Theme files being duplicated after localising a template.

Shopify Plus

Topic summary

A Shopify Plus user is experiencing an issue where theme files are being duplicated each time localized content is saved for different markets. When making multiple changes to the US market locale (with UK as the default), Shopify creates a new US JSON file for each change (e.g., product.us.1.json, product.us.2.json).

Current Impact:

  • Unable to edit any locale except the default market
  • Error message appears when switching to US locale in the theme editor
  • Screenshots show duplicate template files accumulating in the theme

Proposed Solution:

  • Navigate to Edit Code section
  • Delete duplicate locale files (keeping only one per locale, e.g., product.us.json)
  • This should restore theme editor functionality

The issue appears to be a known behavior where Shopify’s localization system incorrectly generates multiple template files instead of updating existing ones.

Summarized with AI on October 29. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi All,

We have encountered an issue whereby our theme files are being duplicated every time we save a change made in the different locale.

For example, our default market is the UK. If we try to localise content for the US market and make several changes, Shopify seems to be creating a new US json per change.

Now, though, we cannot edit any local other than our default market. We get an error message when switching to the US locale in the theme editor.

Has anyone ever encountered something like this?

Screenshots below of error message and two examples of duplicated files.

Screenshot 2025-04-03 at 17.00.27.png
Screenshot 2025-04-03 at 17.00.27.png3584×2116 218 KB

Screenshot 2025-04-03 at 16.55.17.png
Screenshot 2025-04-03 at 16.55.17.png556×458 18.7 KB

Screenshot 2025-04-03 at 16.55.11.png
Screenshot 2025-04-03 at 16.55.11.png576×600 25.1 KB

2

Hi @LouisPastorino

Shopify creates duplicate template.locale.json files when editing localized content, which can break the theme editor and cause the error in your screenshot.

Fix:
Go to Edit Code, delete duplicate files (e.g., product.us.1.json), and keep only one per locale (e.g., product.us.json).