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Import / Export

The Import / Export feature is designed to move your Managed Collections, hierarchy and all, from one store to another. The most common case is moving your setup from a staging or dev store into production once you're happy with it, but it works just as well for migrating between any two stores.

This is an opt-in only feature, enabled on a per-merchant basis. If you need access, reach out to us and we'll enable it for your store.

Once enabled, a new Import / Export entry appears in the left menu of the app inside the Shopify Admin.

File Format​

Exports use JSON. CSV and XLSX are still available for compatibility, but we recommend JSON: managed collections are naturally nested data, filters can nest inside filters, and a collection has a parent and a roll up setting, and that doesn't fit well into a spreadsheet's flat rows and columns. CSV and XLSX work around this by cramming a JSON string into a single cell, which is awkward to read or edit by hand. JSON represents that nesting directly instead.

Importing Collections​

Importing reads a file and creates managed collections in the app, linking each one to an existing Shopify collection and wiring up the parent/child relationships. This is what you'd run in the destination store after exporting from the source.

Before you import​

The import tool does not create Shopify collections. Every collection referenced in your file must already exist in the destination store before you run the import. If a collection doesn't exist yet, create it in Shopify first.

The import only creates managed collections inside the app, it connects them to Shopify collections that already exist in your store, but never creates those collections itself.

For each entry in the file, the import will:

  • Create a managed collection in the app
  • Link it to the existing Shopify collection (or folder), via target
  • Assign its parent, if any
  • Apply the roll up setting and filter conditions

Each parent referenced in your file must either already be a managed collection in the app, or appear as its own entry in the file so it gets created in the same import run.

How to Import​

1. Open the Import / Export section from the left menu​

2. Click Import and select your file​

3. Review the summary and confirm​

The app will process the file and create the managed collections. If anything fails, contact us, we can help figure out what went wrong.

Exporting Collections​

Exporting gives you a JSON snapshot of all your managed collections: their hierarchy, parent/child relationships, roll up setting, and filter conditions. The main use case is to then import that file into another store, but you can also use it as a reference when building one by hand.

How to Export​

1. Open the Import / Export section from the left menu​

2. Click Export​

The file downloads to your computer.

JSON File Format​

Here's roughly what the file looks like:

{
  "formatVersion": 1,
  "exportedAt": "2026-11-12T20:09:03.522Z",
  "managedCollections": [
    {
      "target": { "shopifyCollectionHandle": "beachwear" },
      "parent": { "shopifyCollectionHandle": "summer-sale" },
      "title": "Beachwear",
      "rollUp": false,
      "filters": {
        "name": "logicalGroup",
        "operator": "and",
        "children": []
      }
    }
  ]
}
  • formatVersion: the version of the export format, so the app knows how to read older files if the format changes in the future.
  • exportedAt: when the file was generated. Informational only, not used during import.
  • managedCollections: one entry per managed collection, or folder.

Each entry​

FieldDescription
targetIdentifies the Shopify resource this entry maps to: { "shopifyCollectionHandle": "..." } for a collection, or { "folderHandle": "..." } for a folder.
parentThe parent's target, in the same shape, or null for a root collection.
titleThe collection's title.
rollUpWhether this collection rolls up the products of its sub-collections, instead of narrowing down its own parent.
filtersThe filter conditions, as a logicalGroup tree, same structure as the visual condition builder in the app. A collection condition can reference another collection by target, to filter on membership in another managed collection.

Folders​

Smart Collection Pro lets you create folders, virtual collections that don't have a Shopify collection attached. They're included in exports and imports just like regular collections, using a target of { "folderHandle": "..." } instead of shopifyCollectionHandle.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Folders don't need to exist in Shopify before importing, they're virtual.
  • If a folder with the same handle already exists, the import will update its title and filters. Otherwise, it will be created.

The easiest way to get the right file​

The exact shape of filters isn't fully documented. Rather than writing it from scratch, the recommended approach is to set up the conditions you want using the app's visual editor, then export your collections and use the result as a reference. This guarantees the structure is valid.

We recommend testing on a dev or staging store first. Smart Collection Pro is free on dev stores, so you can safely run through the full import/export workflow before touching your live store.