---
title: Getting Started on Jane: Import Your Product Listings from Shopify
description: Create your product listing
---
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# Getting Started on Jane: Import Your Product Listings from Shopify
### Importing Shopify Products and Inventory into Jane
Jane’s Shopify importer is designed to bring your catalog into Jane using the same product structure you already have in Shopify. It can create new products, update products you previously imported, import inventory, and use your Shopify product information to select the most appropriate Jane categories and attributes.
> **For the best results, keep the product and variant SKUs in Shopify aligned with Jane.** The importer uses Shopify handles and variant SKUs to determine what should be created or updated.
#### Before you import
A few preparations will make future imports much easier:
- Use stable, unique SKUs for your variants whenever possible.
- Avoid changing Shopify handles after importing a product.
- Include useful product descriptions, categories, product types, metafields, and other descriptive information.
- Products can have up to two meaningful options, such as Color and Size.
- Plan to review product categories, attributes, shipping, inventory, and publication status after the import.
*The importer accepts Shopify product and inventory CSV files up to 10 MB.*
### How Jane identifies products
Jane uses the Shopify **Handle** to identify a product.
When a product is imported, its Shopify handle becomes its product identifier in Jane. If you import the same handle again, Jane updates the matching product. If the handle changes, Jane may treat it as a new product and leave the previously imported product in place.
##### Products that were combined or reorganized in Jane
The importer works best when one Shopify product corresponds to one Jane product.
For example, suppose you have two separate products in Shopify but manually combined their styles under one product in Jane. When you import those products again, Jane still sees two different Shopify handles. Depending on the handles and variant SKUs:
- Some variants may update the combined Jane product.
- Other variants may be added as new variants.
- A separate new product may be created for another Shopify handle.
- Previously created products or variants may remain in Jane.
For this reason, the Shopify importer should not be treated as a way to maintain products that have been substantially reorganized after import.
### How Jane identifies variants
Jane first looks for a Shopify variant SKU.
When the SKU matches an existing variant under the matching product, Jane updates that variant. Keeping SKUs stable is the safest way to prevent duplicate variants.
##### If your Shopify variants do not have SKUs
SKUs are optional in Shopify, and Jane supports importing variants without them. Jane generates an identifier using the product handle and the variant’s option names and values.
For example, a variant may be identified using:
- Product handle: `everyday-tee`
- Option: `Color`
- Value: `Almond`
- Option: `Size`
- Value: `Medium`
As long as the handle, option names, and option values remain consistent, Jane can continue identifying the same variant.
Changing those values may cause Jane to create a new variant because it can no longer be certain that the old and new variants are the same. The previous variant will not be automatically removed.
Adding SKUs after initially importing SKU-less variants can also change how Jane identifies them. We strongly recommend assigning stable SKUs in Shopify before your first import whenever possible.
### Product options
Jane supports up to two meaningful Shopify product options. Common examples include:
- Color and Size
- Material and Size
- Style and Color
Shopify’s standard `Title / Default Title` value for a product without options is handled automatically and does not count as an option.
A product with three meaningful options cannot be imported until its variant structure is adjusted.
##### How Jane uses your product information
Jane imports core product information such as the product name, description, price, weight, inventory, tags, status, and images when those values are included in the export.
Jane also interprets your product information to select the best available:
- Product category
- Subcategory
- Product type
- Variant attributes
- Product attributes
- Standard attribute values
This is more than a direct text-to-text copy. Jane uses the full product context to understand what you are selling.
For example, the product title, description, Shopify category, product type, options, and additional descriptive fields can all help Jane determine whether an item is a blouse, sweater, dress, shoe, home décor item, or another product type.
Because this selection is interpretive, always review the imported category and attributes before publishing or promoting the product.
Include metafields and additional product information. Additional metafield-style information is very helpful when importing products into Jane.
If your export contains descriptive fields such as the following, leave them in the file:
- Material or fabric
- Fit
- Pattern
- Neckline
- Sleeve length
- Occasion
- Theme
- Style
- Season
- Product features
- Care information
- Intended customer or department
This information gives Jane more context and helps us select better categories, product types, attributes, and merchandising values.
Not every additional field will necessarily appear on the Jane product exactly as written. Some fields are used as supporting information to help Jane choose the closest standardized value. Standardized values make it easier for Jane to merchandise products and can support customer-facing search and filtering.
Clear, specific, and consistent information produces the best results. A detailed description and useful metafields are much more helpful than short or generic values.
##### Custom variant labels
Jane supports custom labels for variant attributes that allow them.
For example, Shopify may use the color name `Almond`, while Jane’s closest standard color is `Beige`. Jane can:
- Associate the variant with Beige for merchandising and filtering.
- Keep Almond as the custom label shown to the customer.
This means a shopper filtering for beige products can still find the item while seeing the more specific Almond color name when selecting the variant.
Jane attempts to choose the closest supported value, but the original label is retained only for attributes that support custom labels. Review imported color, size, and style values to make sure they represent the product correctly.
### Tags
Shopify tags are supported and imported. Tags can be used when creating collections on Jane or when setting up sales events in the Calendar.
When a Tags value is included, it replaces the product’s existing Jane tags rather than being merged with them. If the Tags column is included but its value is empty, the product’s tags may be cleared.
Keep tag values consistent between imports if Shopify is intended to remain the source of truth for this information.
### Inventory and Shopify locations
The correct inventory workflow depends on the number of locations in your Shopify store.
##### Stores with one location
For a store with one inventory location, the Shopify product export normally contains the inventory quantity Jane needs. You can import the product export without creating a separate inventory file.
##### Stores with multiple locations
For a store with multiple locations:
1. Import the Shopify product export if those products have not already been created/imported into Jane.
2. Export inventory from Shopify.
3. Include every location whose available inventory should be sellable on Jane.
4. Import the inventory CSV into Jane.
Jane supports both Shopify inventory-export layouts and sums the available quantity across the locations included in the export.
For example, if an item has:
- 5 available at Location A
- 3 available at Location B
- 2 available at Location C
Importing all three locations sets the Jane inventory to 10.
Only export the locations that should contribute inventory to Jane. If Location C should not fulfill Jane orders, exclude it from the export.
##### Inventory imports replace the current quantity
An inventory import sets Jane inventory to the calculated available total. It does not add the imported quantity to the quantity already in Jane.
Products or variants omitted from the inventory file are not automatically set to zero. Their existing Jane inventory remains unchanged.
A separate inventory import cannot create missing products or variants. Import the product file first so Jane has products to match using the handle and SKU.
### Shipping rates
A standard Shopify export does not provide Jane’s first-item and additional-item shipping rates. When a **new** product is imported without Jane shipping rates, Jane creates it with **Free Shipping**.
If paid shipping should apply, the import can include:
- `Shipping Rate First`
- `Shipping Rate Additional`
Both rates should be supplied for a new paid-shipping product. If either shipping field contains `Free` or are empty, Jane applies Free Shipping.
##### Shipping behavior on later imports
Once a shipping setup has been supplied or saved to an existing Jane product, later imports will not automatically change it to Free Shipping merely because:
- The shipping-rate columns are not included.
- The shipping-rate columns are included but left empty.
In those cases, Jane keeps the product’s existing shipping setup.
To intentionally change an existing product to Free Shipping, provide `Free` in one of the supported shipping-rate fields or update the shipping setting in Jane.
> **Recommended:** Always review shipping after the first import. On later imports, leave the shipping columns out or empty when you want to preserve the product’s current Jane shipping settings.
### Product status
Jane uses the Shopify product status and published information when they are available.
In general:
- Archived products become Archived in Jane.
- Draft products remain Draft.
- Active products are Published when Shopify also identifies them as published.
- An active product that is not published is imported as Draft.
- A new product without status information starts as Draft.
Review the product’s Jane status before expecting it to appear in the storefront.
### Product and variant images
Shopify product-image and variant-image URLs are supported.
Product data is imported first, and the images are then downloaded and processed in the background. It is normal for products to appear before every image has finished processing.
Use the Images Status link on the import results page to monitor image processing.
Reimporting a product can update images in matching image positions, but omitting an old image from a later file does not automatically remove it from Jane.
### What happens during a reimport
A reimport updates products and variants Jane can confidently identify. It is not a complete replacement of everything previously imported.
In particular:
- Matching products and variants are updated.
- New handles or SKUs may create new records.
- Products omitted from the file are not deleted.
- Variants omitted from the file are not deleted.
- Inventory omitted from the file is not set to zero.
- Images omitted from the file are not removed.
- Included Shopify values may overwrite manual changes made in Jane.
- Category and attribute selections may be reevaluated when important product information changes.
If Shopify is your source of truth, keeping the Shopify and Jane product structures aligned will produce the most predictable results.
### Review your import results
Each product is processed separately. This means some products can import successfully even if another product in the same file has an error.
An import marked **Failed** may therefore still contain products or inventory records that were successfully processed.
The Import Status page shows useful information such as:
- Product handle
- Variant SKU
- CSV row number
- Success message
- Error message
Use that information to correct the affected Shopify product or CSV row and import it again.
Images are processed separately, so also review the Images Status page when image downloads are still in progress.
### Recommended post-import checklist
Before making imported products available to customers, review:
- Product names and descriptions
- Unexpected duplicate products
- Variant names and SKUs
- Variant count
- Category and product type
- Color, size, and other attributes
- Custom labels
- Tags
- Prices
- Inventory
- Shipping rates
- Product status
- Product and variant images
A quick review after each import helps catch identity changes, incomplete source information, and unexpected attribute selections before they affect the customer experience.
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