Importing products from a CSV
Last updated September 26, 2026
Step 1: Open the importer
From the Passports page, open Import CSV. You'll find it under Passports in the sidebar, and in the menu beside Create Passport. The same flow also sits behind the Bulk import option when creating a new passport. Importing requires the editor role or higher; viewers can't create passports.
One row, one passport
This import creates a separate passport for every row. It is the tool for a catalogue of different products, not for the sizes and colours of one product. Those share one passport and get their barcodes in that passport's Sizes and colours sheet, which takes a gtin,size,colour list; see Sizes and colours under one passport.
Step 2: Pick a product category
The importer first asks for the Product category — Textile / Apparel or General Product. One import handles one category, because the category determines which columns exist. If you sell both, run two imports.
Step 3: Start from a template
Once a category is selected, expand "Need a CSV template? Download one to get started." Three downloads are available:
- Download Template (Required Fields) — just the columns needed for a complete passport. Required fields are marked with
*. - Download Template (All Fields) — every column the category supports.
- Download Example (5 products) — a filled-in sample so you can see the expected formats.
Open the template in Excel or Google Sheets, fill in your product data, and save it as CSV. A few fields use compact formats:
- Material composition —
fiber:percentagepairs separated by semicolons, for examplecotton:95;elastane:5. An optional third number is the recycled share of that fiber:cotton:95:30means 95% cotton, of which 30% recycled. - List fields (care symbols, compliance standards, and other multi-value columns) — separate values with semicolons.
- Choice fields — use either the stored value or its English label; both are accepted.
You don't need to keep the template's exact headers, because there's no manual mapping step: the importer matches your column headers to passport fields automatically, by field label or field name. Matching is forgiving — capitalization, surrounding spaces, and the trailing * from the template are ignored. Columns it can't match are skipped, and you'll see a warning naming each skipped column so renamed headers don't fail silently.
This means you can also export from your own systems: as long as the headers match the template's column names, the file imports.
File limits
CSV files only, UTF-8 encoded, up to 10,000 rows and 50MB per file. Larger catalogues just take multiple files.
Step 4: Review the validation results
After upload, every row is validated with the same checks the editor runs. A row needs the fields marked * in the template to import (GTIN is the exception: it's only required later, at publish). The Import Results screen summarizes what it found in up to three cards:
- "N products ready" — rows that passed validation.
- "N have errors" — rows that didn't, shown in a table with the row number, product, and what's wrong (a composition that doesn't sum to 100%, an invalid country, a malformed GTIN, and so on; see Completeness and validation for the full set of checks).
- "N need review" — rows that are importing but carry an advisory. These are counted among the ready rows, not against them.
Click Download Error Report to get the failed rows as a CSV with an _error column, fix them in your spreadsheet, and import that file again. Importing the valid rows now and the fixed rows later works fine; the two batches just become drafts side by side.
When you're ready, click Import N Valid Passports. Large files are sent in batches of 500 automatically, with a progress indicator.
Advisories: "Review before publishing"
Below the errors, a separate amber panel headed Review before publishing lists any advisories on the rows that are about to import, grouped by message with a count of how many rows each one affects — for example "12 rows: A product from outside the EU needs an EU-established responsible person or importer to be placed on the EU market."
An advisory never holds a row back. The count of ready rows and the Import N Valid Passports button are driven by errors alone; a file whose every row carries an advisory still imports in full. The panel exists so that a requirement you'll meet later doesn't disappear behind a clean result. Advisories and what separates them from errors are covered in Completeness and validation.
Click Download Advisory Report for those rows as a CSV. It carries the same columns as the error report — _category, _row, and your original data — plus an _advisory column naming what to review on that row.
The advisory report is a worksheet, not a re-upload
Unlike the error report, don't import the advisory file back. Those rows already exist as drafts, and the importer doesn't check for duplicates — re-uploading them would create a second copy of each. Use it as a checklist while you fix the drafts in the editor, or as a source for the values you need to look up.
What happens after import
Every imported row becomes a draft passport: "All imported as drafts. Review them in your passport list, then publish when ready." From there the normal lifecycle applies — drafts are private and unlimited, and each passport is published individually once its required fields are complete. See Drafts vs published passports for how the two states work.
The success screen also reminds you where you stand against your plan: drafts never count toward your publish limit, so importing 1,000 products on a Free plan is fine; you can publish up to 3 of them until you upgrade. Publishing itself, including limits per plan, is covered in Publishing a passport.
Imported drafts still need review
Import validation checks structure, not substance — it can't tell whether row 14's composition belongs to the product in row 14. Open a sample of your imported drafts and confirm the data landed in the right fields before you start publishing at volume.
Frequently asked questions
Do imported products get published automatically?
No. Every imported row becomes a draft. Drafts are unlimited and private — you review them in your passport list and publish each one when it's ready.
What happens to rows with errors?
They're held back. The results screen shows what's wrong in each row, and you can download an error report CSV, fix the rows in your spreadsheet, and import just those rows again. Valid rows import normally either way.
What is the 'Review before publishing' list on the results screen?
Advisories: things worth a second look on rows that are importing anyway, such as a product made outside the EU with neither an EU responsible person nor an EU importer named. They never hold a row back — the row imports as a draft like any other. Download Advisory Report gives you those rows as a CSV with an _advisory column so you can work through them before publishing.
Do I need a GTIN in my CSV?
Not for the import itself: rows without a GTIN import fine as drafts. You'll need to add a GTIN before publishing each passport, so including a GTIN column up front saves a step later.
Can I import the sizes and colours of one product this way?
No. Each row of this import becomes a separate passport. To give the sizes and colours of one product their own barcodes under one passport, open that passport and add them in its Sizes and colours sheet, which takes a gtin, size and colour column.