Shopify Price-Update CSV Guard

Compare an untouched Shopify product export CSV with its edited copy before a price update. Declare the exact selling-price columns you intended to change. Receive a JSON report of destructive blanks, other changed fields, missing or duplicate variant identities, and supported price checks.

This is an independent tool, not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Shopify.

Free beta; Apify platform usage applies. There is no developer fee during this beta. See Pricing below.

PASS never guarantees a safe or successful Shopify import. The Actor checks a limited set of file-level rules. It does not inspect your live store, import settings, currency, apps, inventory state, external image URLs, or changes since the export. It does not repair files, generate an import, or write to Shopify.

Open animated demo · The preview on this page is static; the link opens the looping GIF.

Fictional demo with an illustrated report excerpt. Read-only checks; PASS never guarantees a safe import.

Input

Supply inline UTF-8 CSV strings in originalCsv and editedCsv, plus intendedPriceColumns, a nonempty list of exact headers appearing in both files. No URLs, credentials or Shopify access are needed.

{
  "originalCsv": "Handle,Title,Option1 Name,Option1 Value,Variant Price\nmug,Mug,Title,Default Title,9.99\n",
  "editedCsv": "Handle,Title,Option1 Name,Option1 Value,Variant Price\nmug,Mug,Title,Default Title,8.99\n",
  "intendedPriceColumns": ["Variant Price"]
}

Each CSV is limited to 2 MiB UTF-8 and 5,000 data records, including image rows. Other limits: 256 columns, 128 KiB per field, and 1,000 detailed findings and changes. Truncated reports require review.

Keep native headers and the full original variant set. Variant identity uses the exact handle plus exact option values. SKU, barcode and row position are never substitutes. Legitimate continuation blanks and supported image-only rows are distinguished from variant rows. Selling-price, compare-at and named market price columns are supported; cost per item is protected as a non-price field.

Common current and legacy headers have synthetic test coverage. Compatibility with real authorized current/legacy native exports and Shopify's live importer remains unverified. This is a conservative differential check, not a complete Shopify CSV validator. It does not resolve linked-option handles/GIDs or verify consistent option arity against Shopify; unchanged unsupported domain values can still PASS the limited differential rules. Supported headers do not imply comprehensive inventory, fulfillment, tax, metafield or publication validation.

Results

• PASS: no supported file-level rule requires review.
• REVIEW_REQUIRED: findings need human review, or the input uses unsupported semantics.
• INVALID_INPUT: malformed, missing, unsupported-contract or oversized input.

The full report is saved as OUTPUT in the run's default key-value store; a compact summary is in its default dataset. Findings include stable rules and IDs, CSV row/column locations, bounded before/after values, hashes, and the comparison rules version. A successful Actor execution can still return REVIEW_REQUIRED or INVALID_INPUT; read the report's status.

Pricing

This is a free public beta with no developer fee. Apify lists it as Pay per usage: runs consume the compute, storage and data-transfer resources in the runner's own Apify account. Apify platform usage applies even when a report returns REVIEW_REQUIRED or INVALID_INPUT. The former proposed $0.10 completed-report fee is not charged during this beta.

Apify's Free plan currently includes $5 of monthly usage credit. Testing can be free out of pocket while your available credits cover usage. If Free-plan credits run out, Apify pauses platform services until the next billing period. Paid Apify plans may charge usage beyond included credits. Check your own plan, remaining credits and limits before running; this beta does not include unlimited free Apify usage. See Apify pricing.

Data and usability feedback

The Actor sends catalog data only to the run's Apify output storage; it does not fetch input URLs, scrape websites, call an LLM, or connect to Shopify. The report can contain catalog values. Keep real-data runs and their storage private and manage retention in your Apify account.

Please use the Actor's Issues tab to report confusing inputs, unclear findings, false positives, missing checks or trouble finding the output. Tell us what you expected and what happened. Share a small redacted or synthetic example rather than private catalog data, customer information or credentials. This beta is intended to learn whether the comparison workflow and report are useful and understandable.