Metafield Bulk Update
Bulk set or delete metafields on products, variants, or customers filtered by tag or collection.
shopify-admin-metafield-bulk-update
Purpose
Queries products (or variants, or customers) matching a filter and bulk-sets or bulk-deletes metafield values. Used for structured data updates like material composition, care instructions, product specifications, or custom attributes that power storefront features.
Prerequisites
shopify store auth --store --scopes read_products,write_products read_products, write_productsParameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| store | string | yes | — | Store domain (e.g., mystore.myshopify.com) |
| resource_type | string | no | product | Resource to update: product, variant, or customer |
| filter | string | yes | — | Filter query (e.g., tag:summer-2026, vendor:Nike) |
| namespace | string | yes | — | Metafield namespace (e.g., custom) |
| key | string | yes | — | Metafield key (e.g., material) |
| value | string | no | — | Value to set. If omitted and action: delete, metafield is deleted |
| value_type | string | no | single_line_text_field | Metafield type (e.g., single_line_text_field, boolean, number_integer) |
| action | string | no | set | set or delete |
| dry_run | bool | no | true | Preview without executing mutations |
| format | string | no | human | Output format: human or json |
Safety
> ⚠️ metafieldsSet overwrites existing metafield values — there is no merge. metafieldsDelete permanently removes the metafield value from the resource. Run with dry_run: true to confirm the affected product list and verify namespace/key are correct before committing.
Workflow Steps
products — query Inputs: query: , first: 250, select metafield values for the target namespace/key, pagination cursor
Expected output: Products with existing metafield values (for reference); paginate until hasNextPage: false
metafieldsSet — mutation (if action: set) Inputs: Array of { ownerId, namespace, key, value, type } objects
Expected output: metafields { id, key, value }, userErrors
metafieldsDelete — mutation (if action: delete) Inputs: Array of { ownerId, namespace, key } objects
Expected output: deletedMetafields { ownerId }, userErrors
GraphQL Operations
# products:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
query ProductsWithMetafield($query: String!, $namespace: String!, $key: String!, $after: String) {
products(first: 250, after: $after, query: $query) {
edges {
node {
id
title
metafield(namespace: $namespace, key: $key) {
id
value
type
}
}
}
pageInfo {
hasNextPage
endCursor
}
}
}
# metafieldsSet:mutation — validated against api_version 2025-01
mutation MetafieldsSet($metafields: [MetafieldsSetInput!]!) {
metafieldsSet(metafields: $metafields) {
metafields {
id
namespace
key
value
type
owner {
... on Product {
id
title
}
}
}
userErrors {
field
message
code
}
}
}
# metafieldsDelete:mutation — validated against api_version 2025-01
mutation MetafieldsDelete($metafields: [MetafieldIdentifierInput!]!) {
metafieldsDelete(metafields: $metafields) {
deletedMetafields {
ownerId
namespace
key
}
userErrors {
field
message
}
}
}
Session Tracking
Claude MUST emit the following output at each stage. This is mandatory.
On start, emit:
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SKILL: Metafield Bulk Update ║
║ Store: <store domain> ║
║ Started: <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC> ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
After each step, emit:
[N/TOTAL] <QUERY|MUTATION> <OperationName>
→ Params: <brief summary of key inputs>
→ Result: <count or outcome>
If dry_run: true, prefix every mutation step with [DRY RUN] and do not execute it.
On completion, emit:
For format: human (default):
══════════════════════════════════════════════
OUTCOME SUMMARY
Resources matched: <n>
Metafields set/deleted: <n>
Errors: <n>
Output: metafield_update_<date>.csv
══════════════════════════════════════════════
For format: json, emit:
{
"skill": "metafield-bulk-update",
"store": "<domain>",
"started_at": "<ISO8601>",
"completed_at": "<ISO8601>",
"dry_run": true,
"namespace": "<ns>",
"key": "<key>",
"action": "set",
"outcome": {
"matched": 0,
"updated": 0,
"errors": 0,
"output_file": "metafield_update_<date>.csv"
}
}
Output Format
CSV file metafield_update_ with columns:
resource_type, resource_id, title, namespace, key, old_value, new_value, action
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
THROTTLED | API rate limit exceeded | Wait 2 seconds, retry up to 3 times |
userErrors — invalid type | value doesn't match value_type | Log error, skip resource, continue |
userErrors — namespace/key not found on delete | Metafield doesn't exist | Log as skipped (already absent) |
| No products match filter | Filter too narrow | Exit with 0 matches |
Best Practices
metafieldsSet is batched — the mutation accepts up to 25 metafields per call. The skill automatically batches large product sets.namespace and key match your store's metafield definitions — typos create orphaned metafields that don't connect to any theme feature.dry_run: true to preview exactly which products and current values will be affected before overwriting.