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Switch from Greenhouse
Switching from Greenhouse to Yardstick
Getting your data out
Getting your data out of Greenhouse
The exact steps to get your candidates, jobs, and applications out of Greenhouse — including what your plan gates and what needs a support ticket. Every step links to Greenhouse’s own documentation.
- 1
Export your field data yourself. Admins and Super Admins can run reports in Greenhouse and export each one to CSV — that covers the tabular candidate, job, and application data, but not resumes or other attachments. Source
Self-serve · fields only
- 2
For resumes, attachments, and a complete pull, use the Harvest API — it returns candidates, applications (with their attachments), jobs, scorecards, and more. Attachments come as signed URLs that expire after about 7 days, so download them promptly. Note that Harvest v1/v2 is being removed on August 31, 2026, so build against v3. Source
API · developer or agent
Watch the deadlines
- During your contract, you can export your data for free with an API key. After the contract ends, Greenhouse will provide an export file only if you request it within 30 days — and at its then-current data-migration rates (i.e. paid). Plan your exit before renewal, not after. Source
- Greenhouse's agreement states that all customer data is queued for deletion 90 days after the contract ends — one more reason to pull everything while your account is active. Source
What survives the move
The pipeline moves — people, roles, and the history connecting them.
Yardstick imports the three things every ATS actually holds: your candidates, the jobs they were attached to, and the applications that record who stood where in which role. Applying the import also creates the job postings and starter interview plans that give each role a working home — so you land in a system that’s ready to run interviews, not an empty shell.
Your Greenhouse report CSVs map into the dry run as candidates, jobs, and applications; the attachments come from the Harvest API's signed URLs, and your agent bundles the archive Yardstick imports natively.
Hand it to your agent
Your coding agent can run the whole move.
The importer is part of Yardstick’s public API and the yardstick CLI, available on every account. So instead of working the exports by hand, you can hand them to a coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, or similar): it converts each export into structured rows, runs the dry run, and brings you a row-by-row preview of exactly what will be created. You read it and approve; the agent applies it — and the apply writes exactly what the preview showed, nothing more.
That’s the same division of labor Yardstick is built on everywhere: agents prepare the work, and humans approve it. An import never emails a candidate, never merges people, and never deletes anything.
Greenhouse, specifically
Coming from Greenhouse, specifically
Greenhouse doesn't emit one native “everything” file — you assemble your export as an archive of report CSVs plus the attachments pulled from the Harvest API. Yardstick imports that Greenhouse export archive natively: hand the .zip to your coding agent, and the importer previews it through a dedicated archive-upload path, no CSV-by-CSV wrangling. Then, as with every import, you approve the dry-run preview before anything is written.
- Yardstick's importer accepts a Greenhouse export archive through a dedicated archive-upload session (source_kind: greenhouse), previewed before anything is written. Source
The right fit
Who should move — and who shouldn’t.
Greenhouse is a capable enterprise-weight ATS, and if your team needs all of it, there's no reason to move. Teams switch to Yardstick when Greenhouse is more platform — and more cost — than they need, and they want structured, job-specific interviews and scorecards, AI decision briefs under human approval, and an ATS a coding agent can operate. The renewal conversation is often the natural moment to reassess — and because the free API-key export ends with your contract, it's the moment to pull your data too.
FAQ
Common questions about leaving Greenhouse.
How do I export my candidates from Greenhouse?
Two ways: Admins and Super Admins can export any report to CSV for field data, and the Harvest API pulls candidates, applications, jobs, and scorecards programmatically. There's no single “download everything” button — the CSV reports don't include resumes or attachments, so a full migration uses the API.
Can I get my resumes and attachments out of Greenhouse?
Yes, through the Harvest API — attachments come back as signed URLs that expire after about 7 days, so download them promptly. Report CSVs don't include files. Build against Harvest v3, since v1/v2 is being removed on August 31, 2026.
Can an AI agent migrate my Greenhouse data to Yardstick?
Yes, and Greenhouse is where it's easiest to see why: a coding agent can pull your report CSVs and call the Harvest API for attachments, assemble the archive, and hand it to Yardstick's importer — which accepts a Greenhouse export archive natively. It runs the dry-run and brings you the preview; you approve it; the agent applies it.
What happens to my Greenhouse data after my contract ends?
Per Greenhouse's agreement, the free API-key export is available during your term; after termination, Greenhouse provides an export file only if you request it within 30 days and at its then-current data-migration rates, and all customer data is queued for deletion 90 days after the contract ends. Export before you cancel, while it's still free.
Bring your Greenhouse pipeline with you.
Create your account and dry-run your first import — see the row-by-row preview of exactly what will be created before anything is written.
Want the full picture first? See how importing into Yardstick works.