Working with NEO4J – Some practical tips

As part of a data science project that involved working on NEO4J database (using the community edition) I came across some issues which I'm summarizing as tips in the hope that they will save time and prevent headaches for others.

Since (as far as I know) one cannot switch between databases when working with Neo4J, I recommend simply creating them beforehand so one can easily go to the necessary database when needed.

This is also a great way to share work: instead of reloading nodes and relationships, you can just share the whole DB (e.g. DB folder and subfolders) with another person, who can connect to it seamlessly.

The default option in NE4OJ configuration file forces you to UPLOAD files from a predefined 'import' folder.

To be able to upload files from any location, just comment down the

'dbms.directories.import=import' line:

#dbms.directories.import=import

Below are the (three) steps you need to follow:

Step 1 – Click Options

Step 2 – Click first Edit button

Step 3 – Comment line

BTW, in case you performed the change while the DB is running, you will need to stop and start the DB for the changes to take effect.

Several times I've rushed to create a node and then uploaded relationships between the node and other ones, but it took me a while to figure out that the process was sluggish since I forgot to create a corresponding index.

You can make sure you have indexes created for the relevant nodes by typing :schema on the command line:

This collection of utilities can help you with several tasks. You can refer to