Products

How to import products from a file (including Shopify)

September 15, 2026
How to import products from a file (including Shopify)

You can add many products to a TeleportHQ store at once by importing a CSV or JSON file. In the E-Commerce panel, click More actions (…) next to Products, choose Import Products, and drop your file. A product export from Shopify works as it is, including variants. If your file uses other column names, TeleportHQ can work out the columns with AI. Check the preview, then click Import [number] Products.

Before you start

  • The file must be .csv or .json, up to 10 MB.
  • Every product needs at least a name and a price. Everything else is optional.
  • Mapping an unusual file with AI needs at least 300 AI tokens in your workspace.
  • From Shopify: in your Shopify admin, export your products as a CSV file.

Steps

  1. In the editor's left sidebar (the icon column), click E-commerce (the card icon). If you don't see it, click Plugins, then E-commerce, then Open next to E-commerce panel. The E-Commerce panel opens.
  2. Next to Products, click More actions (the … button, left of +).
  3. Click Import Products.
The More actions menu of the TeleportHQ Products list, with Import Products highlighted
  1. The Import Products panel opens beside the E-Commerce panel. Under Import from File, drag your file onto "Drop a .csv or .json file here", or click that box to choose the file.
The TeleportHQ Import Products panel with the file drop box highlighted, above the platforms marked Coming Soon
  1. Check the file review. TeleportHQ shows the file name, the detected file type (for example "Shopify export detected — 16 rows grouped into 3 products with their variants."), any errors and warnings, columns it will skip, and a preview list of the products.
  2. Click Import [number] Products, for example Import 48 Products.
  3. Wait while Importing products and then Linking variants count up. With more than 1,000 products, the panel warns: "Large import detected. This may take a few minutes to complete."

If TeleportHQ can't read your columns

When your file doesn't use the expected column names, the window We couldn't read this file opens. It lists the Columns we didn't recognize.

  1. Click Detect fields with AI. The line "AI is reading your columns and building a mapping…" shows while it works.
  2. If the Map your file with AI window asks questions, answer the ones you can, or keep Let the AI decide.
  3. Click Apply mapping.
  4. Check the preview. It says "Converted with AI. Review the products below before importing."
  5. Click Import [number] Products.

To fix the file yourself instead, click I'll fix the file.

File format

To see the expected format in TeleportHQ, click Format requirements & examples under the drop box in the Import Products panel. It has a CSV Example and a JSON Example, each with a copy button.

The Format requirements and examples section of the TeleportHQ Import Products panel, with the CSV example

The CSV example uses these columns:

name, price, currency, description, status, payment_type, quantity, sku, category, tags, weight, weight_unit, dimensions, image_url, gallery_images, trial_days, is_digital, download_limit, download_expiry_days

  • name and price are required.
  • status is active, inactive, draft or archived. An empty or unknown status imports as active.
  • category is a category name. A category that doesn't exist yet is created.
  • image_url is the main photo's web address. gallery_images holds more photo addresses: a JSON list in CSV (for example ["https://example.com/img1.jpg","https://example.com/img2.jpg"]) or a normal list in JSON.
  • Subscriptions: set payment_type to recurring, and add recurring_interval (week, month or year), recurring_interval_count (for example 3 with month for every 3 months) and, for a free trial, trial_days. See How to sell subscriptions and manage subscribers.
  • Digital products: set is_digital to true, with download_limit and download_expiry_days if you want limits. The files themselves are added in the product form. See How to sell digital products (downloads and license keys).
  • More columns the import reads: slug, image_alt, brand, gtin, mpn, condition, variant_options and variants (variants, best in JSON), discounts, option_groups (product options) and product_page (a custom product page that already exists in the store). A file exported from TeleportHQ uses these names.
  • Several languages? When your site has more than one language, add translation columns named {language}_{field}, for example fr_name or es_description. The examples then show them.

Check that it worked

The message "Successfully imported 48 products" appears (with "(2 failed)" if some couldn't be added), the panel closes, and the products are in the Products list. Open a few products to check prices, photos and variants.

Troubleshooting

"Unsupported file type. Please upload a .csv or .json file." or "Please upload a .csv or .json file" Save your spreadsheet as a CSV file (in Excel, use Save As and choose CSV; in Google Sheets, use File → Download → Comma-separated values), then try again.

"File is too large. Maximum size is 10MB." Split the file into smaller files and import them one by one.

"The AI could not map this file to our product fields." or "The AI produced a mapping but no valid products. Check that the file contains product data." The file may have no product rows, or no names and prices. Check the file, add name and price columns, and try again.

"Import failed. No products were imported." Nothing was added. Check the errors in the file review, fix the file and import again.

Products show up twice, with "(1)" after the name The import always adds new products. It doesn't update products that already exist, so a product with a name that's already in your store gets a number added. Delete the copies, or import only the new rows.

Good to know

  • Connecting directly to a platform isn't available yet. Under or connect a platform, Shopify, Wix, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Square and Ecwid are marked Coming Soon. Export a file from the platform and import it instead. Below them, Product Imports Coming Soon lets you ask to be told when your platform is ready. See What can't the TeleportHQ store do yet?.
  • Photos stay where they are. The import saves each photo's web address as it is. It doesn't copy the photos into your project, so the links must stay public and online.
  • Product options come along. If the file has product options, TeleportHQ also gets the product page ready to show them. See How to let shoppers personalize a product (product options).
  • New store with AI? The Upload my own products step of the AI store builder uses the same import. See How to generate an online store or web app with AI.
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How to export your products

To export all products from a TeleportHQ store, open the E-Commerce panel, click More actions (…) → Export Products next to Products, choose CSV or JSON and click Export; product export works on Trial, Pro and Premium workspaces.

How to add a product

To add a product to your TeleportHQ store, open the E-Commerce panel from the editor's left sidebar, click + (Add Product), fill in Product Name and Price, check the Currency and Status, and click Create Product.

How to add sizes, colors and other variants

To sell a TeleportHQ store product in sizes, colors or other variants, open the product, click Variants under More ways to sell it, add up to 3 variant options with their values, set a price, stock and SKU for each combination, and click Save Changes.

How to let shoppers personalize a product (product options)

In a TeleportHQ store, open a product, click Options under More ways to sell it, and add options shoppers fill in before buying, such as a size, an engraving, a gift message, a yes-or-no extra or their own photo, each with an optional extra price and rules for when it shows.

What can't the TeleportHQ store do yet?

The TeleportHQ store sells physical and digital products, subscriptions and gift cards through seven payment providers, but it can't yet connect Adyen, Checkout.com, Paystack, Flutterwave, PayU, Fiserv or Antom, import products straight from Shopify, Wix or other platforms (file import works), use live carrier rates or a tax service, or keep separate test keys for staging.

What uses AI tokens, and how much?

In TeleportHQ, every AI feature uses AI tokens for the AI work it really does, so costs vary; as a guide, an AI website page is about 3,000 tokens, a web app page about 15,000, a new section at least 1,500 and a 4-second AI video about 9,000, while stock images cost nothing, a run that fails before the AI works costs nothing, and AI 3D models aren't available yet.