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

  • Authenticated Shopify CLI session: shopify store auth --store --scopes read_products,write_products
  • API scopes: read_products, write_products
  • Metafield namespace and key must already exist or be created on first set

  • Parameters


    ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
    storestringyesStore domain (e.g., mystore.myshopify.com)
    resource_typestringnoproductResource to update: product, variant, or customer
    filterstringyesFilter query (e.g., tag:summer-2026, vendor:Nike)
    namespacestringyesMetafield namespace (e.g., custom)
    keystringyesMetafield key (e.g., material)
    valuestringnoValue to set. If omitted and action: delete, metafield is deleted
    value_typestringnosingle_line_text_fieldMetafield type (e.g., single_line_text_field, boolean, number_integer)
    actionstringnosetset or delete
    dry_runboolnotruePreview without executing mutations
    formatstringnohumanOutput 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


  • OPERATION: 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


  • OPERATION: metafieldsSet — mutation (if action: set)
  • Inputs: Array of { ownerId, namespace, key, value, type } objects

    Expected output: metafields { id, key, value }, userErrors


  • OPERATION: 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_.csv with columns:

    resource_type, resource_id, title, namespace, key, old_value, new_value, action


    Error Handling

    ErrorCauseRecovery
    THROTTLEDAPI rate limit exceededWait 2 seconds, retry up to 3 times
    userErrors — invalid typevalue doesn't match value_typeLog error, skip resource, continue
    userErrors — namespace/key not found on deleteMetafield doesn't existLog as skipped (already absent)
    No products match filterFilter too narrowExit with 0 matches

    Best Practices

  • metafieldsSet is batched — the mutation accepts up to 25 metafields per call. The skill automatically batches large product sets.
  • Always verify the namespace and key match your store's metafield definitions — typos create orphaned metafields that don't connect to any theme feature.
  • For storefront-powered metafields (e.g., displayed in product templates), confirm the theme reads the correct namespace/key before running at scale.
  • Use dry_run: true to preview exactly which products and current values will be affected before overwriting.