Faster than reading? Try the AI assistants:
Have a question? → Open AI Help in app — chat icon, free, instant. Learn more
Want a catalog from your Shopify products? Run the Shopify import below first, then open AI Concierge — it can build catalogs and edit fields for the imported products. Learn more
Note: This article covers the latest Catalog Machine version 2, our latest platform with enhanced Shopify integration features.
Overview
Catalog Machine's Shopify integration allows you to import products and variants directly from your Shopify store, keep product information synchronized, extend products with additional fields and images, and create professional catalogs quickly.
Before You Start
You'll need: an active Shopify store, admin access, a Catalog Machine account, products set up in Shopify
Consider organizing your products in Shopify first
Import Process
Watch this short 3-minute video for an overview of the steps for importing products from Shopify:
1. Connect to Shopify
Go to Import → Shopify in Catalog Machine
Click "View store products"
Enter your Shopify store name when prompted
Authorize Catalog Machine app in your Shopify store
Tip: If you're not sure about your .myshopify.com domain, find it in your Shopify admin under Settings → Domains.
2. Select Products
Load and view your Shopify products
Filter products by collections, keywords, status (active/draft), stock availability
Select products to import
Choose load size (up to 1000 products per batch)
3. Import
Select Products for Import
Choose Product Organization — pick a Category for new products, and in the Collection dropdown choose ⥃ Match Shopify Collections if you want your Shopify collections carried across (see the note below)
Import options — toggles that sit directly on the import toolbar once you have selected products: Inventory only update, Use 'Compare at price', Metafields, Skip variants, Skip images
Can't find the Metafields toggle? It only appears when a product you have selected actually carries Shopify metafields — those products show a META badge in the product grid. If no product shows that badge, this store has no Shopify metafields to import and no setting will change that. The toggle is also disabled while Inventory only update is on, and your choice is remembered for next time.
What Gets Imported
Standard Fields: product name, description, prices, SKUs, images (main and variant-specific), product type and vendor, tags, store URL.
Variant Information: SKUs and barcodes, prices (regular and compare-at), options (size, color, etc.), stock levels, variant-specific images.
Additional Data: meta fields from Shopify apps, custom fields, product status, and collection assignments (only when ⥃ Match Shopify Collections is selected — see below).
Collections are not imported automatically. In the import toolbar, the Collection dropdown starts on -- Import to collection --. Unless you change it to ⥃ Match Shopify Collections, your products import with no collection assignments at all — and the import still reports success, so nothing tells you until you try to group a catalog by collection and find nothing to group.
If that has already happened, just run the import again with the option selected. Products are matched by their Shopify product ID, so nothing is duplicated, and any collection that does not exist yet is created for you.
One caution: matching replaces a product's collections rather than adding to them. If you have built your own collections inside Catalog Machine that do not exist in Shopify, a matched re-import will remove those products from them. In that case group by Product Type instead, or re-add your Catalog Machine collections afterwards.
Bringing your Shopify collection order across. To keep the product order you arranged inside a Shopify collection, pick that collection in the Shopify Collection dropdown at the top of the import screen before you load and import. Products are then added to the Catalog Machine collection in the same order they appear in that Shopify collection. This works whether you import into a chosen collection or use ⥃ Match Shopify Collections.
Four things to know:
The order applies to products being added. Products already in the Catalog Machine collection keep the positions they have, and new ones are appended after them — so to reproduce a Shopify collection exactly, import it into an empty Catalog Machine collection.
Use Load all first if you want the whole order. Importing a single page carries the order of that page only.
Without the collection filter there is no order to carry, so products are simply appended.
Re-importing never reorders a collection you arranged by hand.
After Import
Products are copied to Catalog Machine's database
Changes in Catalog Machine won't affect Shopify
Updates from Shopify can be imported anytime
Custom fields and additional images in Catalog Machine are preserved during updates
Tip: Once products are imported, AI Concierge can build a catalog from them automatically — just ask "build a catalog from my Shopify products".
Next Steps
Create product catalogs using AutoGrid, Product Lists, or custom layouts
Add custom fields for additional information
Create custom Product Cards for consistent display
Advanced Features
Price Management: Add price tiers, use parameters, import compare-at prices
Image Management: Multiple image fields, custom labels, Product Cards displaying all images
Automation: Use Zapier to schedule imports or set up regular sync
Tips and Best Practices
Before Import: Organize products in Shopify first, create categories in Catalog Machine, plan your structure
During Import: Start with a small batch as test, review settings, match categories appropriately
After Import: Verify imported data, add additional fields, create catalogs (or ask AI Concierge to build one)
Troubleshooting
Connection problems: Check Shopify app permissions
Missing products: Verify filter settings
Collections empty, or products ungrouped after import: Almost always because ⥃ Match Shopify Collections was not selected during import — it is off by default. Check Products → Collections: if your collections are missing, or exist but contain 0 products, re-run the import with the option selected. See the note under "What Gets Imported" above.
Products are in the wrong order inside a collection: The order is carried across only when you pick the collection in the Shopify Collection dropdown before importing, and only for products being added. A collection that already holds those products will not change — empty it with Remove all products and import again to rebuild the order. Note that emptying drops any product you added in Catalog Machine that is not in the Shopify collection.
Metafields not appearing after import: Turn the Metafields toggle on in the import toolbar before importing. If you cannot see that toggle, none of the products you selected carry Shopify metafields — look for the META badge in the product grid to confirm. Metafields must be Shopify native metafields (Settings → Custom data), not third-party app internal data, and empty metafields won't create fields. If you already imported without it, re-import the same products with the toggle on — they match by Shopify Product ID, so nothing duplicates.
Image issues: Check image sizes and formats
Field mapping: Review category structure
Need Help?
Use AI Help (chat icon in the app) for instant answers, or chat with our support team for: connection issues, import configuration, custom requirements.