Import Collections Tool for Shopify

What it does

Import Collections reads a CSV or Excel file and applies it to your Shopify collections. Each group of rows (grouped by Handle) describes one collection: its core details on the first row, and one row per rule, manually added product, exclusion, or sub-collection reference below it.

For every group the tool:

• Updates the collection when the ID column is filled in, or when a collection with that handle already exists.
• Creates a new collection when the ID is blank and no collection has that handle — only if Create New Collections was turned on for the upload.
• Deletes the collection when the Command column says DELETE.

When to use it

• You exported your collections, bulk-edited rules or details in a spreadsheet, and want to push the changes back.
• You’re creating many collections at once — seasonal sets, brand pages, category landing pages.
• You’re copying collections to another store — the file references products by handle and SKU, so it works across stores.
• You need to clean up: delete a batch of old collections with a DELETE command column.

Before you start

• Your Shopify store must be connected to your account.
• Your file needs a header row, and every row needs a Handle — the handle is what groups rows into collections.
• Products are referenced by handle or SKU — never by ID. Referenced products and collections must already exist in the store.
• Metafield columns require the matching metafield definition to already exist on the store.
• Rules replace, they don’t merge. If a group contains any rule/product rows, the collection’s sources are replaced with exactly what’s in the file. A group with only core fields (no rule rows) leaves the collection’s rules untouched.

Step-by-step

File / field reference

The format is described in detail in Export Collections — the same columns, Row Types, and value formats apply. The rules below are specific to importing:

Create, update, delete

Situation	What happens
ID filled in	Updates that collection. The Handle column becomes the collection’s handle (so you can rename a handle this way). Fails if the ID doesn’t exist.
ID blank, handle exists	Updates the collection with that handle.
ID blank, handle doesn’t exist	Creates a new collection — only when Create New Collections is turned on for the upload (it’s off by default; otherwise the collection is reported as an error). Title is required when creating.
Command = DELETE	Deletes the collection (matched by ID or handle). Other columns on the row are ignored.

Blank cells vs. delete

• A blank core-field cell leaves that field untouched on an update.
• The literal word delete in a cell clears the field (works for Description, Theme Template, Image Src, SEO Title, SEO Description).
• Blank Published leaves the publish state alone; yes publishes to your Online Store, no unpublishes.
• Metafield cells: blank = untouched. (delete is not supported for metafield values — clear those in the Shopify admin.)

Rules and sources

• Source # groups rows into sources; if you leave it blank everything lands in source 1. Source Title is optional — a name is generated when blank.
• Match (ANY/ALL) is read from the first rule row of the source; on Exclude rows it sets the exclusion’s match.
• Values Match defaults to ANY when blank.
• Target defaults to Shopify’s standard product-level matching; set VARIANTS for variant-level sources.
• Exclusion rules support productTag, productType, productVendor, and productCategory — Shopify doesn’t allow other condition types as exclusions.
• Exclude Collection rows: Shopify allows at most 5 excluded collections per source, and they can’t be combined with other exclusion rules.
• A Sub-Collection source can’t mix with rule or product rows — use a separate Source # for each.
• When Sort Order is MANUAL, the order of the Product rows becomes the products’ manual order in the collection.

Product identifiers

On Product / Exclude Product rows, the Values cell accepts a product handle (red-hoodie) or a variant SKU (TOTE-1, 36167) — numeric SKUs work fine. Product IDs are not accepted.

Text values are looked up as a handle first, then as a SKU. Anything that matches neither fails that collection with a clear error instead of being silently ignored.

What a SKU means depends on the source’s Target: on a normal (PRODUCTS) source it simply identifies the product — the whole product joins the collection. On a VARIANTS-target source it pins that exact variant.

Troubleshooting / FAQ