Sample File

Download a sample spreadsheet with manual collection data to import.

General

ID

Description	Example Value
Shopify collection identifier	`12345678`

If present, the ID will be used to group multiple rows together into a single collection. When importing, the ID will be used to find the existing collection on the store. If no match is found, the app will fall back to the Handle, and then the Title.

Handle

Description	Example Value
URL-friendly identifier	`summer-essentials`

The handle is the URL-friendly version of the collection title used in the collection's URL. If the ID is not present, the handle is used for grouping multiple rows together into a single collection and finding an existing collection on the store.

Command

Description	Example Value
Action to perform	`MERGE`

NEW: Create a new collection (will skip if collection already exists)
MERGE: Update existing collection or create if not found
UPDATE: Update existing collection (will skip if collection doesn't exist)
REPLACE: Delete and recreate the entire collection with only data from the file
DELETE: Remove the collection from the store
IGNORE: Skip this collection during import

Title

Description	Example Value
Collection name	`Summer Essentials`

The main title of the collection that will be displayed to customers. If neither ID nor Handle is present, the title is used for grouping multiple rows together into a single collection.

Body HTML

Description	Example Value
Collection description	`<p>Our essential items for summer</p>`

The main description of the collection in HTML format. You can include plain text or formatted HTML with images, videos, links, and tables.

Sort Order

Description	Example Value
Product sorting method	`Manual`

Alphabet (ALPHA_ASC): A-Z by title
Alphabet Descending (ALPHA_DESC): Z-A by title
Best Selling (BEST_SELLING): Sort by sales volume
Created (CREATED): Oldest products first
Created Descending (CREATED_DESC): Newest products first
Manual (MANUAL): Custom ordering (allows setting Product: Position)
Price (PRICE_ASC): Lowest price first
Price Descending (PRICE_DESC): Highest price first

Template Suffix

Description	Example Value
Alternative template name	`custom-layout`

Allows you to use a custom template for displaying this specific collection. Work with your developer to create new templates in your theme.

Updated At

Description	Example Value
Last modification time - Export only	`2024-12-05 06:12:35 -0500`

The timestamp when the collection was last modified. This field is export-only and cannot be imported. ISO-formatted timestamps are also supported.

Published

Description	Example Value
Visibility	`TRUE`

TRUE: Collection is published and visible to customers
FALSE: Collection is unpublished and hidden from customers

Published At

Description	Example Value
Publication time - Export only	`2024-12-05 06:12:35 -0500`

The timestamp when the collection was published. This field is export-only and cannot be imported. ISO-formatted timestamps are also supported.

Published Scope

Description	Example Value
Publication scope	`web`

global: Published on both Online Store and Point of Sale channels
web: Published only on Online Store channel

Sales Channels

Control publication status across individual sales channels by creating separate columns for each channel. This works similarly to Products, where you create one column per sales channel.

Use column names in the format Published: [Sales Channel Name] for example:

Published: Online Store
Published: POS
Published: Shop (for the Shop app)
Published: Facebook
Published: Buy Button

Published

Description	Example Value
Publication status for specific channel	`TRUE`

Control whether the collection is published on a specific sales channel.

TRUE: Collection is published and visible on the specified sales channel
FALSE: Collection is unpublished and hidden from the specified sales channel
Blank: No change to current publication status (skipped during import)

When importing, each sales channel can be controlled independently. If a column value is blank, that sales channel's publication status will remain unchanged during the import process.

This field has priority over the legacy "Published" and "Published Scope" fields. If you include both sets of fields, the sales channel columns will be used.

Row

Description	Example Value
Row number - Export only	`2`

Used when a collection spans multiple rows (e.g., when including multiple products). This field is export-only.

Top Row

Description	Example Value
Main collection row - Export only	`TRUE`

TRUE: This is the primary row for the collection
FALSE: This is a secondary row (e.g., for products)

This field is export-only.

Image Src

Description	Example Value
Collection image URL	`https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0001/collection.jpg`

The URL of the featured image that represents the collection. The image must be publicly accessible.

Image Width

Description	Example Value
Image width - Export only	`1200`

The width of the collection's featured image in pixels. This field is export-only and cannot be imported.

Image Height

Description	Example Value
Image height - Export only	`800`

The height of the collection's featured image in pixels. This field is export-only and cannot be imported.

Image Alt Text

Description	Example Value
Image alternative text	`Summer collection banner`

Alternative text for accessibility and SEO purposes.

Products Count

Description	Example Value
Total products - Export only	`25`

The total number of products currently in the collection. This field is export-only and automatically calculated by Shopify.

Products

Products that belong to the manual collection. You can manually add, remove, or reorder products in manual collections.

To link products to a collection, add additional rows with the same collection Handle (or ID) and specify the product identifier in the Product: ID or Product: Handle columns. Each row represents one product to link.

Product: ID

Description	Example Value
Product identifier	`987654`

The numeric Shopify ID of a product to link to this collection. When importing, the system first validates that this product ID exists on the store. If the ID is not found (e.g., when migrating from another store), the system automatically falls back to using the Product: Handle column instead.

Product: Handle

Description	Example Value
Product URL handle	`blue-t-shirt`

The URL handle of a product to link to this collection. This is used as the primary identifier when Product: ID is not provided, or as a fallback when the provided ID doesn't exist on the store. This makes migrations between stores seamless - you can export from one store and import to another, and products will be matched by handle even if the IDs are different.

Product: Position

Description	Example Value
Display order in collection	`1`

The position of the product in the collection. Only applies when Sort Order is set to Manual.

Product: Command

Description	Example Value
Product action	`MERGE`

Controls what action to take for each linked product:

MERGE: Add product to collection if not already present (default if not specified)
DELETE: Remove product from collection
REPLACE: Replace all existing products with only the ones listed in the file

When using REPLACE, any products currently in the collection that are not included in your import file will be removed. This is useful when you want to completely redefine which products belong to a collection.

If no Product: Command is specified, MERGE is assumed.

Example: Linking Products to a Collection

To create a collection with linked products, use multiple rows with the same collection identifier:

Handle	Title	Product: ID	Product: Handle	Product: Command
summer-sale	Summer Sale	123456	blue-t-shirt	MERGE
summer-sale	Summer Sale	789012	red-shorts	MERGE
summer-sale	Summer Sale		green-hat	MERGE

In this example:

The first two rows link products by both ID and handle (handle is used as fallback)
The third row links a product by handle only
All three products will be added to the "Summer Sale" collection

Metafields and SEO

Metafields can be imported and exported with collections to store custom metadata, SEO information, and additional attributes.

For detailed information about working with metafields, see our Metafields guide.

SEO fields are special metafields:

SEO Title: Metafield: title_tag
SEO Description: Metafield: description_tag

If no SEO title or description is provided, Shopify automatically generates them from the collection's title and description.

Export Filters

You can use these filters to limit which collections are exported:

handle: Filter by collection handle
id: Filter by collection ID
product_count: Filter by number of products in the collection (equals, not equals, greater than, less than)
product_id: Filter collections containing specific products
publishable_status: Filter by status (published/unpublished)
published_at: Filter by publish date
title: Filter by collection title
updated_at: Filter by last update date

Smart Collection Fields

Manual Collection Fields

Sample File

General

ID

Handle

Command

Title

Body HTML

Sort Order

Template Suffix

Updated At

Published

Published At

Published Scope

Sales Channels

Published

Row

Top Row

Image Src

Image Width

Image Height

Image Alt Text

Products Count

Products

Product: ID

Product: Handle

Product: Position

Product: Command

Example: Linking Products to a Collection

Metafields and SEO

Export Filters