Goal: Copy metaobjects from one Shopify store to another, for example from a staging store to a production store. You copy the metaobject definitions, the entries, and the files that the entries use, so the new store looks the same as the old one.
Video walkthrough: Watch the 3-minute video
Prerequisites:
You have Altera installed on both the source store and the destination store
The source store has the metaobject definitions and entries that you want to copy
If your entries reference products, collections, or other objects, those objects already exist on the destination store with the same handles
Step 1 - Select metaobject definitions in the source store
In your source store, open Altera and click New export. Select Metaobject Definitions as the data type.
To copy only some definitions, click Add filter and filter by the definition type (for example, material). Leave out the filter to copy all definitions.
Step 2 - Select metaobject entries in the same export
In the same export, also select Metaobjects as a data type. If you filtered the definitions in Step 1, add the same type filter here, so the file has the entries for the same definitions.
Step 3 - Export file references as URLs
Expand Advanced options and set File name format to CDN URL.
This exports each image or other file in your entries as a full URL instead of a filename. The destination store does not have these files yet, so Altera needs the URL to download each file and upload it to the destination store during the import.
Step 4 - Run the export
Click Start export. When the export finishes, click Download to save the file.
The file has two sheets: one with the metaobject definitions (the field structure) and one with the metaobject entries (the field values).
Step 5 - Upload the file to the destination store
In your destination store, open Altera and click Upload file on the home page. Select the file from Step 4.
Step 6 - Turn on Match URLs to existing files
On the import setup page, select Match URLs to existing files.
With this option, Altera reuses a file that it already uploaded from the same URL instead of creating a duplicate in Content > Files. This matters when you import the same file again later. See Match URLs to existing files.
Step 7 - Run the import
Click Start import. Altera creates the metaobject definitions first, and then the entries, so each entry has a definition to belong to.
Outcome
The destination store has the same metaobject definitions and entries as the source store, and the files are in Content > Files. To verify, go to Content > Metaobjects in the Shopify admin of the destination store and open a few entries.
Copy changes again later
When you add or change entries on the source store, repeat Steps 1 to 7 with the same settings. Existing definitions and entries are updated, new entries are created, and files that were uploaded before are reused instead of duplicated.
Notes
References to other objects: Product, collection, and other references are exported as handles. The import finds the object with the same handle on the destination store, so copy those objects first. To copy a complete store in the correct order, see How to Duplicate a Shopify Store.
Definitions that apps create: Altera cannot create metaobject definitions that are protected by an app, for example the FAQ definitions of the Shopify Knowledge Base app. Install that app on the destination store and create one entry before you import.
Shopify-managed definitions: Product category definitions such as shopify--color-pattern or shopify--material are enabled on the destination store during the import. Other definitions whose type starts with shopify-- cannot be imported.
File references without CDN URL: If you export with the default filename format, the import can only match files that already exist on the destination store. Other file references are left blank with an MFLD003 warning.