One-way: content flows from PXM to Shopify. Changes made in Shopify admin aren't copied back to PXM, and the next job that sends a field overwrites it.

Handle and SKU: PXM finds the Shopify product by its Handle and each variant by its SKU.

One store, one connection: each Shopify store, including a dev or test store, is its own connection and PXM channel, usually with one template built from that store's schema and metafields.

Publish types: Create and Partial update.

Who does what: the store owner or a staff account with full admin access creates and installs a custom app in Shopify (Step 1), and your Pattern PXM CSM guides you through connecting and authorizing your store (Step 2). Then you (or Pattern) set up the channel and template in PXM.

Your role: setting up channels and templates and publishing to Shopify need the Admin or Super Admin role. If you don't have one of these roles, ask an Admin to publish for you, or export your content with a Custom Export template. See User Roles and Permissions in Pattern PXM.

Only approved values are sent. Draft values don't publish until they're approved, and approving a value doesn't publish it. Someone still has to publish it to the channel.

Only mapped, selected fields are sent. A field reaches the channel only when it's mapped on the channel's template and selected in the job.

Handle*: the product's Shopify handle, from a dedicated PXM attribute. See Handles below.

Is Parent Product*: true for a parent product, false for a variant. A product without variants is a parent.

Title (RECOMMENDED): the Shopify product name. Include it in every Create and Partial update. It can come from a separate web title attribute if your PXM product name is a SKU or item ID.

Variant > Inventory Item > SKU: the SKU. Map it on every template; PXM uses it with the Handle to find the variant.

Description Html: the product description.

Vendor, Product Type, Tags, and Seo | Title and Seo | Description: optional; map them if you manage them in PXM.

Product Options and Variant Option Values: only for products with variants.

Variant Price, the compare-at price and Variant Inventory Quantity: map them if PXM should set price and starting inventory. For ongoing stock updates, check with your Pattern PXM CSM.

Status: Draft, Active or Archived, set on the parent. The parent's status controls whether the product page is live; Shopify ignores status sent from a variant.

Media | Original Source rows and Variant | Media | Original Source: your images. See Images below.

Metafields: your store's product and variant metafields, once the template is synced.

Handle and Is Parent Product are selected for you. Select Variant > Inventory Item > SKU yourself on every job.

Parents and variants are separate products in PXM. Publish the parent, the variants, or both, depending on what changed.

Create builds the product with the handle you send. Include Handle, Is Parent Product, SKU and Title, and send Status as Draft so a new product doesn't go live before its price, inventory and images are checked.

Partial update changes only the fields you select. Include Handle, Is Parent Product, SKU and Title, plus the fields you're changing.

Leave image fields out unless you're updating images. A selected image field with no value can clear images in Shopify.

Handles use lowercase letters, numbers and single hyphens, with no spaces (for example green-tea-500ml). Each must be unique in the store.

For products already in Shopify, export the handles from Shopify admin and import them into a dedicated PXM attribute before your first job.

Don't change a handle in PXM after a Create. PXM would create a second product. To rename a handle, change it in Shopify admin first, then in PXM, so they match.

If you have several storefronts, use a separate handle attribute and template mapping for each one.

The parent carries product-level content: Handle, Title, description, Vendor, Product Type, Tags, Status, Product Options and product images. Each variant carries its SKU, option values, price, inventory, variant image and variant metafields.

Map Product Options | Name (for example Size) on the parent and Variant | Option Values | Name and Value on each variant, in the right position (option 1, 2 or 3).

To add variants: give each option combination (for example Black / Medium) its own SKU, then set its option values, price and inventory, and optionally a variant image.

Keep option names and values consistent across products (for example always "Size", never "Sizes").

Products without variants: send them as a parent with one SKU, and map Variant Price and Variant Inventory Quantity. Leave variant option and variant media fields out, or variant tiles can appear on the storefront.

Changing a variant's SKU: Shopify rejects a new SKU with the same option value as an existing variant. Remove or deactivate the old SKU in Shopify first.

Color swatches need three steps: add the color as a variant option value, add the same value to the matching category metafield (for example Color), and map that metafield to the variant.

Product and variant metafields can be mapped once they appear on the synced template. Which metafields can be sent can vary by account; check with your Pattern CSM. Metaobjects and list-type variant metafields can't be sent through the standard template, so test one product before a bulk job.

If a metafield is missing from the template, click SYNC MY TEMPLATE.

For storefront filters, use two attributes: a display attribute for the text shown on the product page, and a Pick List filter attribute that matches what Shopify filters on. Don't send a comma-separated string to a list metafield.

PDFs: create a Shopify metafield that accepts a list of URLs, sync the template, then put the PDF's PXM link in the attribute mapped to it. Keep PDFs out of the media stack.

Use Media | Alt only for alt text, never for an image URL.

When a Partial update includes product images, send the full set of images you want on the product, in order. Leave image fields out of the job if you aren't changing images, and check the product in Shopify admin afterward. Replaced files can stay under Content > Files; delete them there if you don't need them.

Images arrive in Shopify with Pattern PXM file names rather than the original file names.

Each job can send about 10 product images, plus one image for each variant. If your store uses larger carousels, check with your Pattern PXM CSM during template setup.

Images aren't required to create or update a product. JPEG and PNG files work best.

Activate a new product once its price, inventory and images are checked, in Shopify admin or with a Partial update of Status.

Add products to manual collections in Shopify admin. Tags, Product Type and Vendor publish from PXM when they're mapped.

Values are sent exactly as they are in PXM; they aren't translated into other display values during publishing.

Shopify content doesn't flow back into PXM. To bring Shopify data into PXM, import it or use the Pattern PXM Open API.

If another system (such as an ERP) manages price or inventory in Shopify, leave those fields unmapped so PXM doesn't overwrite them.

Syndicate > JOBS has four tabs: DRAFT, ACTION REQUIRED, IN PROGRESS and HISTORY. Filter Channel to your Shopify channel.

A new job can take up to about 10 minutes to appear. Click REFRESH (bottom right) to update the list.

IN PROGRESS means the job was sent and PXM is waiting on Shopify. "0 of N" means it's still processing.

HISTORY holds finished jobs. Expand a job to see PRODUCTS IN THIS JOB and each product's Item Status, or click DOWNLOAD REPORT for the detailed results.

ACTION REQUIRED holds jobs that Shopify rejected in full or in part. A rejected job shows REJECTED with FIX ISSUES: open it, correct the highlighted errors and resubmit.

A job is a snapshot of your content and template when it was created. If either changes afterwards, start a new job.

Job statuses are Accepted, Partial Accepted, Rejected, Canceled and API Failure. API Failure means PXM couldn't deliver the job to Shopify; it isn't a product rejection.

# OF PRODUCTS shows accepted out of total, for example 3/5.

Accepted isn't the same as correct. Shopify accepts incomplete data rather than rejecting it, so check the product in Shopify admin, especially images, variants and metafields.

If Pattern manages syndication for you, failed jobs can stay in IN PROGRESS while the Pattern team works on them.

If a job stays IN PROGRESS for more than about 2 hours, contact your Pattern CSM rather than waiting longer.

Connection fails or shows as invalid: check that an app version is released and the app is installed on your store, then contact your Pattern PXM CSM. See Shopify Connection Setup Instructions.

There's no access token to copy: Shopify moved custom apps to the Dev Dashboard and no longer shows access tokens. Follow Step 1, and your Pattern PXM CSM guides you through connecting.

Permission (403) error: the app is missing Admin API scopes. Add the scopes in Step 1, release a new version and reinstall the app.

Validation error on Handle or Is Parent Product: map and fill both fields. Is Parent Product must be true or false.

The wrong product changed, or a duplicate was created: the handle doesn't match Shopify, or it changed after the Create. Fix the handle in PXM to match Shopify, and delete the duplicate in Shopify admin.

A new SKU is rejected: it uses the same option value as an existing variant. Remove or deactivate the old SKU in Shopify first.

A product without variants shows variant tiles: leave variant option and variant media fields out of its jobs.

No price, or sold out, after a Create: map and send Variant Price and Variant Inventory Quantity.

Images disappeared after an update: a selected image field with no value can clear images. Resend the images, and leave image fields out unless you're updating them.

Media fails in Shopify admin even though the job succeeded: a PDF was in the media stack. Remove it and link it through a metafield.

A metafield isn't on the template: click SYNC MY TEMPLATE. If it still doesn't appear, contact your Pattern CSM.

A filter or list metafield is empty or wrong: a comma-separated string was sent. Map each value as its own field, with a Pick List attribute for the filter.

An empty color swatch: follow the three color swatch steps above.

A React error #441 on the publish screen: refresh the page or clear your browser cache.