Variant Option Normalizer

Detects inconsistent variant option naming (Sm vs Small vs S) and bulk-corrects to a standard set.

shopify-admin-variant-option-normalizer


Purpose

Scans product variants for inconsistent option values (e.g., "Sm", "Small", "small", "S" all meaning the same size) and bulk-updates them to a canonical set you define. Inconsistent option naming breaks size filters, causes customer confusion, and prevents search apps from grouping variants correctly.


Prerequisites

  • Authenticated Shopify CLI session: shopify store auth --store --scopes read_products,write_products
  • API scopes: read_products, write_products

  • Parameters


    ParameterTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
    storestringyesStore domain (e.g., mystore.myshopify.com)
    option_namestringyesOption to normalize (e.g., Size, Color)
    mappingobjectyesMap of non-standard → canonical values (e.g., {"Sm": "S", "small": "S", "Sml": "S"})
    filterstringnoOptional product filter (e.g., tag:apparel)
    dry_runboolnotruePreview changes without executing mutations
    formatstringnohumanOutput format: human or json

    Safety


    > ⚠️ productVariantsBulkUpdate modifies variant option values. Option value changes affect how the variant appears to customers in the storefront and may break existing cart links or saved wishlists. Run with dry_run: true to review all affected variants before committing.


    Workflow Steps


  • OPERATION: products — query
  • Inputs: query: (or all products if no filter), first: 250, select options, variants { selectedOptions }, pagination cursor

    Expected output: Products with variant option values; paginate until hasNextPage: false


  • Match variant option values against mapping keys — collect variants needing update

  • OPERATION: productVariantsBulkUpdate — mutation
  • Inputs: productId, array of variants { id, options: [] } for affected variants

    Expected output: productVariants { id, selectedOptions }, userErrors


    GraphQL Operations


    # products:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
    query ProductVariantOptions($query: String!, $after: String) {
      products(first: 250, after: $after, query: $query) {
        edges {
          node {
            id
            title
            options {
              id
              name
              values
            }
            variants(first: 100) {
              edges {
                node {
                  id
                  title
                  sku
                  selectedOptions {
                    name
                    value
                  }
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
        pageInfo {
          hasNextPage
          endCursor
        }
      }
    }
    

    # productVariantsBulkUpdate:mutation — validated against api_version 2025-01
    mutation ProductVariantsBulkUpdate($productId: ID!, $variants: [ProductVariantsBulkInput!]!) {
      productVariantsBulkUpdate(productId: $productId, variants: $variants) {
        productVariants {
          id
          title
          selectedOptions {
            name
            value
          }
        }
        userErrors {
          field
          message
        }
      }
    }
    

    Session Tracking


    Claude MUST emit the following output at each stage. This is mandatory.


    On start, emit:

    ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
    ║  SKILL: Variant Option Normalizer            ║
    ║  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
      Products scanned:       <n>
      Variants needing fix:   <n>
      Variants updated:       <n>
      Errors:                 <n>
      Output:                 option_normalizer_<date>.csv
    ══════════════════════════════════════════════
    

    For format: json, emit:

    {
      "skill": "variant-option-normalizer",
      "store": "<domain>",
      "started_at": "<ISO8601>",
      "completed_at": "<ISO8601>",
      "dry_run": true,
      "option_name": "Size",
      "outcome": {
        "products_scanned": 0,
        "variants_needing_fix": 0,
        "variants_updated": 0,
        "errors": 0,
        "output_file": "option_normalizer_<date>.csv"
      }
    }
    

    Output Format

    CSV file option_normalizer_.csv with columns:

    product_id, product_title, variant_id, sku, option_name, old_value, new_value


    Error Handling

    ErrorCauseRecovery
    THROTTLEDAPI rate limit exceededWait 2 seconds, retry up to 3 times
    userErrors on bulk updateOption value conflict within productLog error, skip product, continue
    No matching variantsMapping keys not found in catalogExit with 0 matches, review mapping

    Best Practices

  • Build the mapping by first running with dry_run: true and reviewing the detected option values — you may discover more variants than expected.
  • Normalize one option_name at a time (Size, then Color separately) to keep the mapping manageable and reduce error risk.
  • After normalizing, verify that automated collection rules based on option values still match the intended products.