WC Variable Product CSV Export/Import

Requires: WordPress 5.8+, WooCommerce 6+ License: GPL-2.0+

Export and import WooCommerce VARIABLE products together with all their variations — attributes, prices, stock, SKUs, dimensions, images — via CSV.

Where to find it

WooCommerce → Variable Product CSV

CSV structure

Each variable product = one "variable" row, immediately followed by one "variation" row per variation. Rows belong together via product_slug.

Columns:

row_type variable | variation product_slug parent product slug (grouping + mapping key) sku product / variation SKU (primary match key on import) name parent only (required when creating a new product) status parent only: publish | draft | private description parent only (HTML allowed) short_description parent only categories parent only, pipe-separated slugs or names: "tea|green-tea" tags parent only, pipe-separated attributes JSON, see below regular_price variation sale_price variation manage_stock yes | no stock_quantity number (setting it turns manage_stock on) stock_status instock | outofstock | onbackorder backorders no | notify | yes weight / length / width / height tax_class blank = standard virtual yes | no downloadable yes | no enabled variation only: yes | no (variation visibility) menu_order number image attachment ID or URL gallery parent only, pipe-separated IDs/URLs variation_description variation only

ACF columns ("New Product Page Field Group", parent rows only — leave blank on variation rows):

acf_info_items textarea acf_additional_info_text text acf_description_teaser_text text acf_teaser_read_more_text text acf_certificate_tab_content wysiwyg (HTML) acf_why_section_content wysiwyg acf_compare_section_content wysiwyg acf_shipping_section_content wysiwyg acf_terms_section_content wysiwyg acf_extra_accordion_title text acf_extra_accordion_content wysiwyg acf_schema_content wysiwyg acf_faq_image image URL or attachment ID acf_product_benefits JSON: [{"icon":"url-or-id","benefit":"..."}] acf_kratom_effects JSON: [{"icon":"url-or-id","title":"...","content":"

html

"}] acf_product_faqs JSON: [{"question":"...","answer":"

html

"}]

ACF image handling: exported as media-library URLs. On import, URLs that already exist in the media library are matched to their attachment ID; external URLs are sideloaded only when the Images option is enabled. Writes use ACF field keys, so they work even before the fields have data.

attributes column

PARENT row — array of attribute definitions:

[ {"name":"pa_size","taxonomy":true,"options":["Small","Large"],"visible":true,"variation":true}, {"name":"Flavour","taxonomy":false,"options":["Mint","Lemon"],"visible":true,"variation":true} ]

• "pa_" prefix (or "taxonomy": true) = global attribute. Missing global attributes and terms are created automatically on live import.
• taxonomy:false = custom (product-level) attribute.

VARIATION row — object of selections (names or slugs both accepted):

{"pa_size":"Small","flavour":"Mint"}

An empty string value means "Any …" for that attribute.

Import matching

1. Parent rows: matched by SKU, then by product_slug. Unmatched rows create a new variable product (if "create missing" is checked).
2. Variation rows: matched by SKU, then by attribute combination among the parent's existing variations. Unmatched rows create a new variation.
3. If a variation row has an empty product_slug, it attaches to the parent from the most recent "variable" row above it.

Safety

• Dry run mode (default) validates every row and reports what WOULD happen without writing anything. Always run it first.
• "Skip empty cells" (default on): blank cells keep existing values. Uncheck to allow blanks to clear values (e.g. remove a sale price).
• "Create missing" can be unchecked for a strict update-only import.
• Image URLs are only sideloaded into the media library if the Images checkbox is enabled; otherwise only numeric attachment IDs are applied.
• After a live import, parent products are re-synced (price ranges, stock) and their caches flushed automatically.