports page shows
progress and updates as it works, so you can watch it along the way.

> [!WARNING]
>
> Keep the browser tab open until the upload reports complete. If you close it
> mid-upload, re-run the import — see re-importing below.

## Re-importing

You can import the same card again whenever you like — for example after a few
more nights of therapy, or if an upload was interrupted. Re-importing the same
nights updates them rather than creating duplicates, so it's safe to re-run an
import to catch up or recover from a stopped upload.

## Troubleshooting

> [accordion] The upload stalled or the tab closed
>
> Start the import again and re-select the same card folder. Already-recorded
> nights are updated in place, so re-running won't duplicate your history.

> [accordion] No nights appeared after importing
>
> Make sure you selected the **top-level card folder**, not a single file or a
> sub-folder. Apnealytics needs the card's summary file (`STR.edf`) to build
> nightly rows; if the card only has loose detail files without the summary,
> nothing will populate.

> [accordion] My machine isn't a ResMed
>
> Only ResMed AirSense/AirCurve cards are read today. Other brands are in
> testing and not yet enabled — importing a non-ResMed card won't produce
> nights yet.

> [accordion] A night looks wrong or has odd numbers
>
> Glance at the **leak** for that night first. A high-leak stretch makes AHI,
> pressure, and other readings unreliable because escaping air distorts what
> the machine can measure. See [Metrics explained](https://help.apnealytics.com/guides/metrics-explained.md).

> [accordion] Slow upload on a big card
>
> This is normal on a slower connection — the raw files are large. Upload on a
> faster/Wi-Fi connection if you can, and leave the tab open; progress is shown
> as it goes.

> [!TIP]
>
> Opening a per-night waveform for the first time loads that night's detail files
> on demand, so the first open of an older night may take a moment while it fetches
> and parses in your browser.


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