WooCommerce CSV Import Doctor
Check a WooCommerce product CSV before importing it. Find duplicate SKUs, invalid product types and statuses, broken variation-parent relationships, suspicious prices, image URL issues and common schema problems locally in your browser.
Runs locally in your browserProcessing stays in your browser. WPToolix does not upload your product CSV.
Check a WooCommerce product CSV before you import it
WooCommerce’s built-in product importer is powerful, but a small CSV mistake can skip products, break variation relationships, create confusing mapping results or force you to repeat a large import. WooCommerce CSV Import Doctor performs a preflight review in your browser so you can catch common problems before touching your store.
What the preflight checks
- Duplicate non-empty SKUs inside the file
- Missing product names and suspicious or unsupported product types
- Published/status values that do not match the core importer’s expected values
- Variation rows with missing parents, missing identifiers or parent SKUs that are not present in the uploaded file
- Sale prices that are higher than regular prices
- Numeric fields containing currency symbols or non-numeric values
- Image values that look like malformed external URLs
- Attribute values on variations that do not appear on their parent variable product when the matching attribute columns are present
- Unrecognized headers that WooCommerce may leave unmapped
The checks are deliberately conservative. A warning does not always mean WooCommerce will reject a row; it means the row deserves review before a production import.
How to use WooCommerce CSV Import Doctor
- Export or prepare your WooCommerce product CSV.
- Drop the file into the tool or choose it from your computer.
- Run the preflight check.
- Review errors first, then warnings and row-specific details.
- Download the cleaned CSV when safe automatic fixes are available.
- Back up your store and test a small batch or staging import before importing a large catalog.
Why variation CSV files fail so often
A variation is not an independent simple product. Its parent must be identifiable and the attribute values need to agree with the variable product. The core WooCommerce importer can reference a parent by SKU or by an ID written in the expected format. Newer WooCommerce versions also have specific conditions for creating previously unmatched variations during an update import, so a file that looks reasonable in a spreadsheet can still be skipped when its identifiers or attributes do not line up.
CSV formatting details worth checking manually
Use UTF-8 CSV. WooCommerce uses commas as separators, supports quoted values containing commas, and has its own conventions for categories, Boolean values and IDs. External image URLs need to be directly accessible if WooCommerce is expected to download them. Custom product metadata can use meta:-prefixed columns; other unknown columns may require manual mapping or custom importer support.
What this tool cannot know
This browser-based checker does not connect to your WordPress database. It therefore cannot know whether an SKU already exists on your live store, whether a referenced numeric product ID exists there, whether a remote image server will permit WooCommerce to download an image, or whether a plugin adds custom importer rules. Treat the report as a preflight check, not a guarantee that an import will succeed.
Safer workflow for large WooCommerce imports
Keep a backup, test a representative sample on staging, inspect WooCommerce’s skipped/failed-row report, and split very large catalogs into manageable batches. When updating existing products, be especially careful with identifiers because WooCommerce uses IDs and SKUs to match rows to existing products.
Frequently asked questions
Does WPToolix upload my product CSV?
No. The checker runs in your browser. Your product file does not need to be sent to WPToolix for analysis.
Can it repair every WooCommerce CSV error?
No. Safe formatting cleanup can be automated, but the tool should not guess product relationships, missing prices, attribute intent or live-store IDs.
Can I use it for variable products?
Yes. Variation and parent relationships are one of the main reasons this tool exists. For the best checks, include parent rows and the relevant attribute columns in the same file.
Will a clean report guarantee a successful import?
No. Hosting limits, plugins, themes, live-store identifiers and server access to external images can still affect the import.
Related WPToolix tools: If an import exposes server memory problems, use the WordPress Memory Limit Generator. For redirect work after a catalog migration, use the .htaccess Redirect Generator.