diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Database/BeatmapImporterTests.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Database/BeatmapImporterTests.cs
index 56964aa8b2..cbaa7bf972 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Database/BeatmapImporterTests.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Database/BeatmapImporterTests.cs
@@ -1052,7 +1052,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Database
         {
             string? temp = path ?? TestResources.GetTestBeatmapForImport(virtualTrack);
 
-            var importedSet = await importer.Import(new ImportTask(temp), batchImport);
+            var importedSet = await importer.Import(new ImportTask(temp), new ImportParameters { Batch = batchImport });
 
             Assert.NotNull(importedSet);
             Debug.Assert(importedSet != null);
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Online/TestSceneOnlinePlayBeatmapAvailabilityTracker.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Online/TestSceneOnlinePlayBeatmapAvailabilityTracker.cs
index e1d8e08c5e..585fd516bd 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Online/TestSceneOnlinePlayBeatmapAvailabilityTracker.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Online/TestSceneOnlinePlayBeatmapAvailabilityTracker.cs
@@ -226,12 +226,12 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Online
                     this.testBeatmapManager = testBeatmapManager;
                 }
 
-                public override Live<BeatmapSetInfo> ImportModel(BeatmapSetInfo item, ArchiveReader archive = null, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+                public override Live<BeatmapSetInfo> ImportModel(BeatmapSetInfo item, ArchiveReader archive = null, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
                 {
                     if (!testBeatmapManager.AllowImport.Wait(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10), cancellationToken))
                         throw new TimeoutException("Timeout waiting for import to be allowed.");
 
-                    return (testBeatmapManager.CurrentImport = base.ImportModel(item, archive, batchImport, cancellationToken));
+                    return (testBeatmapManager.CurrentImport = base.ImportModel(item, archive, parameters, cancellationToken));
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Skins/IO/ImportSkinTest.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Skins/IO/ImportSkinTest.cs
index 5c20f46787..f90c983627 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Skins/IO/ImportSkinTest.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Skins/IO/ImportSkinTest.cs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ using NUnit.Framework;
 using osu.Framework.Allocation;
 using osu.Framework.Extensions;
 using osu.Framework.Platform;
+using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.Extensions;
 using osu.Game.IO;
@@ -360,7 +361,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Skins.IO
         private async Task<Live<SkinInfo>> loadSkinIntoOsu(OsuGameBase osu, ImportTask import, bool batchImport = false)
         {
             var skinManager = osu.Dependencies.Get<SkinManager>();
-            return await skinManager.Import(import, batchImport);
+            return await skinManager.Import(import, new ImportParameters { Batch = batchImport });
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapImporter.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapImporter.cs
index bcb1d7f961..303e85b83a 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapImporter.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapImporter.cs
@@ -203,10 +203,10 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps
             }
         }
 
-        protected override void PostImport(BeatmapSetInfo model, Realm realm, bool batchImport)
+        protected override void PostImport(BeatmapSetInfo model, Realm realm, ImportParameters parameters)
         {
-            base.PostImport(model, realm, batchImport);
-            ProcessBeatmap?.Invoke((model, batchImport));
+            base.PostImport(model, realm, parameters);
+            ProcessBeatmap?.Invoke((model, parameters.Batch));
         }
 
         private void validateOnlineIds(BeatmapSetInfo beatmapSet, Realm realm)
diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapManager.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapManager.cs
index 965cc43815..e288239d74 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/BeatmapManager.cs
@@ -460,11 +460,11 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps
 
         public Task<IEnumerable<Live<BeatmapSetInfo>>> Import(ProgressNotification notification, params ImportTask[] tasks) => beatmapImporter.Import(notification, tasks);
 
-        public Task<Live<BeatmapSetInfo>?> Import(ImportTask task, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
-            beatmapImporter.Import(task, batchImport, cancellationToken);
+        public Task<Live<BeatmapSetInfo>?> Import(ImportTask task, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
+            beatmapImporter.Import(task, parameters, cancellationToken);
 
         public Live<BeatmapSetInfo>? Import(BeatmapSetInfo item, ArchiveReader? archive = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
-            beatmapImporter.ImportModel(item, archive, false, cancellationToken);
+            beatmapImporter.ImportModel(item, archive, default, cancellationToken);
 
         public IEnumerable<string> HandledExtensions => beatmapImporter.HandledExtensions;
 
@@ -526,4 +526,24 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps
 
         public override string HumanisedModelName => "beatmap";
     }
+
+    public struct ImportParameters
+    {
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Whether this import is part of a larger batch.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// May skip intensive pre-import checks in favour of faster processing.
+        ///
+        /// More specifically, imports will be skipped before they begin, given an existing model matches on hash and filenames. Should generally only be used for large batch imports, as it may defy user expectations when updating an existing model.
+        ///
+        /// Will also change scheduling behaviour to run at a lower priority.
+        /// </remarks>
+        public bool Batch { get; set; }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Whether this import should use hard links rather than file copy operations if available.
+        /// </summary>
+        public bool PreferHardLinks { get; set; }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/osu.Game/Database/RealmArchiveModelImporter.cs b/osu.Game/Database/RealmArchiveModelImporter.cs
index 0286815569..41e491bce6 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Database/RealmArchiveModelImporter.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Database/RealmArchiveModelImporter.cs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ using osu.Framework.Extensions.IEnumerableExtensions;
 using osu.Framework.Logging;
 using osu.Framework.Platform;
 using osu.Framework.Threading;
+using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Extensions;
 using osu.Game.IO.Archives;
 using osu.Game.Models;
@@ -115,7 +116,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
 
                 try
                 {
-                    var model = await Import(task, isBatchImport, notification.CancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                    var model = await Import(task, new ImportParameters { Batch = isBatchImport }, notification.CancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
 
                     lock (imported)
                     {
@@ -176,16 +177,16 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
         /// Note that this bypasses the UI flow and should only be used for special cases or testing.
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="task">The <see cref="ImportTask"/> containing data about the <typeparamref name="TModel"/> to import.</param>
-        /// <param name="batchImport">Whether this import is part of a larger batch.</param>
+        /// <param name="parameters">Parameters to further configure the import process.</param>
         /// <param name="cancellationToken">An optional cancellation token.</param>
         /// <returns>The imported model, if successful.</returns>
-        public async Task<Live<TModel>?> Import(ImportTask task, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+        public async Task<Live<TModel>?> Import(ImportTask task, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
         {
             cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
 
             Live<TModel>? import;
             using (ArchiveReader reader = task.GetReader())
-                import = await importFromArchive(reader, batchImport, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                import = await importFromArchive(reader, parameters, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
 
             // We may or may not want to delete the file depending on where it is stored.
             //  e.g. reconstructing/repairing database with items from default storage.
@@ -211,9 +212,9 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
         /// This method also handled queueing the import task on a relevant import thread pool.
         /// </remarks>
         /// <param name="archive">The archive to be imported.</param>
-        /// <param name="batchImport">Whether this import is part of a larger batch.</param>
+        /// <param name="parameters">Parameters to further configure the import process.</param>
         /// <param name="cancellationToken">An optional cancellation token.</param>
-        private async Task<Live<TModel>?> importFromArchive(ArchiveReader archive, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+        private async Task<Live<TModel>?> importFromArchive(ArchiveReader archive, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
         {
             cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
 
@@ -236,10 +237,10 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
                 return null;
             }
 
-            var scheduledImport = Task.Factory.StartNew(() => ImportModel(model, archive, batchImport, cancellationToken),
+            var scheduledImport = Task.Factory.StartNew(() => ImportModel(model, archive, parameters, cancellationToken),
                 cancellationToken,
                 TaskCreationOptions.HideScheduler,
-                batchImport ? import_scheduler_batch : import_scheduler);
+                parameters.Batch ? import_scheduler_batch : import_scheduler);
 
             return await scheduledImport.ConfigureAwait(false);
         }
@@ -249,15 +250,15 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="item">The model to be imported.</param>
         /// <param name="archive">An optional archive to use for model population.</param>
-        /// <param name="batchImport">If <c>true</c>, imports will be skipped before they begin, given an existing model matches on hash and filenames. Should generally only be used for large batch imports, as it may defy user expectations when updating an existing model.</param>
+        /// <param name="parameters">Parameters to further configure the import process.</param>
         /// <param name="cancellationToken">An optional cancellation token.</param>
-        public virtual Live<TModel>? ImportModel(TModel item, ArchiveReader? archive = null, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) => Realm.Run(realm =>
+        public virtual Live<TModel>? ImportModel(TModel item, ArchiveReader? archive = null, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) => Realm.Run(realm =>
         {
             cancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
 
             TModel? existing;
 
-            if (batchImport && archive != null)
+            if (parameters.Batch && archive != null)
             {
                 // this is a fast bail condition to improve large import performance.
                 item.Hash = computeHashFast(archive);
@@ -358,7 +359,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
                     // import to store
                     realm.Add(item);
 
-                    PostImport(item, realm, batchImport);
+                    PostImport(item, realm, parameters);
 
                     transaction.Commit();
                 }
@@ -493,8 +494,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Database
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="model">The model prepared for import.</param>
         /// <param name="realm">The current realm context.</param>
-        /// <param name="batchImport">Whether the import was part of a batch.</param>
-        protected virtual void PostImport(TModel model, Realm realm, bool batchImport)
+        /// <param name="parameters">Parameters to further configure the import process.</param>
+        protected virtual void PostImport(TModel model, Realm realm, ImportParameters parameters)
         {
         }
 
diff --git a/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreImporter.cs b/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreImporter.cs
index 5c8e21014c..4656f02897 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreImporter.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreImporter.cs
@@ -145,9 +145,9 @@ namespace osu.Game.Scoring
 #pragma warning restore CS0618
         }
 
-        protected override void PostImport(ScoreInfo model, Realm realm, bool batchImport)
+        protected override void PostImport(ScoreInfo model, Realm realm, ImportParameters parameters)
         {
-            base.PostImport(model, realm, batchImport);
+            base.PostImport(model, realm, parameters);
 
             var userRequest = new GetUserRequest(model.RealmUser.Username);
 
diff --git a/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreManager.cs b/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreManager.cs
index b2944ad219..a57db0eccf 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Scoring/ScoreManager.cs
@@ -179,8 +179,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Scoring
 
         public Task<Live<ScoreInfo>> ImportAsUpdate(ProgressNotification notification, ImportTask task, ScoreInfo original) => scoreImporter.ImportAsUpdate(notification, task, original);
 
-        public Live<ScoreInfo> Import(ScoreInfo item, ArchiveReader archive = null, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
-            scoreImporter.ImportModel(item, archive, batchImport, cancellationToken);
+        public Live<ScoreInfo> Import(ScoreInfo item, ArchiveReader archive = null, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
+            scoreImporter.ImportModel(item, archive, parameters, cancellationToken);
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Populates the <see cref="ScoreInfo.MaximumStatistics"/> for a given <see cref="ScoreInfo"/>.
diff --git a/osu.Game/Skinning/SkinManager.cs b/osu.Game/Skinning/SkinManager.cs
index 4a5277f3bf..40c43563b2 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Skinning/SkinManager.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Skinning/SkinManager.cs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ using osu.Framework.Testing;
 using osu.Framework.Threading;
 using osu.Framework.Utils;
 using osu.Game.Audio;
+using osu.Game.Beatmaps;
 using osu.Game.Database;
 using osu.Game.IO;
 using osu.Game.Overlays.Notifications;
@@ -274,11 +275,14 @@ namespace osu.Game.Skinning
 
         public IEnumerable<string> HandledExtensions => skinImporter.HandledExtensions;
 
-        public Task<IEnumerable<Live<SkinInfo>>> Import(ProgressNotification notification, params ImportTask[] tasks) => skinImporter.Import(notification, tasks);
+        public Task<IEnumerable<Live<SkinInfo>>> Import(ProgressNotification notification, params ImportTask[] tasks) =>
+            skinImporter.Import(notification, tasks);
 
-        public Task<Live<SkinInfo>> ImportAsUpdate(ProgressNotification notification, ImportTask task, SkinInfo original) => skinImporter.ImportAsUpdate(notification, task, original);
+        public Task<Live<SkinInfo>> ImportAsUpdate(ProgressNotification notification, ImportTask task, SkinInfo original) =>
+            skinImporter.ImportAsUpdate(notification, task, original);
 
-        public Task<Live<SkinInfo>> Import(ImportTask task, bool batchImport = false, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) => skinImporter.Import(task, batchImport, cancellationToken);
+        public Task<Live<SkinInfo>> Import(ImportTask task, ImportParameters parameters = default, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default) =>
+            skinImporter.Import(task, parameters, cancellationToken);
 
         #endregion