How to export your Shopify product catalog to CSV (and when not to)
Sometimes you need your catalog data out of Shopify rather than changed inside it. A backup before a big edit. A snapshot for accounting. A list to hand to a vendor. Shopify's admin can export a CSV for any of these, and for a one-off it is the right tool. This guide covers how that export works, where it gets awkward if you need it filtered or repeated, and why exporting is not the same job as editing.
Exporting from Shopify's admin
Shopify's native export lives on the Products page.
- Go to Products and, optionally, tick the products you want.
- Click Export.
- Choose all products, your current selection, or the current search, then choose a CSV format.
- Shopify emails you a download link once the file is ready.
Where it gets awkward: there is no saved filter behind this. If you want only out-of-stock items from one vendor with a particular tag, you are either selecting those rows by hand or exporting everything and filtering it afterward in a spreadsheet. There is also no history of past exports and no way to re-run the same export next week without rebuilding the selection from scratch.
Export the same filters you already use for editing
BulkSheet's export uses the same filter engine as the bulk editor, so an export is just a snapshot of whatever you are already looking at.
- Filter the grid (tag, vendor, status, price range, inventory, on sale or not) or open a saved segment, then export that exact set of products.
- The export runs as a background job. You do not have to keep the tab open while a large catalog processes.
- A history list shows every export with its status, and lets you download, retry, or cancel a job.
Filtered, repeatable export is a Growth and Pro feature, both with a 7-day free trial on your first upgrade from Free.
Export for records, edit inline for changes
It is worth keeping these two jobs separate. Exporting gets data out for backup, reporting, or handing off to someone else. Editing changes what is live on your store. Round-tripping a CSV (export, edit in a spreadsheet, re-import) blurs the two together, and the re-import step is where the risk sits, since the whole file gets written back with no preview. Bulk editing prices without CSV covers that risk in more detail. The safer order is to make changes inline, with a preview and an undo step, and export afterward if you want a record of the result.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify's CSV export free?
Yes. Shopify's own product export, from the Products page, is free on every plan and covers backups, reporting, and one-off catalog snapshots well. A filtered, repeatable export tied to the same segments you use for bulk editing is a Growth and Pro feature, both with a 7-day free trial on your first upgrade.
Should I edit my CSV export and re-import it to change products?
You can, but it is risky for the same reason any CSV round-trip is risky. A re-import writes your entire file back to Shopify, formatting issues and all, with no preview of what is about to change. Editing inline and exporting afterward for your own records is safer, since nothing is written to Shopify until you choose to save it.
Related: how to bulk edit Shopify prices without CSV and how to find and replace text across Shopify products. See the pricing page for plan details, or install BulkSheet to try it.