Establishing CSV feed files and transmitting them via API or FTPS is the preferred way to transmit a product catalog to Constructor. Here's a step-by-step guide to set up a product feed to the Constructor product discovery platform via the recommended CSV file format.

Step 1

Decide on an API or FTPS-based feed integration - see Product catalog.

Step 2

Create items (products), variations, and item groups (categories) files to define your catalog:

• CSV feed format - items (products) - defined within an items.csv file
  Products shown as results on product listing pages (search, browse)
• CSV feed format - variations - optionally defined within a variations.csv file
  Not all product catalogs have variations. Variations refer to child items that can be shown as swatches of top level results on product listing pages
• CSV feed format - item groups (categories) - defined within an item_groups.csv file
  Hierarchy definition of groups for organizing products

Step 3

If you're transferring files via FTPS and you have multiple files (for instance, a product feed and a category feed), create a .tar.gz archive of them at the root of the archive (that is, not inside a directory). An example file is provided at the end of our FTPS connection and transfer details guide.

For help creating a .tar.gz archive, please refer to how do I create a gzipped tar archive?.

If you're transferring files via API, this step is not necessary.

Step 4

If using FTPS, upload the file to our ingestion system using FTPS with the same credentials you use to login to the Constructor website. We recommend using FileZilla to test the transfer process before setting up an automated system.

If using our API, review our API Reference - Catalog documentation.

Work with your Constructor integration team to validate the transfer and file format.

Step 5

If using FTPS, create a role-based account like [email protected] via your customer dashboard.

If you're transferring files via API, this step is not necessary.

Step 6

Set up an automated process to send the feed at regular intervals. For FTPS integrations, this should use the account created in Step 5.

Step 7

Monitor the status of your uploads on the Ingestion Status in your dashboard or using the Tasks endpoint of our API.