If you manage a PrestaShop store with a large catalog, you already know this routine. Export a CSV, open it in a spreadsheet, make changes, re-upload it, redo the column mapping, and hope nothing breaks this time. Then do the whole thing again next week, from scratch, because none of that configuration was saved anywhere. ThePrestaShop Catalog Import Export Module by Knowband is built specifically to fix this.
Merchants looking for a capable PrestaShop product import and export solution quickly find that the native importer covers the basics only. Combinations fail. Multi-language fields go missing. There is no scheduling and no way to automate any of it. The process consumes hours that keep adding up across every update cycle.
This post walks through where that friction actually comes from, what a proper catalog transfer workflow looks like, and how stores ranging from 200 to 50,000 products are handling it now.
Why PrestaShop’s Default Importer Is Not Good Enough for Real Catalog Work
The built-in CSV importer in PrestaShop handles a few sets of scenarios well. Uploading a basic list of new products without combinations, in one language, and for one-time imports.
The moment the catalog gets more complex, the gaps show up fast. Product combinations remain one of the biggest challenges during catalog imports, with merchants frequently reporting issues such as failed imports and incorrectly mapped attribute data in community discussions. Additionally, multilingual catalogs introduce another layer of complexity. Although PrestaShop’s default importer supports multilingual fields, managing translations through CSV files can become cumbersome as the number of languages and products grows. Merchants often need to invest extra time in preparing, validating, and updating language-specific data to ensure consistency across their catalog.
Beyond combinations and languages, the structural problem is repeatability. Every import starts over. There is no option to save a configuration, no option to automatically pull a file from an FTP location, and no transfer log to diagnose what went wrong when a batch fails silently.
What You Actually Need to Migrate a PrestaShop Store Successfully
Catalog migration between PrestaShop stores means moving from PrestaShop 1.7 to 8.x or 9.x, or splitting one store into two regional stores, which is the scenario where the native importer breaks down most completely.
Most merchants think migration means moving products. In reality, it means moving everything your store depends on to function correctly. Miss one piece and you are looking at broken pages, wrong prices, or customers seeing products in the wrong language.
Here is what a complete migration actually covers:
Your product data, including names, descriptions, SKUs, prices, tax rules, and visibility settings. Your category structure with parent-child relationships, friendly URLs, and category images intact. Product combinations and variants with size, color, material, combination references, price impact, and default combination settings all carried over correctly. Product images, including cover images, gallery images, and variant-specific images in the right order. Manufacturers, suppliers, features, and attribute groups with all their values and assignments. Stock quantities, availability settings, and out-of-stock behavior. SEO metadata, including meta titles, meta descriptions, and friendly URLs for every product and category, because losing these means losing months of search ranking work. And for multilingual stores, every translation needs to stay correctly linked to its language.
ThePrestaShop Catalog Import Export Module by Knowband handles this as a seamless transfer workflow. Export from the source store with combinations enabled, import into the destination store, and the module creates missing attribute groups and values automatically rather than throwing an error. Every language exports to the same file. No separate pass per locale, no manual field matching across files.
How Does the PrestaShop Import Export Module Profile System Work
The single feature that separates this from a basic transfer tool is the profile system. Every import or export configuration, data type, file format, language selection, column set, and FTP destination is saved as a named profile. Create it once. Run it whenever needed, or set it on a cron schedule and let it run without any manual involvement. This is what makes the PrestaShop Import Export Module genuinely useful for recurring catalog operations.
A store fetching pricing updates from a supplier feed can configure an import profile that points to the supplier’s SFTP location, runs daily via cron scheduling, and sends a completion email to the admin. If a row fails, the transfer logs show exactly which record failed and why, so only the affected rows need to be corrected and re-imported; the rest of the catalog is untouched.
That same logic applies to catalog backups. Each scheduled export generates a file timestamped and stored in the transfer history. If a bulk update produces unexpected results, a previous version can be downloaded directly from the logs and re-imported to restore the catalog to its prior state.
How Can You Bulk Update Prices in PrestaShop Without a Developer
One of the most time-consuming recurring tasks for any mid-size store is a price update across hundreds of products. The conventional approach involves either editing products one by one or attempting a CSV import that may or may not map correctly and may or may not touch only the fields that need changing.
With a PrestaShop Bulk Data Manager approach, the process is: export the catalog to XLSX, edit the price column in Excel, and import the file back with the same saved profile. The module updates only the columns that were mapped; prices change while descriptions and images remain exactly as they were.
For stores syncing from a supplier feed, even the manual edit step disappears. The supplier publishes an updated file to an FTP location, the scheduled import profile picks it up, and the catalog reflects the new prices before the store opens the next morning. No developer required, no file handling, no manual trigger.
Which File Formats Does the PrestaShop Catalog Import Export Module Support
Four file formats are supported for both import and export: CSV, XLSX, JSON, and XML. Most merchants will use CSV or XLSX for direct spreadsheet work and bulk price updates. JSON and XML become relevant when synchronising data between stores, connecting with third-party platforms, or building automated migration workflows.
Supporting all four in both directions means the same module covers the full range of catalog operations a store typically needs over a year, whether that means importing supplier feeds, migrating catalog data, synchronizing inventory updates, or exporting product information for external systems.
How Does the Module Handle Import Errors Before They Reach Your Live Store
Partial import failures are a real operational risk for stores with large catalogs. The standard outcome with most basic importers is discovering that something went wrong only after browsing the catalog and noticing broken products, at which point the damage is already live.
The column mapping screen in this PrestaShop Automated Catalog Manager shows a live preview of the first rows of the source file before the import runs. Required fields not mapped are flagged before moving forward. Duplicate field assignments are blocked. When an import does run, and a row fails, the transfer log records the row number and the specific error. The PrestaShop Automated Catalog Manager ensures admins fix only what broke, re-import only the affected rows, and the live catalog is never touched beyond what was intentional.
Who Should Use the PrestaShop Catalog Import Export Module
Not every PrestaShop store needs this. If the catalog is under 100 products, changes rarely, and migration is a one-time event, the built-in importer may be sufficient.
ThePrestaShop Catalog Import Export Module earns its place for stores managing medium to large catalogs where catalog operations recur weekly or more often, stores running multilingual setups where translation preservation is not optional, agencies managing multiple PrestaShop installations who need consistent, repeatable transfer workflows, and any merchant currently spending developer time on what should be a self-service admin task.
For those operations, the module pays for itself quickly, not in a theoretical ROI calculation, but in the hours it stops consuming every update cycle.
The full feature set, pricing, and compatibility details are available on the PrestaShop Bulk Data Manager product page. Compatible with PrestaShop 1.7.x through 9.x, with no coding required.
Managing eCommerce manually is one of the most time-consuming parts of running an online store. Updating prices means opening products one by one. Migrating to a new store means starting from scratch. Syncing a supplier feed means downloading a file, converting it, and running an import that may or may not work cleanly.
The PrestaShop Product Import Export Scheduler Pro by Knowband replaces all of that. It is a complete PrestaShop Bulk Product Import Export Module that handles every direction of catalog data transfer, products and categories, in and out, in CSV, XLSX, JSON, and XML, from inside your PrestaShop admin panel without any coding, desktop software, or developer involvement.
What makes this PrestaShop Import Export Module different from basic transfer tools is the automation layer. Transfers are saved as named profiles. Profiles run on a schedule. Scheduled runs push files to FTP or SFTP servers automatically, send completion emails, and clean up after themselves.
Compatible with PrestaShop 1.7.x through 9.x.
1.1 Who Is This Module For
The PrestaShop Catalog Manager is built for:
Store owners managing medium to large catalogs of 100 to 50,000 SKUs.
International stores running multilingual catalogs.
Businesses syncing product or pricing data from supplier feeds on a schedule.
Any merchant who has struggled with PrestaShop’s native importer and needs a reliable combination and multi-language support.
2.0 Installation Guide
2.1 System Requirements
Before installing the module, confirm your environment meets the following:
PrestaShop version 1.7.x or 8.x or 9.x.x
PHP 7.2 or higher
MySQL 5.6 or higher
2.2 Uploading and Installing the Module
Step 1 – Upload the module: From your PrestaShop admin panel, go to Modules, then Module Manager, and click “Upload a Module” in the top right. Select the ZIP file downloaded from Knowband and click Open. PrestaShop uploads and extracts the files automatically.
Step 2 – Install: Once uploaded, click Install when prompted. After installation, you are redirected to the module configuration page.
Step 3 – Locate if needed: If the module does not appear automatically, search for Bulk Data Manager in the Module Manager search bar and click Configure.
2.3 Common Installation Issues
Upload fails: Your server upload size limit is too low. Ask your hosting provider to increase upload_max_filesize and post_max_size in the PHP settings to at least 32 MB.
Module not visible after install: Clear your PrestaShop cache under Advanced Parameters, then Performance, then search for the module again in Module Manager.
The configuration page appears broken: Clear your browser cache and the PrestaShop theme cache under Design, then Theme and Logo, then Advanced Settings.
3.0 Admin Panel Overview
Once installed, the PrestaShop Product Import Export Scheduler Pro has four main tabs in the admin panel:
General Settings: Preferences, template files, limits and speed, scheduled cleanup.
Export Profile: Create and manage export profiles.
Import Profile: Create and manage import profiles.
Transfer Logs: Full history of every import and export run.
4.0 General Settings
The General Settings tab has four sub-sections accessible from the left sidebar: Preferences, Template Files, Limits and Speed, and Scheduled Cleanup.
4.1 Preferences
This is the first screen you see inside the module.
Module Enable/Disable: Toggle the module on or off. When disabled, all scheduled CRON import and export tasks are paused.
Maximum Visible Columns: Sets how many columns are displayed at once in the import mapping table. Use the arrows to scroll through the remaining columns. Accepted range is 1 to 20. Default is 6.Maximum Visible Rows: Sets how many sample data rows are shown in the import mapping preview. This is for visual verification only and does not limit how many rows are imported. Accepted range is 1 to 50. Default is 10.
Import Batch Size: Sets how many rows are processed per AJAX request during import. Lower values reduce timeout risk on shared hosting environments. The accepted range is 10 to 500. Default is 100. For VPS or dedicated servers, increase this to 300 or higher to speed up large imports.
Click Save Settings to apply changes.
4.2 Template Files
This section provides ready-to-fill sample template files for every supported entity and format combination.
Two entities are available: Products and Categories. Each entity has four format buttons: CSV, JSON, XML, and XLSX.
Click the relevant button to download the template for that entity and format. Each template includes every column the PrestaShop Import Export Module recognises and uses safe placeholder data. Download a template, fill it in with your real product data, and import it back. Your upload file must follow the column layout shown in these templates.
4.3 Limits and Speed
Max Records Per Download: Sets the maximum number of records exported per file. Increase only if your server memory allows. Accepted range is 100 to 50,000. Default is 5,000.
Max Upload Size (MB): Sets the maximum import file size in MB. This works alongside your server’s PHP upload limit; whichever is lower takes effect. Accepted range is 1 to 200 MB. The default is 50 MB.
Click Save Settings to apply.
4.4 Scheduled Cleanup
This section generates the three cron URLs used to automate transfers and manages the automatic file cleanup.
Keep Files For (Days): Import files older than this many days are deleted automatically by the cleanup CRON. Accepted range is 1 to 30. Default is 7 days.
Cleanup CRON URL: Add this URL to your server’s cron manager to delete old temporary import files automatically. Example: run daily at 2 AM.
Export Profiles CRON URL: Add this URL to your server’s cron manager to run every export profile flagged as CRON-enabled. Pick whatever frequency suits your store, for example, daily at 3 AM.
Import Profiles CRON URL: Add this URL to your server’s cron manager to run every FTP-source import profile flagged as CRON-enabled. Upload-source profiles are manual-only and are skipped automatically. Example: daily at 4 AM.
Each URL has a Copy button for one-click copying. Paste the copied URL directly into your server crontab or into PrestaShop’s built-in Scheduled Tasks module.
Click Save Settings to apply.
5.0 Export Profiles
The Export tab lists all saved export profiles and allows you to create new ones. Each profile is shown with its ID, name, entity type, format, CRON status, and date added. Profiles can be edited using the Edit button on each row.
Click Add Export Profile to begin. The export wizard runs through three steps: Transfer Settings, Choose Fields, and Generate File.
5.1 Step 1 – Transfer Settings
Profile Name: A unique label that identifies this profile in the Export listing. Example: Weekly product feed.
Output File Label: Used as the base name of the generated file. The file extension is added automatically. Use letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores only. Example: products-daily.
Data Type: Select the store data you want to download, Products or Categories.
File Format: Select CSV, XLSX, XML, or JSON. CSV and XLSX open directly in spreadsheet apps. XML and JSON suit system integrations.
Language(s): Select one or more store languages. Translated fields such as name and description will be exported for each selected language. Select All Languages to include every active language in the store.
Date Range (optional): Filter by creation date. Leave blank to export all records.
Record Order (optional): Controls the row sequence in the downloaded file. Leave on default to use database order.
Export product combinations (variants): When enabled, each product row is followed by a row for each combination. This adds the columns row_type, parent_reference, combination_reference, attributes, and impact_price. Enable this when you need a full product catalog, including all variants for re-import or migration.
Scheduled Run – Enable CRON: When on, the CRON URL configured in Settings will run this profile automatically and store the generated file under the Transfer Logs tab.
Export Destination – Send Generated File To:
File System: Saves the file locally. Admin downloads it from the Transfer Logs page.
FTP / SFTP: Pushes the file to a remote server after each run. A local copy is also kept for fallback download.
If FTP / SFTP is selected, the following fields appear:
Transfer Protocol: Choose FTP, FTPS, or SFTP. FTPS is recommended for production. FTP is plaintext. FTPS adds TLS over the legacy protocol.
FTP Server: The server address, for example, ftp.example.com.
FTP Port: Default is 21 for FTP, 990 for FTPS, and 22 for SFTP. The port auto-updates when the protocol changes.
FTP Username and FTP Password: Credentials for the remote server. The password is stored encrypted at rest.
Absolute Path to a Folder: The remote folder where the file is dropped. The folder must already exist and be writable.
Passive Mode: Recommended for FTP/FTPS so firewalls do not block transfers.
Click Test Connection to verify your credentials before saving.
Output Style: Choose the CSV delimiter, Universal comma, Windows/Excel semicolon, or Tab-separated.
List Glue: Separator used for multi-value fields such as Tags and All Category Names. Options are Pipe, Slash, or Comma.
If File System is selected, you just need to add the Sheet Lable.
Narrow By (optional filters):
Narrow by Category: Limit the export to products in selected categories only.
Narrow by Brand: Limit the export to products from selected brands only.
Narrow by Supplier: Limit the export to products from selected suppliers only.
Price Window: Include only products within a specified price range (excluding tax). Leave blank for no price filter.
Click Next Step to proceed to field selection.
5.2 Step 2 – Choose Fields
This screen shows every available product or category column as a checklist. Required fields marked with an asterisk cannot be deselected.
Click Select All to include every column.
Click Deselect All to clear all optional selections.
Click Reset to Defaults to restore the recommended default column set.
Drag rows to reorder the column sequence in the output file.
Available product fields include: ID, Reference, Name, Active, Product Type, Condition, Visibility, Available For Order, Show Price, Online Only, Available Date, Brand ID, Brand Name, Supplier ID, Supplier Name, Tags, Date Created, Short Description, Description, Weight, Width, Height, Depth, EAN-13, UPC, ISBN, MPN, Meta Title, Meta Description, URL Key, Cover Image URL, All Image URLs, Default Category ID, Default Category Name, All Category IDs, All Category Names, Price, Wholesale Price, Unit Price, Minimum Quantity, Low Stock Alert, Low Stock Threshold, Out of Stock Behaviour, and more.
Click Preview Data to see the first five rows of the export based on your current selection. Click Save Profile to save without downloading. Click Next Step to proceed to file generation.
5.3 Step 3 – Generate File
A Download Summary panel on the right confirms your settings: Data Type, File Format, File Label, and the number of Fields selected.
Click Build and Download to generate the export file immediately. The file is built and downloaded to your browser or pushed to the configured FTP/SFTP destination. The run is recorded in the Transfer Logs tab.
6.0 Import Profiles
The Import tab lists all saved import profiles. Each profile is shown with its ID, name, entity type, format, source type (Upload or FTP), CRON status, and date added.
Click Add Import Profile to begin. The import wizard runs through three steps: Source Settings, Map Columns, and Run Import.
6.1 Step 1 – Source Settings
Profile Name: A unique label that identifies this profile in the Import listing. Example: Daily product feed.
Data Type: Choose what type of data the source file contains: Products or Categories.
File Format: Select CSV, XLSX, JSON, or XML.
Output Style: Choose the CSV delimiter that matches the file being imported: Universal comma, Windows/Excel semicolon, or Tab-separated.
List Glue: Must match the glue used when the file was exported. This affects multi-value fields such as Tags, Categories, and Image URLs.
Language: Default language for rows that do not specify their language in a lang column (CSV/XLSX) or as a per-language tag (JSON/XML).
Import Options:
Update existing records when ID (or reference) matches: When checked, the module updates an existing product instead of creating a duplicate when a matching ID or reference is found in the file. This is the standard setting for all regular updates.
Force IDs from the file (use the same ID number): When checked, the module assigns the exact product ID from the file to the new record. Use only when migrating between stores where preserving the original ID is required.
Pick Source:
Upload File: One-time manual import, upload a file from your computer. Max upload size is 50 MB. Allowed formats: CSV, XLSX, JSON, XML.
FTP / SFTP: Pull the file from a remote server. This option is required for CRON-driven automated runs.
If FTP / SFTP is selected, the following fields appear:
Transfer Protocol: FTP, FTPS, or SFTP.
Server: The FTP server address.
Port: Default is 21 (FTP), 990 (FTPS), 22 (SFTP). Auto-updates when the protocol changes.
Username and Password: Credentials for the remote server. Password is stored encrypted at rest.
Remote File Path: Absolute path to the source file on the remote server. The file must exist at this exact path each time the cron fires. Example: /home/feed/products.xml.
Passive Mode: Recommended for FTP/FTPS so firewalls do not block transfers. Ignored for SFTP.
Click Test Connection to verify your FTP/SFTP credentials before saving.
Scheduling:
CRON: When on, the CRON URL in Settings fetches the file via FTP/SFTP and runs the import without manual intervention. CRON is only available for FTP source profiles.
Email Notification: When on, the admin email receives a one-line summary after each CRON run, the same template for success or failure.
Click Save Profile to save your settings, then click Next Step to proceed to column mapping.
If Upload File is selected, you just need to upload the file from your device.
6.2 Step 2 – Map Columns
This screen shows the column mapping interface.
The instruction at the top reads: Match each column from your file (top row) to the right PrestaShop field. Required fields are marked with an asterisk.
The module auto-matches columns wherever possible. A confirmation message at the top shows how many columns were auto-matched, for example: 47 of 47 columns auto-matched. Review the mapping below and adjust if needed.
Each column from your import file appears as a dropdown at the top of its column. The rows below show the actual data values from your file for visual verification. Use the search box to find a specific column by name. Navigate through all columns using the pagination arrows (for example, 1-6 / 47).
Assign each column header from your file to the correct PrestaShop field using the dropdown. Leave columns set to the auto-matched field if the mapping is correct. If a required field is not mapped, the module blocks the import and shows a warning before proceeding.
Click Save Profile to save the mapping. Click Next Step to proceed to the final step.
6.3 Step 3 – Run Import
The confirmation message reads: Mapping confirmed. Click below to start importing your data.
Click Save Profile to store the profile for future use without running the import now.
Click Start Import to begin. The import runs in batches as configured in General Settings. When complete, the Transfer Logs tab records the result, including total records, successful records, and any failed records with row-level error detail.
7.0 Transfer Logs
The Transfer Logs tab shows the full history of every import and export run through the PrestaShop Product Import Export Scheduler Pro. The tab heading in the module is Transfer History.
Each row in the log shows:
ID: The run identifier.
Type: Import or Export.
Entity: Products or Categories.
Format: CSV, XLSX, JSON, or XML.
Status: Completed, completed with failures, or failed. Partial runs show the record count as X / Y (Z failed) in red.
Records: Total records processed. For partial failures, the count shows how many succeeded and how many failed.
File: The filename of the generated or imported file. For export runs, the filename is a clickable link to re-download the file directly.
Date: The date and time the run completed.
Click Log on any row to view the full details of that run, including row-level error messages for any failed records. Fix only the affected rows in the source file and re-import those rows. The rest of the catalog remains untouched.
Additionally, exported files can be re-downloaded from the Transfer Logs section. In the File column, click the export file link to download it again. The files remain available for re-download until they are removed by the Scheduled Cleanup cron after the configured retention period.
8.0 Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is the PrestaShop Product Import Export Scheduler Pro?
Answer: PrestaShop Bulk Product Import Export Module lets merchants import and export products and categories using CSV, XLSX, JSON, and XML files. It includes reusable profiles, column mapping with validation, FTP and SFTP file transfer, cron-based scheduling, email notifications, and transfer logs, all managed from the PrestaShop admin panel. Compatible with PrestaShop 1.7 through 9.x.
Question: How do I import products in PrestaShop using a CSV file?
Answer: Go to the Import tab and click Add Import Profile. Set the data type to Products, select CSV as the file format, upload your CSV file under Pick Source, and click Next Step. On the Map Columns screen, the module auto-matches columns where possible, reviews the mapping, adjusts if needed, and clicks Next Step. Click Start Import to run. Sample CSV templates are available from the Template Files section in General Settings.
Question: Can I import and export PrestaShop product combinations?
Answer: Yes. You can export the combination of the product variants by enabling Export Product Combinations (Variants) in the export profile Transfer Settings. Each product row is followed by one row per combination with attributes in a human-readable format. On re-import, the module creates missing attribute values and groups automatically. Full round-trip combination handling is supported, export from one store and import to another, cleanly.
Question: How do I automate PrestaShop product imports using cron jobs?
Answer: Create an import profile with FTP or SFTP as the source, enable CRON in the Scheduling section, and save the profile. Go to General Settings, then Scheduled Cleanup, and copy the Import Profiles CRON URL. Paste it into your server crontab or PrestaShop’s Scheduled Tasks module and set the interval. The profile runs automatically at every tick without any manual involvement.
Question: How do I migrate products from one PrestaShop store to another?
Answer: You can migrate a product from one prestashop store to another using the Knowband Prestashop Export/Import Scheduler Pro. Using import feature you can import all the prestashop product and categories in CSV, JSON, XML or XLSX format.
Question: What happens if an import fails or has errors?
Answer: The PrestaShop Catalog Manager does not fail silently. Every run creates a record in the Transfer Logs tab. Partial failures show the record count as X / Y with the number failed highlighted. Click the Log button on any row to see row-level error detail. Fix the affected rows in the source file and re-import only those rows. A completion email is sent for scheduled CRON runs, so the admin is notified without logging in.
Question: Is this compatible with the latest PrestaShop version?
Answer: Yes. The PrestaShop Product Import Export Scheduler Pro is compatible with PrestaShop 1.7. x through 9.x. Refer to the module product page for the latest compatibility information.
9.0 Conclusion
The PrestaShop Product Import Export Scheduler Pro by Knowband is a complete solution for catalog data management in PrestaShop. Four file formats, reusable profiles, FTP & SFTP with connection testing, full combination round-trip support, multi-language preservation, column mapping validation, row-level error logs, dated backup history, and automatic file cleanup, all from one PrestaShop Import Export Module, all from the admin panel, with no developer required.
For support, custom requirements, or PrestaShop addon development services, contact the Knowband team directly.
