You can now run imports and exports directly from your command line using the Altera CLI. This makes it easy to automate data management workflows, integrate Altera into your development process, and script bulk operations.
🚀 What’s New # CLI export command - Export Shopify data with filters, custom field selection, and multiple output formats CLI import command - Import spreadsheets with automatic file analysis and validation Job status tracking - Check the status of any job from the command line CLI command preview - The export create page now shows you the equivalent CLI command for your configuration 📖 Examples # Export products with specific fields and filters:
We’ve made two updates to how order transactions are imported to better match Shopify’s requirements.
🔧 Improvements # Manual gateway default – transaction gateways now default to manual for SALE transactions. SALE transaction limit – order imports now keep only the first sale transaction when multiple are present. Other transaction types (authorization, capture, refund, void) are still imported normally.
You can now schedule your imports and exports to run multiple times per day with more granular control.
🔧 Improvements # Hourly scheduling – set imports and exports to repeat every 1, 2, or 4 hours for better automation.
You can now schedule imports from a file upload to run at a specific time.
Previously, scheduling was only available for jobs that connected to remote storage (FTP, etc.) Now you can upload a file and schedule it to run once. This is useful for things like running sales.
🚀 What’s New # One-time scheduled jobs – schedule imports from file uploads 🔧 Improvements # Job names now include “scheduled” when they’re set to run at a future time. Improved management of scheduled tasks from job detail page. Improved time picker accuracy by clearing seconds when setting run times.
Metafield imports now handle blank values consistently with Matrixify, making migrations seamless.
🔧 Improvements # Blank metafield values – metafield columns with blank values will now delete the metafield from Shopify, matching Matrixify’s behavior and simplifying bulk metafield removal.
You can now use variant-level columns as product identifiers by adding [ID] to the column name – making it easier to update product-level fields without needing a separate product ID or handle column.
🚀 What’s New # Variant SKU [ID] – use the SKU column as a product identifier to update product-level fields like Title, Vendor, or Tags without including product ID or handle columns. Variant Barcode [ID] – use the Barcode column as a product identifier for similar flexibility. Variant ID [ID] – use the Variant ID column as a product identifier when updating products by their variant IDs. This works particularly well when you maintain a product catalog in an external system keyed by SKU or Barcode, letting you update product details without managing Shopify’s product IDs or handles.
Variant matching is now more intuitive when working with products that have only one variant – you no longer need to include a variant ID column like SKU or Barcode.
🔧 Improvements # Single-variant products – automatic variant matching when a product has one variant, so you don’t need Variant ID, SKU, Barcode, or Option columns in your import file. Better error messages – attempting to update a multi-variant product without a variant ID column now shows a clear PRD009 error explaining which columns are required.
Keep your store synced with external systems by automatically importing from and exporting to FTP servers or remote URLs.
🚀 What’s New # Remote imports – fetch data files from FTP servers or URLs on a schedule (see guide). FTP exports – automatically upload export files to your FTP server at regular intervals (see guide). Wildcard file matching – use * patterns to always grab the latest file from a directory. Reusable connections – save FTP credentials and reuse them across multiple import or export jobs. 🔧 Improvements # Scheduling options – set imports and exports to run hourly, daily, or on custom schedules. Job history – track the status of all scheduled remote jobs in one place.
Product imports now support a NEW image command that adds media only when products have no existing images, giving you more control over how media is handled during imports.
🚀 What’s New # NEW image command – adds media only if the product has no existing images, skipping media processing entirely for products that already have media. 🔧 Improvements # Image command validation – updated error messages to include all valid commands (MERGE, REPLACE, NEW, DELETE, IGNORE). Faster imports – products with existing media skip unnecessary processing when using the NEW command.
When uploading files to Altera, using the wrong format can be confusing. We now automatically detect if you’re trying to upload order or product exports from Shopify’s admin and provide clear guidance on how to fix it.
🔧 Improvements # Order export detection – Altera now recognizes when you upload an order export from Shopify’s admin and explains why it won’t work, including steps to properly copy orders between stores. Product export guidance – Updated error messages for Shopify admin product exports to better explain missing data and provide recommended workflows. Store-to-store workflow – Both error messages now recommend exporting from the source store with Altera and importing to the destination store to ensure complete data transfer.
