Magento 2 Product Import/Export Setup

Configuring Product Import/Export in Magento 2

Import/export is one of the most resource-intensive operations in Magento 2. The built-in mechanism works via CSV with a strictly defined column schema. With improper configuration, importing 10,000 SKUs can take several hours and crash with memory/timeout errors. Proper batch size configuration, indexing, and memory management solve most problems.

Formats and CSV Structure

Magento 2 supports import of: catalog_product, catalog_category, customer, customer_address, customer_finance, stock_sources (MSI).

Required columns for products:

For configurable products, additional columns needed: configurable_variations and configurable_variation_labels.

sku,attribute_set_code,product_type,name,price,configurable_variations,configurable_variation_labels
jacket-base,Default,configurable,Winter Jacket,1299.00,"sku=jacket-red-s,color=Red,size=S|sku=jacket-red-m,color=Red,size=M","Color=Color,Size=Size"
jacket-red-s,Default,simple,Winter Jacket Red S,1299.00,,,
jacket-red-m,Default,simple,Winter Jacket Red M,1299.00,,,

Performance Optimization

Default Magento settings not designed for large volumes. Key parameters in app/etc/env.php and server configuration:

// Increase batch size for import
// app/code/Vendor/Import/etc/di.xml
<type name="Magento\ImportExport\Model\Import">
    <arguments>
        <argument name="data" xsi:type="array">
            <item name="bunch_size" xsi:type="number">500</item>
        </argument>
    </arguments>
</type>

# php.ini for import processes
memory_limit = 2G
max_execution_time = 3600
max_input_time = 3600

# Disable unnecessary indexers during import
bin/magento indexer:set-mode schedule cataloginventory_stock catalog_product_price catalogsearch_fulltext

Import via CLI and API

For automation use CLI command or REST API:

# Standard import via CLI
bin/magento import:run \
  --entity=catalog_product \
  --behavior=append \
  --validation-strategy=validation-skip-errors \
  --allowed-error-count=100 \
  --input-file=var/import/products.csv

# With delimiter and encoding specification
bin/magento import:run \
  --entity=catalog_product \
  --behavior=add_update \
  --field-separator=";" \
  --multiple-value-separator="|" \
  --input-file=var/import/products_semicolon.csv

REST API for import (Magento 2.3+):

# Create job via API
curl -X POST "https://example.com/rest/V1/import/csv" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "source": {
      "entity": "catalog_product",
      "behavior": "append",
      "validationStrategy": "validation-stop-on-errors",
      "allowedErrorCount": "0",
      "csvData": "c2t1LG5hbWUscHJpY2U..."
    }
  }'

Export Configuration

Export in Magento 2 works via same filters as import. For large catalogs, asynchronous export is needed via scheduled export:

// Programmatic export via ExportFactory
use Magento\ImportExport\Model\ExportFactory;

class ProductExporter
{
    public function __construct(private ExportFactory $exportFactory) {}

    public function export(array $filters = []): string
    {
        $export = $this->exportFactory->create();
        $export->setData([
            'entity'        => 'catalog_product',
            'file_format'   => 'csv',
            'fields_enclosure' => 1,
        ]);

        $export->filterAttributeCollection(
            $export->getEntityAttributeCollection()
        );

        return $export->export();
    }
}

MSI (Multi-Source Inventory) Import

With Magento 2.3+, use MSI for warehouse management. Stock import by sources:

source_code,sku,quantity,status
warehouse-moscow,jacket-red-s,50,1
warehouse-spb,jacket-red-s,30,1
warehouse-moscow,jacket-red-m,0,0

bin/magento import:run \
  --entity=stock_sources \
  --behavior=append \
  --input-file=var/import/stock_msi.csv

Common Issues and Solutions

Memory exhausted: increase memory_limit to 2–4G, reduce bunch_size to 200–300 records.

URL key already exists: with append behavior Magento checks URL uniqueness. Use add_update or clear url_rewrite table before import.

Invalid value for Attribute Set: value in attribute_set_code must match database name exactly — case sensitive.

Slow indexing after import: in realtime indexer mode each bunch triggers indexing. Switch to schedule, execute import, then run indexing manually:

bin/magento indexer:reindex catalog_product_attribute catalog_product_price catalogsearch_fulltext catalog_product_category

Execution Timeline

• Setup and test import up to 1,000 SKU: 1 day
• Development of custom ERP-sync adapter: 3–5 days
• Scheduled import setup with error monitoring: 2–3 days
• 50,000+ SKU catalog migration from another platform: 5–10 days