How to export products from Shopify

June 15, 2026
Shopify Tips
7 min read
How to export products from Shopify

To export products from Shopify, you open Products, click Export, and download a CSV. That part is easy. The hard part is everything the native export quietly leaves out: collections, metafields, and a clean way to filter what you actually want. So you get a 40-column file with gaps exactly where you needed data.

This post covers the native CSV export step by step, what it includes and skips, how to get tags, product IDs, and collections out, and when you need a different tool. If you are also after the image files (not just the URLs), that is a separate job covered in our guide on exporting product images from Shopify.

Short version: the native export handles most product fields fine. It struggles with collection membership and anything stored in metafields. Here is how to deal with both.

In this post

The native CSV export, step by step

The built-in export is genuinely good for a first pass. Here is the flow:

  1. In admin, go to Products.
  2. Click Export at the top.
  3. Choose your scope: all products, the current page, the current search or filter, or selected products only.
  4. Pick “Plain CSV file” (open it in Sheets or Excel) and click Export.
  5. Shopify emails the file to your account email when it is ready, which matters for large catalogs.

That last point trips people up. For a big store, the export does not download instantly, it arrives by email. So if nothing happens when you click, check your inbox in a minute or two.

What the export includes (and skips)

The CSV gives you a row per variant, with the product fields repeated. You get handle, title, body HTML, vendor, product type, tags, published status, options, variant SKUs, prices, inventory, barcodes, and image URLs. That covers most of what you need to recreate a catalog.

What it skips, and this is the annoying part:

  • Collection membership: the standard export does not tell you which collections a product belongs to.
  • Metafields: custom data stored in metafields is not in the plain export.
  • The numeric product ID: the CSV uses the handle, not the underlying ID, which matters for API work.

Why does Shopify leave these out? The plain CSV is designed for re-import into another Shopify store, where handles and collection rules do the linking. The moment you want the data for analysis, an API migration, or a marketplace feed, those gaps show up.

Exporting tags, product IDs, and collections

Three things people search for constantly, and how to actually get each:

  • Tags: these ARE in the plain export, in the “Tags” column, comma-separated per product. No workaround needed.
  • Product IDs: not in the plain CSV. To get numeric IDs, use the Shopify GraphQL or REST Admin API, or an export app that adds an ID column. For a quick one-off, the bulk editor URL of a product shows its ID.
  • Collections: export collections separately from the Collections page, or use an export app that joins products to their collections in one file.

If you need product IDs and collections together with tags in a single file, the native export will not get you there. That is the line where a dedicated export app or a short API script earns its place.

How to export a filtered set of products

You rarely want every product. The trick most people miss: filter or search FIRST in the Products list, then choose “Current search” in the export dialog. Filter by vendor, product type, tag, status, or collection, then export only that view.

This is the cleanest free way to export, say, just your “summer” tagged products or one vendor’s catalog. Build the filter, confirm the count, then export the current search. Simple, and it saves you slicing a giant CSV by hand later.

Planning a bigger catalog change after the export? If you are about to restructure colors into separate products, read up first: our guides on splitting products into separate listings and keeping them linked with combined listings swatches save a lot of rework. And if image management is the real goal, Rubik Variant Images handles per-variant photos without touching your CSV.

Validate the file before you reuse it

Here is a step that saves real pain. Before you re-import an exported CSV or hand it to a tool, validate it. Shopify exports occasionally carry broken rows, encoding quirks, or curly quotes that choke an import. One bad row can fail a whole batch.

Run the file through our free Shopify CSV validator to catch structural problems before they bite. And if you are building an import file from scratch instead of editing an export, the product CSV generator gives you a clean, correctly formatted template to start from.

One more reason to export regularly: it is a backup. Before any bulk edit or a big app install, a fresh product CSV is the cheapest insurance you can buy. The day an edit goes sideways, you will be glad it exists.

Try Rubik Variant Images free
Try Rubik Combined Listings free

Frequently asked questions

How do I export products from Shopify as a CSV?

Go to Products in admin, click Export, choose your scope (all, current search, or selected), pick “Plain CSV file”, and click Export. For large catalogs Shopify emails the file to your account email rather than downloading it instantly.

Does the Shopify export include collections?

No. The standard product CSV does not include which collections each product belongs to. Export collections separately from the Collections page, or use an export app that joins products to their collections in a single file.

How do I export products with their product IDs?

The plain CSV uses handles, not numeric product IDs. To get IDs, use the Shopify GraphQL or REST Admin API, or an export app that adds an ID column. For a single product, its ID appears in the bulk editor URL.

Can I export only certain products?

Yes. Filter or search the Products list first (by vendor, type, tag, status, or collection), then choose “Current search” in the export dialog. Only the filtered set exports, which beats slicing a full-catalog CSV by hand.

Are metafields included in the export?

No. Custom metafield data is not in the plain CSV export. You need an app that supports metafield export or the Admin API to pull metafield values out of Shopify.

So the native export is fine for a clean Shopify-to-Shopify move. The day you need IDs, collections, and metafields in one file, reach for an app or the API. Match the tool to the job, and stop fighting a 40-column CSV.

Co-Founder at Craftshift

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