Free Shopify product CSV validator.

Use it before a product import

Choose a Shopify product CSV up to 10 MB. Current and older Shopify headers are supported. The checker is useful after editing an export, combining supplier files or preparing a new catalog: it gives you a review report without connecting to your store.

What the checker looks for

• Malformed CSV quoting, inconsistent row columns, and damaged or ambiguous encoding.
• Header problems, blank required values and invalid numeric fields.
• Malformed image URLs, checked as text without fetching the images.
• Suspicious repeated-handle groups, repeated variant combinations and variant structures that need review.

Read errors and warnings together. A warning can require a merchant decision, while broken quoting, damaged encoding or ambiguous columns block a formatting-fixed product CSV. Detected issues can still be downloaded as a separate review checklist.

What it fixes automatically

Safe corrections include converting BOM-identified UTF-16 to UTF-8, removing a leading byte-order mark, normalizing record line endings and trimming outer spaces on recognized headers. Product cells are never trimmed or rewritten.

Handles, titles, descriptions, prices, SKUs, inventory and variant relationships remain your responsibility. The checker does not guess what these values should be.

Keep a repair checklist

When the checker produces detected issues, download their severity, CSV record, field, code and guidance. The report includes validation mode and totals, and says when it is limited to the first 500 issues. It is a review checklist, not a Shopify import file. Product values and filenames are excluded, but field labels may contain your header text: review before sharing.

A file that cannot be read or fails the file-type or size checks produces no checklist. Unusually long header text may exceed the separate 20 MB report limit. No formatting-fixed download may simply mean there was nothing safe to change. This download is a copy of your product rows, not the review checklist, and it can still contain issues that need manual repair.

See the synthetic three-issue repair checklist and how to use it beside a working CSV.

Try a worked example

Shopify CSV import errors: two mug variants, three mistakes: understand a small CSV, then find one missing photo filename. Includes a printable checklist and clearly labeled synthetic teaching files, never live-import templates.

A small example

Synthetic header with accidental outer spaces:

 Handle , Title
blue-mug,Blue Mug

Mechanical header cleanup produces:

Handle,Title
blue-mug,Blue Mug

The product values stay identical. By contrast, an invalid price such as twelve should be reviewed by you, not automatically changed to a guessed number.

Repeated handles are not automatically deleted: several rows with one handle can describe variants or extra images for the same product.

What a clean report cannot prove

The checker cannot inspect existing products, store settings, whether an image URL is reachable, or every Shopify import rule. It never fetches image links or calls the Shopify API. A clean report is a useful file check, not an import guarantee.

Review every remaining issue, keep the source CSV and back up your store before importing. Download a mechanically corrected copy only when the checker permits it; merchant-data issues still need manual correction.

Products arrived, photos didn’t?

Follow the missing-image decision tree to separate media, CSV and local-file problems.

Your file stays in your browser

The tool reads and processes your selected file locally in the browser. File contents and filenames are not uploaded to our servers or saved by the app. Close or refresh the tool tab to clear its working copy; original files and downloaded results remain on your device.

The tool uses Plausible for limited visit, processing, ready-output and download-request counts. These do not include file contents, filenames or file-derived values. Hosting and analytics services receive ordinary connection information. See the Litewares privacy note and the tool’s own disclosure.

Common questions

What should I do about a CSV encoding error?

Keep your original file. If the checker reports damaged or unsupported encoding, export a fresh CSV in UTF-8 from the original spreadsheet or source system, then check that file again. The checker can convert UTF-16 only when a byte-order mark identifies it, and can remove a leading UTF-8 byte-order mark. It does not guess the original encoding or restore already-garbled product text. Review accented and non-Latin characters before importing; a clean report is not an import guarantee.

Are duplicate handles always a problem?

No. Shopify product files can repeat handles for variants and additional images. The checker flags suspicious groups for review and never deletes duplicate rows.

Does it fix prices or product descriptions?

No. Safe fixes are mechanical. Product cells are not trimmed, rewritten or filled with guessed values.

Does it check whether images actually load?

No. Image URLs are checked as text only. The tool does not request images or contact your store.