Matching options

Pick the identifier your file names are based on, then how strictly it must match: exact, image contains identifier or identifier contains image name. If you’re unsure, start with Match by exact SKU.

Quick decision guide

1. Files named exactly after SKUs or barcodes? → Match by exact SKU / BARCODE.
2. File names contain the SKU plus other text? → Match if image contains SKU.
3. One photo shared by several variants with a common base code? → Match if SKU contains image name.
4. Neither SKU nor barcode lines up with your names? → Put the image code in a metafield and use Match by exact METAFIELD, or try AI matching.

Where each identifier comes from

Identifier	Value taken from Shopify
SKU	The variant SKU
BARCODE	The variant barcode (EAN, UPC, GTIN)
TITLE	The product title (not the variant title)
METAFIELD	The product or variant metafield set in Settings → Metafield matching (namespace.key)
VARIANT_ID	The numeric variant ID from the admin URL, e.g. 44436602683565

Values are lowercased and trimmed. Variants with an empty value are skipped and can never match.

The three matching shapes

Shape	Matches when	Example
Exact	The file name equals the identifier	AB1234.jpg → SKU AB1234
Image contains identifier	The identifier appears inside the file name	photo-ab1234-front.jpg → SKU AB1234
Identifier contains image name	The file name appears inside the identifier	AB1234.jpg → SKUs AB1234-S, AB1234-M, AB1234-L

• Image contains identifier: the longest match wins. If a file name contains both ab12 and ab1234, only the variant with ab1234 gets the image, so short SKUs can’t steal images.
• Identifier contains image name: all matches win. One image can attach to many variants. Always check the preview count before uploading.

All matching types

Option	Use it when
Match by exact SKU	Files are named exactly after the SKU. The default and safest choice.
Match if image contains SKU	File names carry extra text: nikon-d750-AB1234-front.jpg.
Match if SKU contains image name	Files carry a base code and SKUs extend it: AB1234.jpg → all sizes.
Match by exact BARCODE	Files are named by EAN/UPC/GTIN. Very reliable.
Match if image contains BARCODE	Files like 7891234567890-1200x1200.jpg.
Match if BARCODE contains image name	Rare. File names hold a truncated barcode.
Match by exact TITLE	No SKUs or barcodes; file names reproduce the product title exactly.
Match if image contains TITLE	File names include the product title plus extra text.
Match if TITLE contains image name	File names hold a distinctive word found in the title. Check the preview carefully.
Match by exact METAFIELD	You keep an image code (ERP/supplier code) in a metafield.
Match if image contains METAFIELD	The same, with extra text in file names.
Match if METAFIELD contains image name	The metafield holds a composite value containing the code.
Match by exact VARIANT_ID	You renamed files to Shopify variant IDs. 100% unambiguous.
Match if image contains VARIANT_ID	Files like photo-44436602683565.webp.

AI matching (beta)

Match SKU / BARCODE / TITLE / METAFIELD with AI reads each file name the way a person would, so different separators, extra words, colour names or image numbers don’t stop a match. It compares the raw names, without any clean-up rules.

• Clear-cut names are matched instantly; the rest are judged in batches on the results page, with a progress indicator.
• Each AI match shows a confidence level, and low-confidence picks are left unmatched.
• You review every match before uploading, exactly as with the other types.
• Free stores can judge up to 1,000 images per day (5,000 per month) with AI; paid plans have no cap.

Duplicate identifiers

If two variants share the same SKU, barcode or title, only the first one keeps the image by default. This is the most common reason some products get images and others don’t. Product titles in particular are often duplicated. If your catalog legitimately shares identifiers, ask us to enable multi-variant or multi-product matching.

All product statuses (active, draft and archived) are included unless we exclude archived products for your store.

Options we can enable for your store

These aren’t in the app’s settings. Contact us and we’ll switch them on:

• Scan sub-folders of the selected folder.
• Multi-variant / multi-product matching for shared identifiers.
• Attach the same image to several variants of a product.
• Match each image only once.
• Attach to all matching identifiers instead of only the longest.
• Replace only the matched variant’s images instead of the whole product’s.
• Exclude archived products, or filter by collection or vendor.
• Identifier clean-up rules: drop the last N characters, ignore text after a dash, replace characters.
• Alt text formats: option value only, metafield + title, custom suffix.
• Unicode normalisation for accented titles.