You exported a spreadsheet, uploaded it to Shopify, and got back "Ignored line 14" or "Illegal quoting on line 52". The message is short and the file is 800 rows long. Here is what the common errors actually mean, grouped by the thing that's really wrong.
1. The file itself is malformed
Illegal quoting on line N / Missing or stray quote on line N
Almost always one of three things: the file isn't saved as UTF-8, Excel turned straight quotes into curly "smart" quotes, or a description has an unescaped " inside it. Open the file in a plain text editor, jump to the line, and look for “ ” or a lone quote. Inside a quoted field, a literal quote has to be doubled ("").
Invalid CSV header: missing headers
The first line has to match Shopify's column names exactly. Check for a trailing space after the last header, a renamed column, or a byte-order mark added by the editor. If Shopify shows a "Choose column headings" window, that's the same problem: it didn't recognise your headers.
Random characters in descriptions (é, ’)
Encoding again. Re-save as UTF-8, not "CSV (Windows)" or "CSV (Mac)".
2. Products and variants don't line up
Ignored line N because handle X already exists
The handle identifies the product. Every variant row of one product shares a handle, but two different products can't. This usually means two products got the same handle after a copy-paste, or the file was split in the middle of a product.
Ignored line N because it did not contain product data
There's a handle with no Title on the first row for that product. Only the first row of a product needs Title, Body and Vendor. Later variant rows can leave them blank, but the first one can't.
Validation failed: options are not unique
Two variant rows of the same product have identical option values, for example two "Medium / Black" rows. It also happens when the same handle shows up again further down the file with the same options.
Option value provided for unknown options
A row has an Option2 Value but the product's first row never declared Option2 Name. Declare every option name on the first row of the product.
3. Required fields are blank or the wrong type
-
Validation failed: price can't be blank. Every variant row needs
Variant Price. -
Inventory quantity can't be blank / is not a number. If
Variant Inventory Trackeris set toshopify, you need a number in the quantity column. If you don't track stock, leave the tracker blank. -
Inventory policy is not included in the list. It has to be exactly
denyorcontinue. -
Fulfillment service can't be blank. Use
manualunless you use a fulfillment app. - Not a valid product category. The category has to match Shopify's Standard Product Taxonomy exactly, either as the full breadcrumb or as the category ID.
4. Images fail
- An error occurred while trying to download the image. The image URL doesn't resolve publicly. Paste it into a private browser window: if it asks for a login or redirects, Shopify can't fetch it either.
-
getaddrinfo: nodename nor servname provided. The URL is malformed: a missing
https://, a space, or a local file path. - Exceeds the 20 megapixel limit. Resize the image.
5. Metafields
Value must be a valid product reference
You're referencing a product that doesn't exist yet. Import in two passes: products first without the metafield, then again with it.
A 5-minute check before you upload
- Save as UTF-8 and open the file in a text editor once.
- Sort by Handle, and never split a file in the middle of a handle.
- For each handle, check that the first row has a Title and declares every option name it uses.
- Look for duplicate option combinations inside each handle.
- Spot-check 5 image URLs in a private window.
Most failed imports break on steps 2 to 4, and the error message points to a line number, not the cause.
If you'd rather not do it by hand, CSV Preflight runs these checks on your file and sends back a list of fixes: https://csv-preflight-site.smagnezi8.workers.dev/
Source for the error messages: Shopify Help Center, "Solutions to common product CSV import problems", https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/import-export/common-import-issues
