Shopify CSV Import Checker
reapps.com.au
Upload a product CSV before you import it. Every problem is listed with its row number and how to fix it. Nothing in your file is changed.
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Find Shopify Import Errors Before Shopify Does
Shopify checks a product CSV while it imports, and stops to tell you about problems one at a time, with messages such as "Illegal quoting", "Title can't be blank" or "Inventory policy is not included in the list". You fix one, upload again, wait, and meet the next. On a large catalog that loop can take an afternoon, and some mistakes never raise an error at all: they simply import the wrong data.
The Shopify CSV Import Checker reads the whole file in one pass and lists everything at once: the row number, the product handle, what is wrong, and what to change. It works on Shopify exports, supplier price lists converted to Shopify format, and files produced by other tools.
What the Checker Looks For
File Structure
Rows with more or fewer cells than the header (the cause of most "illegal quoting" failures), duplicate column names, text that is not UTF-8, rows with no handle, and products whose rows are scattered through the file instead of grouped together.
Variants and Options
Two variants of one product with the same option values, option values with no option name, variants missing a value for one of the product's options, and products with more variants than Shopify's long-standing limit of 100.
Prices, Stock and Weights
Prices with currency symbols or text, a compare-at price that is not higher than the price, weights that include a unit, invalid inventory policies, and stock that is tracked in a file with no quantity column, which leaves new products showing as sold out.
SKUs, Images and SEO Fields
SKUs used on more than one variant, SKUs and barcodes that a spreadsheet has turned into scientific notation such as 1.23E+12, image links that are not full web addresses, products with no image, and titles, tags, SEO fields and alt text that exceed Shopify's length limits.
How to Check a Shopify CSV in 3 Steps
- Upload the File: Choose the product CSV you are about to import. A Shopify export, a supplier file in Shopify's format, or the output of another tool all work.
- Read the Report: Errors are listed first, then warnings. Open any item to see the affected rows. Row numbers match what you see when the file is open in a spreadsheet.
- Fix and Re-Check: Correct the rows in your spreadsheet, save as CSV UTF-8, and check again until no errors remain. Then import into Shopify.
Why Spreadsheets Break Shopify CSVs
Most broken product files started as a good export that was opened and saved in a spreadsheet program. Long barcodes are converted to scientific notation and lose their final digits. Leading zeros disappear from SKUs. A description that contains a quotation mark or a line break can be written back in a way that splits one row into several. Saving in the wrong format replaces accented characters with question marks.
None of these shows up when you look at the file on screen. Checking the file after every round of edits, before you import it, is the quickest way to catch them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Shopify say "Illegal quoting" when I import my CSV?
A quotation mark inside a cell has not been doubled, usually in a product description. From that point the columns no longer line up. The checker reports these as rows with the wrong number of columns and gives the row number. Re-export the file from Shopify or your spreadsheet program instead of editing it in a plain text editor.
What is the difference between an error and a warning?
An error is something Shopify will reject, or that will put data in the wrong place. A warning will import, but probably not the way you intended, such as a compare-at price that is lower than the price.
Does a clean result guarantee the import will succeed?
No. The checker covers the structure and values of the file. It cannot see your store, so it does not know about things like images that fail to download or locations that do not exist.
Is my CSV stored on your server?
No. The file is read once to produce the report and discarded when the request finishes.